Amazon has cut the number of new titles a KDP account can create to two per format per week, down from ten. For most authors that changes nothing day to day, but it matters if you are launching a series, a box set or a backlist in several formats. Also this time: AI-written scams keep changing shape, one scammed author has won in court, and Substack is making a play for authors and agents.
Here is what has changed since the last briefing, and what to do about it.
On 21 September KDP announced in its Community forum that each account can now create up to two new titles per format per week: two ebooks, two paperbacks and two hardcovers. The allowance resets every Sunday at 00:00 UTC. The previous limit, introduced last year, was ten a week. Books already on your Bookshelf are not affected.
Amazon’s stated reason is “to help maintain a positive publishing experience for all authors”. It did not mention AI, but the change is widely read as another step against mass-uploaded, low-quality books. Kobo has said it rejected 45% of self-published submissions last year, mostly over AI, so the retailers are moving in the same direction.
What this means for authors: If you publish one or two books a year, carry on as you are. If you are planning a series launch, a box set, or putting a backlist up in ebook, paperback and hardback, spread the set-ups over several weeks and start earlier than you normally would. Reports suggest the count is taken when you create and save a new title on your Bookshelf, so do not create placeholder entries you do not need. The old invitation to ask KDP for an exception appears to have gone from the help pages, so do not plan around getting one.
Source: Alliance of Independent Authors | Source: Publishers Lunch | Source: KDP Community announcement | Source: The Next Web on Kobo
Writer Beware’s latest round-up shows AI-written scam emails now impersonating literary agents, film and TV production companies and book clubs, not just offering marketing. The Goodreads list scam in our last briefing is one more example of the same pattern.
There was one rare bit of good news. Canadian author Raymond Love, who paid around $50,000 to an outfit called Wiley Book Writers that traded under several different company names, has won judgments against the people and companies behind it, including a $190,025 default judgment in August. Most authors caught this way never see their money again.
What this means for authors: The common thread is the unsolicited approach. A real agent or producer does not cold-email you and then ask you to pay for anything. Treat these as warning signs: invoices from different company names, promised returns, and list or ranking placement for a fee. Before replying to any offer, search the company name with “scam” and check Writer Beware and ALLi’s Watchdog.
Source: Writer Beware: Love v. Wiley Book Writers | Source: Writer Beware: AI-driven scams continue to morph
Substack is pitching itself more openly to authors. The Alliance of Independent Authors, citing The Bookseller, reports that it is planning its first event bringing literary agents together with Substack writers in November, and has opened advertising income to writers with at least 100 paying subscribers. Some authors are already serialising books there.
What this means for authors: Substack is one way to build a list of readers you reach directly, which matters more each time a retailer changes its rules. It will not sell books on its own. If you try it, treat it as a mailing list with a website attached: post on a regular schedule, link to it from the back of your books, and export a copy of your subscriber list from time to time so it stays yours.
Source: Alliance of Independent Authors
If you have more than two books in any one format to set up in the next few months, write out the upload order week by week now. Start from your launch date and work backwards, two per format per week. The allowance resets at 00:00 UTC on Sunday, which is 1am on Sunday in the UK until the clocks go back on 25 October.
How many formats do you publish each book in, and would two new titles a week slow you down?
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