Amazon KDP may be the favourite platform of many an indie author. But as H S Matthews experienced, it’s not a perfect publishing paradise…

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is ever the go-to for independent publishing needs. With good reason. It’s free to sign up, relatively easy to navigate, quite low on red tape. Only a few reasons why many authors (myself included) use them exclusively to sell their books. For author H S Matthews, however, this is not a love story. It’s a tale of false accusations, a drawn-out battle, and, in the writer’s own words, a nightmare.

The author’s journey began in 2019, when she chose to publish the first of her Lottie Jones series on Amazon, rather than battle with the time-consuming nature of querying for traditional publishing.

“Amazon was the obvious choice as it was the market leader for self-publishing and ease of use,” she says.

“As far as sales, I was happy with how they were going. There had not been one month from the initial launch of my first book that sales were not recorded. Slow some months but steady overall.”

However, in the course of her routine check on her book sales back in April, Matthews was met with something entirely different to usual. Her sales dashboard had disappeared, including her bookshelf and account details. A message announcing that her Amazon KDP account had been closed was in its place.

“You can imagine my horror,” she says. “I had no idea why. There had been no emails to inform me of any issues with the account.

“As the account was closed there was only one way to contact them initially and that was through their Contact Us button – this was message-only. All other ways of contacting them had been removed from my account.”

H S Matthews’ work includes the Lottie Jones and the Magical Realms series.

A constant back-and-forth

So began the battle to get her KDP account back. A battle during which Matthews received moral support from her fanbase, but little help from Amazon’s representatives.

“When I asked why my account had been closed, I received a generic email telling me that it was because I was linked to another account that had been terminated,” she explains. “I had only ever had one KDP account, so I responded telling them that. There began the endless emails, social media posts and asking for help from others.

“The problem with KDP is when your account is terminated, you cannot talk to anyone. There is no telephone contact for them. I tried going through normal Amazon customer services as well as Author Central, and although they were sympathetic, they couldn’t help. I even emailed Jeff Bezos and Andrew Jassy and tagged them in my social media posts.”

“On numerous occasions I got emails back from KDP telling me that they were upholding their decision. Each time I immediately replied back appealing. I eventually asked for the issue to be escalated to supervisors.”

Matthews’ tenacity and perseverance paid off in the end as, after the continuous opening of case numbers and sending appeal emails, Amazon KDP restored her account. Though the fight was still not quite over.

“I got an email telling me that the account had been restored, no explanation and no apology,” she says. “Two days after I logged in to find that I needed to republish everything, they terminated my account again. This time they did send me an email which I responded to, asking if it was a joke. My account was restored later that day and I did get an apology stating that it had been closed in error.”

The benefits of publishing wide

Since then, Matthews has had to start her Amazon KDP journey more or less from square one. She has had to republish all her works on the platform, and even with this process, there are kinks that are making it more difficult for her.

“My paperbacks are back up, but my eBooks have been stuck in publishing since I got the account back. They tell me that technical is working on a solution, but as a result of everything I have not made a sale since 4th April when they initially terminated the account.”

Originally an exclusive Amazon KDP user, this experience has led Matthews to go wide with her publishing. She turned to Draft2Digital after another author recommended it. And already, she is feeling the benefits.

“My paperbacks and eBooks are available in many more places than before and the sales are coming through nicely through them. I will be staying with them as well as publishing through Amazon.

“It does mean that I cannot put my eBooks in Kindle Unlimited, but that is not an issue. I like the fact that they are available to many more readers now.”

What other indie authors can learn from H S Matthews

Following her experiences, Matthews has a few points of advice for indie authors who (hopefully won’t have to) go through what she has.

“I would recommend any new author to use multiple platforms. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” she says.

“Not long after I first posted about my issues on social media, I was contacted by other authors that had the same issues. Some have still not got their accounts back.

“If [other authors] are in the same position I was in then I would say to be relentless. Don’t give up.

“One thing that others also need to be aware of, if your account is terminated Amazon will KEEP all your outstanding royalties, they say as per their terms and conditions.”

Representatives from Amazon KDP have been contacted for comment but have yet to respond.

For more of H S Matthews’ work, visit their website. 

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Examining some important elements that should go into every character profile, before, during and after the writing process…

As you’ll have seen in previous posts on this site, along with pretty much every other writing blog out there, character should be the writer’s Number One consideration. Crafting three-dimensional characters is a gradual process. They fill out as you progress with your work. Having a profile for each major player in your story can help you keep track of their development, their personality, their reasons for being themselves. This post centres around building a comprehensive character profile, and what things you should consider to inform their development and the greater story.

Relationships with other characters

Like real life, you can tell a lot about a person based on how they interact with others. When building a character profile, one of the first things I note is that character’s relationship to others in their sphere. Who their closest allies are, and their enemies. Are they close family or estranged siblings? Are they co-workers locked in a rivalry? Or are there ex-lovers and ex-partners who have made a return to the scene?

Also, it doesn’t matter if these other characters don’t actually feature in your story. Your main character may have a sister that they don’t speak to. That fact alone can tell your readers a lot about your main character. Perhaps family ties are not important to them, or maybe they’re stubborn and have stood their ground in an argument. We never have to meet the estranged sister. The readers will be looking deeper at your main character.

Religion, politics and social attitudes

Remember, the core of a good story is conflict. What’s often at the centre of a good conflict? Religion, politics, and/or society. So when you’re outlining your characters, take a moment to consider… what’s their political leaning? Are they conservative or more liberal? Do they have a religion? If so, how devout are they? What’s their take on social issues? Are they vocally in favour of one thing, or virulently against another?

Remember that all of these will be affected by the period you’re setting your story in. And they all go back to our previous point about relationships with other characters. How will a controversial opinion or decision by one character affect their friendship circle? Do they form a united front, but with some reluctance by one or two members? How is that reluctance dealt with? In short, how do these attitudes inform the conflict of the story?

What is their core principle or philosophy?

These may be tied to politics, religion etc. if you wish. Essentially, when you boil your character down to the bare bones, what’s the one thing that’s driving their existence, their actions and their thoughts?

If I’m to give examples from my own work, in Sin & Secrecy, Lady Vyrrington’s core principle is to love as few people as possible, to stop anyone getting punished for her sins. Abel Stirkwhistle’s philosophy is that he is the judge, jury and executioner for anyone he sees as a sinner or criminal.

In You Can Hear Chopin, the core principles of my main antagonist Leopold Upfauer are tied to those of the Nazi Party, with focus on their idea that mentally ill people were unworthy of life. That philosophy directly affects my main protagonist Heinrich Oeunhausen, whose wife Sofie has schizophrenia. All the same, he has to suppress his own principles and join the Nazi Party in the hope that he will be better protected. Which takes us back to conflict again. Mapping the core principles out can lead you to examine how they clash with those of other characters.

Do they have any quirks, eccentricities, or defining characteristics?

Use your character profile to note down anything unique about each person. Do they have a catchphrase? Or any tics, tells or quirks that stand them out from the crowd? They don’t even need to be anything extraordinary. In You Can Hear Chopin, Upfauer is always cold and stands by a fire when there’s one in a room, and complains when there isn’t one. Meanwhile, Heinrich often refers to his watch, always conscious of time, as anyone who works in a hotel should be. They don’t necessarily have to affect the story, but they add believable human qualities to the characters. Which is what readers want to see.

The question of good and evil

What side is your character on? Are they hero or villain? Good, evil, or neutral? Or, as with real life, are they capable of being more than one? Can your protagonists occasionally make a decision that will take them down an evil path? Or is your antagonist capable of occasional kindness? What does this say about them as characters? A villain who does the odd bit of good could be construed as manipulative, for example.

Don’t forget to answer WHY?

When you’re defining all of these elements in a character profile, don’t forget to be conscious of the reasons behind your decisions. Why don’t these two siblings speak to each other anymore? Was it a childhood disagreement that festered into adulthood? What broke down this ex-couple’s marriage? Was it a difference in politics? Knowing the answers to these can enrich characters’ backstories. It also gives you a much clearer image of the characters when you’re writing your story.

Keep your character profile updated

As we know, a lot can change in the course of writing a story. That’s why it’s important to check your character profiles regularly. Update them according to the latest version of your manuscript. If two characters you had down as friends suddenly have a falling out, make sure that’s noted down. Again, include the reasons why. These decisions might affect other character development and plot points.

Thank you for reading. Is anything missing from this list? Get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also, read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.