DEMONI VANKIL is being published!
The book is complete. It's time the world has a chance to read it now...
Here I was, thinking once I was done revising or writing a book, that I could, in fact, publish it. I’ve done it before. Dozens of times. Yet since completing Demoni Vankil and working closely with Höbin, the strangest barriers keep popping up.
If I were on schedule, as I’d prefer to be, I’d be posting the first chapter of the Chronicles series today. Looks like it will be another week, maybe two, before this can take place. Instead, I’m engaged in conversations with Amazon, trying to prove that I have the right to publish this book.
No, seriously, Amazon is challenging me, the copyright owner, on this.
[pauses to laugh, yet again, at the absurdity of the thing…]
The Setup
For the past two weeks I’ve worked hard to get all the files, the artwork and the ‘meta’ ready for Demoni Vankil to be launched today.
Yes,…it was supposed to be today. That was my hope and plan.
The sales options are pretty much the same as they’ve always been. For digital versions of the book, I’ll have the best options (pricing & extras) under my own control (take THAT, Amazon) using my Payhip and Ko-Fi shops. These also allow me to sell special versions of the printed materials…and Höbin will explain that soon. The paperback option is usually done though Amazon KDP, even though there are other options like Vervante (a brilliant POD service less than 20 miles from my home), but I am more interested in arms length fulfillment and fewer headaches.
I’m interested in writing for you, not becoming a warehouse or mailing division of my own company.
Hardback books will be through Ingram Spark, and though I would like to have them sold through Amazon, Höbin is pushing for our hands-on approach. All of these options, of course, will be made available through Life of Fiction AND WantedHero.com via links.
So what’s the problem?
The Email
I got this late last night from Amazon:
Hello,
During our review, we found that your book contains interior and/or cover content that’s available from a different publisher. We need you to confirm your publishing rights before the book is made available on Amazon.
Demoni Vankil by Luckyfeller, Höbin (AUTHOR); Buckley, Jaime (EDITOR) (ID: 55980831)
To publish the book(s), reply to this email and send documentation and/or verification showing you hold rights to the content. Please submit any documents you have, along with an explanation of any previously published books within 5 days. If we do not receive the appropriate documentation, the book(s) will be unavailable for sale on Amazon.
Acceptable documentation may include:
A letter from the previous publisher reverting rights back to the author
A signed copy of the agreement between you and the author
A signed copy of the agreement between the author and the previous publisher
A signed letter from the previous publisher indicating that they do not object to your edition
Documentation showing the previous publisher holds nonexclusive rights
Examples of documentation we cannot accept include:
A personal statement by you that you have the publishing rights
A copyright application for which registration has not been confirmed
Contracts that have not been signed by all parties
Ghostwriter agreements or contracts
Private Label Rights documents
If you have questions or believe you've received this email in error, reply to this message.
Thanks for using Amazon KDP.
Huh.
That was…weird.
My Response
After I laughed so hard I cried, I prepped a response. Here’s my reply email:
To Whom It May Concern,
First I’d like to say "Thank You" for reaching out and being attentive to these kind of details. I know you’ve asked ME to explain this situation, but the fact that someone could have done this TO me, and you caught it, makes me smile.
There is no issue with switching publication companies for this book. I, Jaime Buckley, hold all the copyrights exclusively to this book and everything pertaining to it, as you can see if you compare the two editions (copyright page).
I also personally own both publication companies.
To help explain, I’ve attached screen shots from my state of Utah ‘entity search’ website.
My previous company On The Fly Publications did not provide the confidence I’d hoped, so a new DBA was created to take its place: Perspicacious Publishing.
If you look at the screen shots, you’ll notice they are both owned by me, and that one was not renewed (On The Fly). The 'Registered Agent' on both companies is me.
All of the books I previously published are being rewritten and RE-published under this new company name. If you would place a note attached to my Amazon KDP account about this, so future problems can be avoided, I’d appreciate that.
This new version of Demoni Vankil is also being published under the fictional name of Höbin Luckyfeller (a character from the actual book). I have placed my name as the ‘Editor’ on this addition, instead of the author. Fans have grown to love this character, so publishing under his name seemed creative and wise. The copyright and registered ISBN are under my personal name, so ownership can’t be disputed.
So all the information is valid. I hold all exclusive rights to publish Demoni Vankil and I hold all exclusive ownership to both publishing companies. On The Fly Publications has been dissolved and no longer exists legally. I plan to publish through Perspicacious Publishing from this point forward.
There are no contracts to show as I own everything and have no need for permission from myself…nor can I get a ‘signature’ from Höbin, as he is a fictional gnome from my fantasy series.
Please let me know if you have any other issues.
Thank you again, for being so attentive to matters like this. If it wasn’t me that was republishing my books, I would be so grateful that you caught this!
Publication Launch Date
I…haven’t received a reply from Amazon yet. I am stuck…at least on the printed paperback version. Which doesn’t surprise me, so I’ll move forward without them. That was the whole purpose of moving to Substack in the first place, right?
Right.
The digital version is ready now. If you’d like a deep discount, I’ve set the WoM (word of mouth) marketing to provide a 10% discount, and if you recommend a friend, you both get 20% off your purchase!
The paperback proofs are scheduled to be delivered to my home by the 13th of September. Once I know the paperback version is good, I’ll launch those and then proceed to the hardback books. Audio books are still a bit down the road, though that’s also in motion.
The "official" publication launch date is September 22nd, 2023.
You can get whatever digital version you prefer for your eReader by visiting the Demoni Vankil page, but if you’d like to go to Höbin’s ‘Official’ book page, you can find it over at WantedHero.com.
….the rest of the good news (or just news, depending on Amazon and what has to be figured out), will be revealed here, on the 22nd!
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Woohoo! \o/
Hah! Amazon makes truth stranger than fiction...but I agree with your comments to them. It would be quite easy for someone to steal another's work in the self-publishing world. Amazon makes it relatively easy, and if there were no one keeping an eye on it, it would fall entirely to you, the copyright holder, to catch stuff like this. It's nice to know that there are others gates being guarded, at least nominally.