Amazon Publishing Library

I am giving my team a 2, for many reasons.

I employed AMZ in late November 2023 to publish and promote my new book. I am a second time author and first time "publisher."

With a "Ton" of promises I paid $2,700 for the publishing, website, marketing for 3 months and a laundry list of promises.

As the process evolved the project manager came to me with extra charges that could not be avoided. Charges such as web hosting. I use a web hosting service for my business that costs me $12 a month, AMZ's price was over $100 a month. Is my website being seen by anyone, no. Is there marketing to push my website, I paid for it, no.

The team suggested a trailer. It was included in my original purchase. I did the voice over then provided the video for the trailer, they changed it. They created their own version and I had to insist that they went back to what I wanted.

Upon completion of the trailer I asked where it would be seen? If I did a search on AMZ for a thriller (which is a category my book might fit into) I would see trailers from other authors. I then paid to have my trailer on those pages. It still hasn't shown up and it is 2 months later.

Then I opened one of my competitors books and their trailer showed up on their home page, this was January 15 when my marketing began. I have yet to see any evidence that the marketing I am paying for is showing up anywhere. I asked what it would cost to put my trailer on my home page, they gave me a price, I paid for it, that was 2 months ago and they still have not figured out how to get it on my home page.

Then they insisted I do pay per click to get noticed. So I pay $500 a month and a search for thrillers, mystery got me to page 30 before giving up as I did not see my book in 30 pages. What am I paying for? And, why? If it's not being seen in the first few pages it's not worth it.

So then they told me I should try directed marketing and that launched last week, where? I still cannot find any evidence of that either.

I know the 5 people who ordered my book. Yeah, 2 months of advertising and it hasn't reached a single buyer. Not one! What am I paying for? Why am I paying anything.

I am not directing people to a website no one will ever find, why am I paying for a website?

Then I reread the first chapter and found a typo that wasn't even a word. The editor didn't even find a misspelling of a word that isn't a word. When I asked for it to be fixed they wanted to charge me $600 for that.

This is a vanity press who charges over $14,000. In my case for services I already accomplished as an independent author.