Self-pub Nightmare

This is what I feared. Something going wrong at the last minute. My debut novel was scheduled for release today, but that is in jeopardy.

This is what I feared. Something going wrong at the last minute. My debut novel was scheduled for release today, but that is in jeopardy. I received this email from Amazon last night:

We checked your files and found issues you need to fix before your book can be published on KDP:
Cover
  • Resize your front cover so that the image or background on the front cover extends far enough beyond the edge. Add an extra 0.125″ (3.2 mm) along the top, bottom, and sides of your cover. This prevents manufacturing issues when the cover is trimmed.
  • Resize your back cover so that the image or background on the back cover extends far enough beyond the edge. Add an extra 0.125″ (3.2 mm) along the top, bottom, and sides of your cover. This prevents manufacturing issues when the cover is trimmed.

But I ordered my proof months ago and it’s perfect. As a self-published author, Amazon doesn’t give the option to list print books for pre-order, which would have helped me avoid this problem. Little Big Brother has been advertised for May 13 from the beginning, and one thing I struggled with was when to actually click publish on Amazon. It can take up to 2 days for a book to be made available after clicking publish. Click too early and it’s released before the advertised date, meaning it’s not synced with your promotion and could cost you sales and rankings depending on how early. Click too late and it’s not available when you said it would be.

I’ve contacted Amazon and received this response:

As you are okay with the proof copy received about bypassing this error I’ve reached out to our Technical team to investigate this issue. I’ll contact you with more information within 2-3 business days.

At least the Kindle version is available.

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Author: Arsenio Franklin

Writer & depressed house husband.

One thought on “Self-pub Nightmare”

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