The Care and Keeping of Your Author

We’re all book-lovers here, obviously. Reading is in your blood, you need it to keep you warm and alive. And you naturally have at least one favorite author whose words sing to your soul. The one you buy from not because you like the sound of the blurb, or the look of the cover, but because she’s simply released a new book. She is your author, and she is preorder-worthy!

But, what if, when your author’s latest book arrives on your Kindle, you excitedly open to the first page and see the following words: “If you’re reading this, then Amazon sent you a placeholder, not your book. Please contact Amazon and alert them to this problem, and ask them to send you your book ASAP.” Or you discover that you’ve received a rough draft of the book. Or just the first chapter?

Example of an actual Placeholder from Anna Santos

What happened? What does this mean?

Sadly, it means you, and your author, are the victims of a serious glitch in Amazon’s preorder system.

How did this colossal screw-up happen? Here’s a quick explanation of the book loading process for preorders: 

1.     When your author creates a preorder for her new book, Amazon requires her to upload a file. Any file. It could be your author's shopping list, they just don't care. This temporary file is called the Placeholder File.

2.     Your author must replace the Placeholder File with the final Book File by a specific date prior to the book's release. This date is set by Amazon. 

3.     Amazon will work its techno-magic and distribute the Book File to the preorder readers on release day. The Placeholder File will disappear, presumably into oblivion. In theory.

Here's the problem: Step three has not been consistently happening recently. Somewhere along the line, Amazon's system is failing to replace the Placeholders with the Books, leaving readers with...well, "shopping lists". 

Here's another problem: Readers get pissed (and rightfully so!) and will 1-star the book (not so great!). 

I'm begging you, if you are a reader and this happens to you, please do not 1-star the book! This only hurts your author. The one person who is as pissed as you are, and is fighting for you so you can get the copy of the book you bought and paid for.

But, don’t worry. Here’s what you can do to help your author:

1.     Contact Amazon immediately and let them know about the problem, and that you would very much like to have your book, please.

2.     Send your author an email, post, or PM of support, because she's probably crying and banging her head against her keyboard, because...Amazon.

3.     Once you do get the book and have read it, leave a positive review. This may make your author cry some more, but it'll be for good reasons.

Could your author have failed to upload the final Book File in time? Possibly. It could happen, but it's highly unlikely. There are penalties for that—namely your author's reputation. Also, the abrupt spike in these occurrences points to a system-wide glitch, not a bunch of authors suddenly being lazy.

Fact: 100% of legitimate authors will pull the plug on a project rather than hang their readers out to dry.

Feel free to share this blog! Help educate other readers who may not understand how the system works. So many fabulous authors are being erroneously blamed for something they have no control over, including your author.

(This is a revised edition of a blog I wrote on my personal blog. Why the duplication? Because this. Is. Important!)

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USA Today Bestselling Author, Lea Kirk, loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her sci-fi romances. When she’s not busy writing about the blue and green aliens of her Prophecy series, she’s hanging out with her hubby, five kids (the nerd herd), and spoiled Dobie mix puppy.

She is currently working on two short stories and the fourth book in her series.

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