I published my first book with an Amazon division in 2004. Since then, my royalties have been sparse, and I’ve often suspected my sales reports did not reflect actual copies ordered.
Despite promoting my books through advertising and word-of-mouth, I consistently heard from readers who had purchased and read “Parental Controls,” yet their orders never appeared in my reports.
I never second-guessed Amazon — until now.
“Parental Controls,” a novel about Baby Boomers making decisions for elderly parents, gained attention through book signings, including events at Borders Books. Early royalties reflected those sales, but over time, they dwindled to pennies, mostly from Kindle reads.
Fifteen years later, I published my second book, “Hitting the Pavement: A Journalist’s Two-Year Memoir of Homelessness.” It received coverage from The Union-Tribune, yet my royalty reports remained disappointing, despite setting an affordable price for the people I interviewed.
Next, I published “Ages\Compared,” a unique memoir I co-wrote with my mother the summer before she passed. Each chapter compares our lives at the same age — her memories of a one-room schoolhouse and Doughboys returning from war juxtaposed with my recollections of Cold War-era Drop Drills.
Despite having a large family — nine children, 13 grandchildren, and countless great-grandchildren — Amazon has reported zero copies ordered in the five years since publication, aside from those I personally purchased.
One of my brothers, who received a copy, told me that our late brother, Chuck, considered it “the best book (he) ever read.” Yet, the rest of the family seemed uninterested.
Determined to reach more readers, I began promoting the book on Facebook. My first ad stated:
“Maybe your family will be interested in Ivy’s life story because hers isn’t! ‘Ages\Compared’ by Mrs. Ivy Mae Dykens-Hollins (with Faye Hollins-Moore) is available on Amazon. My mother and I wrote a memoir together, comparing our lives at different ages. Yet, not one of her nine children, 13 grandchildren, or numerous great-grandchildren has ordered a copy. Maybe your family will be interested.”
The response was immediate and overwhelming. Readers praised my mother’s writing, and thousands engaged with the post.
One common question was about the price. The book’s early photographs are in sepia tone, making full-color printing expensive. I could lower the cost by switching to black and white, but that would diminish its authenticity.
Another issue surfaced: people struggled to find the book on Amazon. The title “Ages\Compared” was mislisted as “Ages/Compared,” “AgesCompared,” and other incorrect formats, undoubtedly contributing to the lack of reported sales.
Over time, my Facebook promotions reached more than 56,000 people, yet Amazon’s report showed just one copy ordered. This discrepancy raised serious concerns.
On January 14, I posted about my ongoing frustration on social media, but Facebook quickly rejected this post, citing “deceptive or misleading business practices.” After requesting a second review, the ad was approved, and in just four days, it reached over 1,500 people.
Despite engagement numbers climbing — Facebook reported over 44,000 reached and 64,000 impressions — Amazon’s sales report remained unchanged. Repeated attempts to resolve the issue with Amazon have led to generic responses and transfers to different representatives. I’m repeatedly told that “impressive ad responses don’t always translate into sales.”
But the biggest roadblock remains Amazon’s failure to list the title correctly. Despite my explanations, “Ages\Compared” has never appeared as written. It is based on the principles of MS-DOS. “Ages” is the directory, “Compared” is the sub-directory, making “Ages\Compared” a pathname.
So, I watch Facebook’s engagement rise while Amazon’s reports stay static. As my father, a retired Engineer/Project Estimator for Hughes Aircraft, would say: “With odds like this, don’t take them to Vegas.”
Meanwhile, Meta/Facebook urges me to upgrade my advertising platform, citing my “consistent growth” and success with ads. I wish they’d pass the message along to Amazon.
This experience has taught me a hard lesson — never blindly trust the numbers. Question them at the time. It took me 20 years to realize this, and now, I may never know what my royalties should have been since 2004.
Faye Hollins-Moore is a playwright, author, former North County Times columnist and instructor who lives in Vista.
