Welcome to Ask a Self-Publishing Expert, where editor and publisher Sarah Kolb-Williams answers questions from independent authors. Today, she’s responding to one author’s struggle to regain her account and getting KDP to un-block her ISBN.
The Problem: Banned ISBN
Here’s the email we received from Rocío (edited for length and clarity).
I opened my first KDP account, and it was canceled because I was delayed on some ID information. I sent a message asking them not to cancel the account, but at the same time, I thought to open a new account with the email of the book because I thought it would be better for marketing purposes. Yes, I did not follow the rule of not opening another account. But technically, my first account was closed.
When the lady from Amazon KDP reinstated the account, I told her I had opened the new account and asked her if I had to close the old account. She never answered, so I continued working in the new account for more than 1.5 weeks because that’s where I ordered my first author copy to verify the book before publishing.
Last week, Amazon closed my new account because I have multiple accounts, and they told me I cannot open any new account nor receive royalties of any account. I begged for a conversation and explain that I am new on this and it was a mistake, that I have never published my book and if that meant that I could not use the old account also for publishing.
I tried yesterday to set up the book in my old account, and I realized that the ISBN of my book—the one I bought in Bowker, and not provided by Amazon—has been recorded and I simply cannot sell my book in KDP. No matter what. Even if I go to any publisher, that ISBN is banned from Amazon.
Clearly this was a mistake on my part, but closing my possibilities of selling at all in KDP contradicts the original idea of allowing new authors on the platform. Then the ISBN of the book is mine, I got it—why ban it so any other publisher I use won’t be able to use it on Amazon either?
I am not denying my fault in not reading the Terms and Conditions, I am asking for forgiveness for a new author who made a mistake and not a person trying to hurt KDP.
I have been working on this project for a long time and invested money in it. Since I have not published the book, can I buy another ISBN and bar code and go to a different publisher, and they can publish on Amazon with that new ISBN? Do you know someone that I can talk with in Amazon, instead of emails?
Whew—this author is really going through it!
To untangle this mess, let’s break this down into the two separate issues this author seems to be facing with KDP: a banned ISBN and a penalized account.
Banned ISBNs
At my company, Spoonbridge Press, we once had a similar ISBN issue with a client. Rocio’s situation has some parallels I thought would be helpful to consider.
Our client was publishing a second edition of a book she’d already published and de-listed: a feminist retelling of a classic novel from the 1800s (that will be important later). She was all set to publish, but after uploading her book to KDP, she learned that her book—identified by its ISBN—had been flagged by KDP for plagiarism.
Here’s the kicker: The original book is old enough to be in the public domain, and she gave credit to the original author and made it clear her new book was an adaptation. She also made it clear that this was a second edition of her own book; she wasn’t trying to fool anyone into thinking this was an original publication.
I’m not a legal advisor, but my take is that because of these facts, there shouldn’t have been any issues with plagiarism. My best guess is that KDP’s bots somehow flagged these textual similarities, either between the original novel or between her two editions of it, without considering the facts.
That’s not the part that applies to Rocío’s situation. Here’s the part that made my spidey sense tingle:
The first layer of KDP customer support couldn’t help our client unblock her ISBN, even though they agreed that the ban was a mistake, so they escalated her request. Surely a supervisor would be able to untangle this mess, right?
Wrong. After several exchanges with a higher level of customer service, this is what came to light:
- No, she did not commit copyright infringement or plagiarism. It is totally fine for an author to publish a new edition of their own book, and it’s totally fine to include once-copyrighted material that is now in the public domain.
- Unfortunately, since our client’s ISBN had been added to a “banned” list, even this upper-tier customer service agent could not un-ban it. To this day, it is stuck in “banned ISBN” purgatory, and as far as we’re able to tell, no one can do a thing about it.
- To get around this, the KDP agent recommended that our client re-publish her book under a new ISBN. (At our recommendation, she’d bought a block of 10 to begin with, so this was no great issue; she had plenty to spare.)
- Her next attempt to publish the second edition of her adaptation, under a brand-new ISBN, was accepted with no problem.
My assumption is that Rocío’s ISBN is now stuck in that same purgatory. This is unfortunate because it sounds like Rocío only had the one ISBN, which would have cost them a decent amount of money. But according to the customer service agent our client talked to, once an ISBN is banned, it can’t be used on Amazon anymore.
Our Recommendations
Here’s what I think might be Rocío’s best way forward:
- Buy another ISBN. (I recommend a block of 10 so they can publish a paperback and e-book, and so they have extra left over for any other situations that might arise or for a future publication.)
- Republish the book with the new ISBN under their existing account, after being very sure they no longer have duplicate accounts.
Of course, I don’t work for KDP, so even though I’ve seen something similar from a client, I can’t guarantee this will work. If they wanted to be certain, they could reach out to KDP customer service to explain what happened and ask if a new ISBN will work.
While emails and live support are great for keeping records of the exchange to refer to later, in this case, it may be best for Rocío to speak directly to a representative. From their KDP account, they would navigate to Help > Contact Us > Book formatting & Publishing > Notifications on Book Issues > Contact Us > Call Us and follow the prompts. Good luck!
Terminated KDP Account
If the ISBN issue were the only thing, I would be confident that the steps above would solve her problem. Unfortunately, her account was terminated, adding an extra layer of complication. Let’s review:
Last week, Amazon closed my new account because I have multiple accounts, and they told me I cannot open any new account nor receive royalties of any account…
I went yesterday and try to set up the book in my old account…
This is a common but serious issue: KDP strictly enforces its policy on multiple accounts, and once an account is terminated, opening a new one is prohibited without explicit permission.
Our Experience with Terminated KDP Accounts
I’ve never been in this situation or coached a client through one, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this one. I consulted the KDP terms and conditions and found this, from 5.4.8 Offsets, etc.:
If we terminate this Agreement because you have breached your representations and warranties or our Content Guidelines, you forfeit all Royalties not yet paid to you. If after we have terminated your account you open a new account without our express permission, we will not owe you any Royalties through the new account.
I also found this, from 4.2 Account Information; No Multiple Accounts:
You may maintain only one account at a time. If we terminate your account, you will not establish a new account.… You also consent to us sending you emails relating to the Program and other publishing opportunities from time to time.
This sounds dire—but unlike the ISBN purgatory, I do believe there’s a way out of this mess.
First, “without our express permission” indicates that KDP customer service agents have more discretion than they do with banned ISBNs.
It’s also unclear whether using her original account would violate KDP’s terms, since the account was terminated but ultimately reinstated. It may still be possible to set up a new book under a new ISBN and publish it there.
The issue I’m most concerned with is this, from 5.4.8: “If after we have terminated your account you open a new account without our express permission, we will not owe you any Royalties through the new account.” This means that even if Rocío is able to successfully republish the book, her earnings could be withheld—unless she receives express approval.
Our Recommendations
While it may be possible to republish in the original account under that new ISBN, Rocío won’t know whether she’ll be able to receive royalties until that first sale. I get the sense that she isn’t going to want to go through all that effort knowing that her royalties are still at risk.
Here are my recommendations:
Contact KDP customer support. Explain the situation—mentioning that she asked if it was OK to use her original account after it had been reinstated but never received an answer—and request explicit permission to receive royalties for book sales made under the reinstated account. Rocío should be clear, polite, and persistent, and if she doesn’t get the result she wants with the first KDP agent, she should try again.
Avoid creating a new account. If an account was closed, attempting to open another without permission could make matters worse.
Ensure compliance with KDP’s terms. If permission is granted, Rocío should follow KDP’s instructions to avoid any future complications.
And yes—after all of this, if it’s still not possible for Rocío to receive royalties through her original KDP account, she may be able to use another ISBN and bar code and use a different distribution platform to publish on Amazon with that new ISBN. It’s not ideal (royalties are highest when you can publish directly to Amazon through KDP), but it’s one possible way to skirt the issue.
Lessons Learned
KDP’s rule enforcement can be erratic—you may fly under the radar even if you unknowingly break a rule, but it’s better safe than sorry. Here’s how to protect yourself against pitfalls and avoid running afoul of the powers that be at KDP so you don’t find yourself in Rocío’s situation:
- Start with a block of 10 ISBNs, even if you don’t think you’ll need them. A single ISBN costs $125, but 10 only costs $295, bringing the unit price down to $29.50. That way, you’re set for future books—or unfortunate mishaps with this one.
- Read the KDP terms and conditions. Yes, they’re long. But they’re not that long, and even a quick scroll could save you money, headache, and time.
- Avoid opening a second account under any circumstances. If your account is flagged for removal, be proactive.
If you do need to contact KDP customer service, remember that the person who answers your first email may not be the same person who answers your second email. Keep your inquiries clear and simple, and keep any emails limited to a single issue for the best chance of a resolution.
A terminated account is a serious issue, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your author career. By engaging with KDP support, staying compliant with their guidelines, and keeping all communications simple, direct, and respectful, it may be possible to continue publishing while protecting your royalties.
Send us your self-publishing questions!
If you have questions about POD, independent publishing, or anything else, send them to questions@independentpublishing.com and we might feature them in our Ask a Self-Publishing Expert column!
