FYI…this is long. This was written in word first and it was nine pages long. However, six pages were nothing but lists of the books we’ve confirmed to be recycled. I did remove the names and titles for purposes of this letter, as we’ve found more names and digging deeper into this mess. I’ve removed other information, too. Some of this I’m still working on, so will update as possible.
Letter as below
Mr. Bezos
It’s been several weeks since I last reached out regarding the problem on the Amazon KDP platform, where content providers upload material, leave it for a period of months, and then remove it. Several months later, they’ll upload another ‘name’ with a new title, although there are no differences to the story itself. These content providers offer these books as new, with no disclaimer to the reader. Readers have noticed and have complained but nothing has been done.
This isn’t a matter of a couple of authors, either, and it’s far more than just the constant cycling of books. There are reports of top earning Kindle Unlimited authors who XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. (Will share later).
As you well know, this is a violation of FTC regulations.
While Amazon cannot control the actions of authors, they do have a responsibility to enforce their own guidelines and maintain standards of the products being sold on the platform.
When it’s pointed out that specific content providers are manipulating and gaming the system, misleading readers, deceiving them, selling previously published books as new—running afoul of FTC guidelines again by violating the truth in advertising guidelines—you have a responsibility to look into these issues and you haven’t done so.
When it’s pointed out that content providers are XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. (Not sharing this yet.)
Let me offer a glimpse, once more, into the issues plaguing the Kindle Unlimited Select Platform.
I’m including a small sample of the deception going on on the platform. These authors write under several ‘umbrellas’. There are at least two core groups within the romance sub-categories of MC Romance and Mafia, with a few ‘Bad Boys’ thrown in for variety. This list is by no means complete because these issues aren’t just limited to MC Romance, Mafia… or Bad Boys.
These problems plague the historical romance genre, too. Historical romance writers are still dealing with the bookstuffing issue that was so proliferate in contemporary romance the summer of 2018. Amazon failed to address it in the historical subgenre and I have little doubt similar problems abound there, too.
To give an indication of how widespread this problem has become while it was ignored by Amazon, despite the readers who reported and complained, consider this:
These aren’t ‘authors’ involved in this. They are companies, of sorts. So far a couple of ‘companies’ have been identified. One has a minimum of eight names involved, while the other has ten.
They publish and unpublish on a specific schedule, moving the unpublished books to a ‘fresh’ name so as to release it with a ‘fresh’ look and sell as a new release.
Each ‘name’ identified in the two main umbrellas as several dozen works to their name, some numbering over seventy or eighty.
Marci Fawn, a pen name of author Isabella Starling, sells her recycled works on Dirty Discourse. The batch I’m speaking of had ten books from the ‘Marci Fawn’ catalog as she described it. She sold all ten, if I understand it right and two of those have been republished by N. Alleman and J. Chase.
Consider that a minimum of eighteen to twenty authors are republishing recycled books amongst their ‘umbrellas’. They all have multiple works. We’ll estimate the low end of the equation and go with sixty.
That’s a likely 1,200 books cycling through KU each year in just a couple of romance subgenres alone, choking out new, fresh original voices on Kindle Unlimited, depriving readers of a chance to discover new, fresh original content simply by gaming the system and manipulating the rankings through keywords and reader farms.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ve got other bad players involved XXXXXXXX (redacting).
Below is a list of confirmed books that have cycled through Kindle Unlimited, books that had been sold to readers as new by deceptive content providers. And you do nothing.
NAMES AND TITLES REDACTED FOR THE TIME BEING
Pub Years Author Name Book Title
January 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
December 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
Feb 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
November 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
Feb 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
September 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
December 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
November 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
December 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
Feb 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
2014? XXXXXX XXXXXX
2014 XXXXXX XXXXXX
November 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
December 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
December 2016 XXXXXX & XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX
April 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
August 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
September 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2016 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
November 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
2019?? XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
May 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
February 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
September 2015 XXXXXX XXXXXX
January 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
October 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
November 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
June 2018 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
Nov 2017 XXXXXX XXXXXX
July 18 XXXXXX XXXXXX
March 2019 XXXXXX XXXXXX
Amazon has the ability to spot works that have been published on their platform before. This isn’t a secret. This could easily be stopped on the provider end – if you mandated that any previously published work must have include a statement of such in the book’s description, along with the names of each previous version/author, as well as listing them as on the copyright page, as ethical publishers do. That they do not already disclose this information, that they use different names, rewrite the blurbs, change the covers and titles, it’s clear their intent is to mislead readers in hopes of selling book as new and netting more sales.
At what point does Amazon become complicit? You’re allowing this to continue, despite the fact that you’ve been made aware of the problem.
For a company that prides itself on providing stellar customer service, it appear in this situation, the ones you’re serving are scammers and cheats.
As before, I’ll be CCing this letter to RWA and I’m sending an additional report to the FTC through their online complaint system. I’ve also been in contact with another venue and I’ll be notifying them as well.
I urge you to take action—again—and this time, comprehensive action that will improve standards across the entire Kindle Unlimited platform, with specific mandates that will prevent content providers from rehashing recycled books and selling them as new solely with the intent to deceive readers and game the system.
Thank you,
Shiloh Walker