[Philip Gibson]

I have just received the following notification from KDP:

We found the following book(s) you've published doesn't meet the KDP Select content guidelines because it is available in digital format on another platform. Books enrolled in KDP Select must be exclusive to Amazon in digital format during the entirety of their enrollment in the program.

#Berlin45: The Final Days of Hitler's Third Reich (Hashtag Histories) (ASIN: B00EV7PG2K) is available on: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/berlin45-los-ultimos-dias-del-tercer-reich

In order for your book(s) to remain in the KDP Select program, we'll need you to ensure that it is exclusive to Amazon within 5 days from the date of this email. If, after this 5-day period, your book(s) is still not exclusive to Amazon, it will remain for sale in the Kindle Store but will be removed from KDP Select. Upon its removal, your book(s) will no longer be eligible to earn a share of the KDP Select fund.

But that is the Spanish version of the book, published through Babelcube. I don't want to lose the book's Select benefits at the moment and the book is also available in Portuguese, French and Hebrew translations. Other books in my series are currently being translated. I felt sure that foreign language versions are exempt from the exclusivity requirement.

Was I wrong?

Philip

 

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Write them back. It's a bot. They don't realize it is not the same book, but a translation. The reason you flagged is because your title is largely the same in all languages. Berlin45 is Berlin45.

 

[Philip Gibson]

Thanks so much Elizabeth. I don't know where I'd be without the stress relief provided by you and so many others here at KBoards.

 

[SBJones]

In my opinion, a translation is "substantially similar".  Also if you have sold translation rights, that could be a violation as well.  As it states that you cannot give or sell the rights to reproduce your book either.

Regardless, if they say it's fine.  You will most likely find yourself in the same situation when the bot sniffs the book again.

 

[Kirkee]

Dagnabbit! This is exactly why I got out of Select & KU.
Am hoping Elizabeth is right, though.

 

[Philip Gibson]

In my opinion, a translation is "substantially similar". Also if you have sold translation rights, that could be a violation as well. As it states that you cannot give or sell the rights to reproduce your book either.

Regardless, if they say it's fine. You will most likely find yourself in the same situation when the bot sniffs the book again.

"Substantially similar"?

Now I'm confused. Where does that term come from? I thought the translated versions were considered as completely different books. Anyway, I have replied to the "bot" and will see what it, or its supervisor, says.

As I understand my agreement with Babelcube, I retain all rights to my books - both the English versions and the translated versions.

 

[cinisajoy]

Hey Philip,
Even if you aren't in Select, you can still sell your books on Amazon.  The only differences I see are no free days and no borrows.    For what it is worth, I think your books should be wide.

 

[Monique]

I would be shocked if translations were allowed under Select's exclusivity requirement.

 

[SBJones]

"Substantially similar"?

Now I'm confused. Where does that term come from? I thought the translated versions were considered as completely different books. Anyway, I have replied to the "bot" and will see what it, or its supervisor, says.

As I understand my agreement with Babelcube, I retain all rights to my books - both the English versions and the translated versions.

1 Exclusivity. When you include a Digital Book in KDP Select, you give us the exclusive right to sell and distribute your Digital Book in digital format while your book is in KDP Select. During this period of exclusivity, you cannot sell or distribute, or give anyone else the right to sell or distribute, your Digital Book (or a book that is substantially similar), in digital format in any territory where you have rights.

"Substantially similar" is the wording KDP uses in the terms of service when you agree to enroll in the Select program. Substantially similar is not defined nor are any examples given in the FAQ that I could find. I am not Amazon, I simply stated that in my opinion substantially similar qualifies as a translation. They are the same story are they not? This is also the phrasing used against people who try to bundle select books and sell them elsewhere or publish a different edition elsewhere and remain in select. Like an editors cut, or platinum edition.

You can ask them about translations and let us know their response. But you are not the first to have this problem, nor will you be the last.

 

[CoraBuhlert]

A translation is generally considered a completely different book, because the text is completely different. Of course, it might turn out that Amazon still considers translations to be a violation of their Select terms (and given how bizarre some of those terms are, I wouldn't put it beyond them), but it doesn't make any intuitive sense at all.

I agree with Elizabeth and suspect that Amazon's bots picked up on the identical titles without realising that the book in question was in a different language.

 

[Edward Giordano]

I ask JF Penn of the creative penn this question exactly and she said that the translated book was completely different.

 

[Elizabeth Ann West]

It's like paperback vs ebook in terms English vs German. Foreign rights of a title are separate from the primary language of the text. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the Select contract regarding "and all foreign versions" for a book. But, it's also Amazon's sandbox.

 

[Philip Gibson]

The book has been cleared to remain in Select.

I had been reconciled to going wide with the book should it have been removed. But then, I would have lost all those nice borrows and (perhaps more importantly) the increased visibility gained by appearing on the first pages of several Select/KU-only lists. I have found that when my books rank highly on those lists, sales (not only borrows) increase and when the books fall down those lists, both sales and borrows decrease rapidly. So I keep a close eye on those lists and do what I can to maintain high visibility there.

Here is Amazon's quick response after I pointed out that the book was a Spanish translation and therefore not in breach of their exclusivity requirement:

Hello,

Thank you for your response and for the information provided about your title.

The following book will continue to be available in KDP Select:

#Berlin45: The Final Days of Hitler's Third Reich (Hashtag Histories) (ASIN: B00EV7PG2K)

If you have any further questions about KDP Select visit:
kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/contact-us

Thanks for publishing with Amazon KDP.

Best Regards,

Adam B
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.

Philip