Why Relying On Amazon KDP As Your Single Source of Income Is Financially Irresponsible
As an entrepreneur and a lifelong learner at heart, I’m always looking for new avenues to invest my time and resources. In April 2024, I decided to purchase an Amazon KDP account with some self-published books that were profitable and generating positive monthly cashflow.
For a whole year, I just sat on it, letting the idea of self-publishing marinate. It wasn’t until April 2025 that I finally took the plunge and joined an Amazon KDP self-publishing course for beginners. I was ready to dive deeply into the world of digital publishing by learning everything from scratch.
However, within just six months of active learning and participation, the rose-tinted glasses came off. I immediately started seeing pretty alarming issues being reported within the self-publishing community. Having scaled two online businesses to seven figures from scratch in the last two decades, my pattern matching mind and business experience immediately kicked in and noticed some red flags.
A quick search online would reveal the same pattern across the board.
Amazon KDP Account Termination
The recurring nightmare for countless self-publishing authors on Amazon KDP? Sudden account termination.
Amazon can—and frequently does—terminate accounts for a wide array of reasons. I watched authors lose their entire livelihoods over basic things from the inability to verify their identity, alleged review manipulation, accidental copyright violations, unusual eBook downloading patterns, and everything in between.
What is truly alarming about these terminations is the cold, corporate reality: Amazon does not owe you an explanation as to why. Their Terms of Service state this clearly and definitively:
“We are entitled to terminate this Agreement and your access to your Program account or suspend your Program account at any time if we have concerns with your account, or activity relating to your account, or if you are in breach of applicable laws or this Agreement.”
This sweeping, vague clause gives them total control and leaves authors entirely in the dark and at Amazon’s mercy.
To be completely transparent, my account has not been terminated at the time of this writing. But observing this environment was a massive wake-up call for me. The increasing use of AI and automated flagging systems by Amazon KDP puts any self-publisher who is completely reliant on Amazon KDP for their income on incredibly unstable financial ground. An automated bot can mistakenly flag your account, and your income stream vanishes overnight without human review.
Ask yourself: what is the #1 rule of investments? Any financial advisor will tell you — Diversify your portfolio by spreading the risk across multiple investment areas.
Don’t get me wrong. Amazon KDP can be an incredibly lucrative business to be in and you can make a lot of money from it.
And If you treat your self-publishing endeavor like a true business, you must understand that your books are your assets and intellectual property. Just like any valuable asset, you cannot afford to keep them all in one unpredictable basket.
This stark realization is a massive part of the reason why I want to diversify away from Amazon KDP. The books I create are my assets, and I also want them distributed outside of the Amazon ecosystem to ensure long-term security.
I knew I wasn’t the only author looking for a safety net and broader horizons. This is exactly why I decided to team up with industry experts to form Bookadillo – A book production to marketing ecosystem that scales your self-publishing business. We build your brand, maximize your customer lifetime value and position you for growth.
Our mission is simple but crucial: to help people market and sell their books outside of Amazon. By building independent sales channels and diversifying your distribution.
Bookadillo is dedicated to giving control back to the creators.
Don’t wait for an automated termination email to realize the importance of expanding your reach. Protect your assets, diversify your income, and take control of your publishing business today.
Disclosure: As an advisor to the team at Bookadillo, I don’t have access to client accounts or information and I’m unable to answer any client related questions. if you have questions specific to entrepreneurship and/or self-publishing You can reach me through our contact form.
