I received an email from an author last week asking why he never received his “royalties” for a Kindle “gift” ebook he bought for someone. It was his own book and he had documentation proving he’d purchased the ebook version from Amazon. I checked Amazon’s reports and they didn’t show the sale for that month.

I wrote to Amazon and the author was not happy with their response.

When you purchase a Kindle ebook as a “gift” for someone, the recipient does not need to accept your “gift.” Instead, they can redeem it for an Amazon.com gift card instead, and then purchase whatever they want. You do NOT earn a commission/royalty from Amazon when that happens.

The author had purchased a copy of his Kindle ebook for a book reviewer. The “gift” recipient (book reviewer) apparently never accepted the “gift” ebook. It appears he obtained an Amazon.com gift card instead. Free money! He even wrote to the author, discussing the book…but he could have simply researched some of the book’s text using Amazon’s free excerpt for the book.

Apparently, the author was hoodwinked. Now, you might think this is similar to a person returning a gift for cash from the store…except this wasn’t that type of “gift.”

Not only did the author throw away his money buying a copy of his own ebook but he then didn’t earn any of it back in the form of a commission from Amazon.

I told the author BookLocker.com gives authors free copies of their ebook files and that he can send those to future reviewers. We never force authors to buy copies of their own ebooks. Sadly, some ebook publishers require authors to buy their own ebooks. BookLocker.com does NOT. It’s your book. You paid to have it formatting and converted. You should be able to send it wherever you please!

So, if you are sending “gift” copies of your Kindle ebooks to reviewers, you may actually be sending those reviewers free cash instead, in the form of Amazon gift cards. We recommend sending your ebook file to them directly instead of purchasing a “gift” ebook from Amazon.

If you are giving away your book as holiday gifts, you may want to send your friends and relatives print copies instead.

Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy

BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks

ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750

ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelahoy/

Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE