(This post has been updated. See below.)
I received an email this morning announcing that Kobo has removed all books uploaded through Draft2Digital from their store. This affects the complete version of The Baker’s Wife, which I uploaded through D2D as a tester of their service.
Sure enough, when I checked the books of mine they had available, the complete version of The Baker’s Wife is nowhere to be seen. (Neither is part three, but that’s a different issue.)
D2D says they don’t know why Kobo has done this. In the email they sent, they speculated as to a reason, but I don’t feel I should pass along anything less than a confirmed fact. All I know so far is that the one book I uploaded through them isn’t there. I have no idea when it will return.
In the meantime, there are other outlets you can use to download a copy listed on the My Books page. If this continues for any length of time, I will likely try going direct through Kobo, instead of using a third-party. We’ll see. I’ll update this post as I learn more.
While I’m here, I might as well explain how things have been, since blogging in general has taken a backseat.
- Work on the first part of the second volume in the Trial of the Ornic series is progressing slower than I expected. However, it is progressing, which is nice.
- The deadline for Lady Fair is still looking good, though I may end up changing the title. Not sure. (Any suggestions, based on the little blurb on the My Books page, are welcome.)
- It took quite a while to figure out how to make a decent book in Scribus without pulling out my hair. It’s very non-intuitive, but it’s also (now that I’m getting the hang of it) more powerful than I expected. And fun. Still not sure of all the details I want to put into it, or how nice I want it to look, but it’s looking pretty good as it is. Point? Things are progressing on a POD version of Shining Armor.
Everything else has kind of taken a back seat, including this blog. For that, I apologize. I should be back on schedule soon with more excerpts and a Halloween-themed short story.
Update: (10/14/13) I researched a little and found that, according to media outlets, Kobo is doing a mass take-down of self-published titles. The news makes it sound like only erotica is affected, but The Baker’s Wife is NOT erotica. In fact, I would say the series tends toward fantasy with a strong romance, and the romance? Not even close to spicy.
I’m not thrilled with the way they reacted, but I can see why. Here are a couple of links regarding what’s been going on.
WH Smith takes website offline after porn e-book scandal (They get their content from Kobo.)
A thread on the KBoards regarding titles missing from Kobo. Some of the people say they went direct, some through Smashwords, and some from D2D.
I’ll be monitoring Twitter for the next bit, in between bouts of writing. If more info comes up, I’ll update again.
Update: (10/15/13) Got an email from D2D confirming their speculation: Kobo removed the books in response to the uproar referenced above.
What’s frustrating is that The Baker’s Wife is NOT erotica. It’s not even a spicy romance. It’s fantasy with a very strong romantic element.
Amy Keeley 