I know there's some other self-publishers among conspiracy.win readers who are using Amazon's KDP/CreateSpace self-publishing platform. I had an EXTREMELY upsetting experience with Amazon/KDP that everyone who relies on Amazon for sales should know about, regardless of whether or not one publishes with Amazon/KDP.

It's also worth noting, Amazon has a history of copying people's product ideas, manufacturing a look-alike, and crushing the original person's sales. Amazon is not REMOTELY an honest company with everyone's best interests at heart, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if the experience I just had wasn't because of some deeper shenanigans on Amazon's part. Is Amazon/KDP hijacking authors' works somehow?

Or does Amazon target self-publishers with views outside the mainstream narrative? I had a previous experience with search terms to a previous book suddenly not working after spending a weekend on political activism. With their infrastructure and size, Amazon inconveniencing or outright hassling users with inconvenient or incorrect political views leads to a stochastic effect of those views being overall restricted as those users have less time or resources to support or prosyletize wrong-think. Given Amazon/KDP is mucking about with not updating edits, how can anyone be sure Amazon/KDP isn't making stealth edits of their own with politically charged works?

I have a book published thru KDP. I edited one word; a credit to someone's name. So, pretty stinkin' important, right? The edit was approved. I can see it in preview mode on my KDP account. I ordered AUTHOR copies, thinking AUTHOR copies would be up-to-date. I had plans to leave today on a road trip to market the books.

Stupid fucking me.

Amazon/KDP sent copies of the old version.

Rather dismayed and very angry, I contacted Amazon/KDP. “Ganesh” pretty much told me I was S.O.L. until the printed stock of the old edition ran out. However, I've done 3 prior edits to this book, ordered AUTHOR copies, and had no prob. That doesn't seem to matter to “Ganesh”.

So... If you are a self-publisher with Amazon, be warned you might not be able to get an accurate copy of your own fucking book. And, according to “Ganesh” there's not a fucking thing you can do. Except, I guess, buy out the old print run...

Every content creator should be dismayed. Whether or not there's an innocentn inherent sloppiness in Amazon/KDP's ability to distribute authors' work or something more malicious and targeted going on behind the scenes, self-publishers on Amazon/KDP should be alarmed and concerned that their audiences aren't getting the work readers intend to buy when orders are placed.

Anyone who links to or relies in any way on Amazon infrastructure for their website's sales should be concerned, as well.

I'm looking at other self-publishing platforms and will be moving content ASAP. Any suggestions?

also, Epstein didn't kill himself.

also, also, if you haven't seen it, this is a GREAT way to spend a Sunday afternoon. totally unrelated to this post, but, still...