Publishing Horror Stories: The Expensive Mistakes Authors Never See Coming

You hired help so publishing would feel easier. Instead, your Amazon listing disappears, your book ends up connected to the wrong author page, and suddenly nobody can figure out who actually owns the account. Sound dramatic? We wish it were rare.In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell pull back the curtain on the publishing disasters they keep seeing behind the scenes, many caused not by outright scams, but by freelancers, “experts,” and AI-generated advice that sounds confident while quietly breaking your publishing foundation. From KDP accounts set up incorrectly to authors losing access to their own metadata, royalties, and retail pages, we unpack the mistakes that can create months of cleanup and long-term visibility problems.We also talk about the growing role AI is playing in publishing confusion. ChatGPT and other tools can absolutely help authors brainstorm and streamline work, but publishing platforms evolve constantly, and outdated instructions combined with inexperienced providers can create expensive messes fast. Just because advice sounds polished does not mean it is current, strategic, or even correct.Most importantly, we explain how to protect yourself before problems happen. We cover the must-have ownership rules every author needs to know, the red flags that should immediately make you pause, the questions to ask before hiring anyone, and why retaining control of your Amazon infrastructure, website, and publishing assets is non-negotiable if you want a sustainable author career.If you want to avoid the publishing mistakes that cost authors time, money, rankings, and sanity, this episode is required listening.Send us your feedback!Help shape our 2026 content by taking our 30-second listener poll!📱Text Penny & Amy: send us your show feedback, burning marketing questions and new topic ideas! Text the word PODCAST to (888) 402-8940 to sign up to send us messages and receive new episode announcements. And don't forget to save our number!Check out our Book Marketing Jumpstart options if you're ready to take your brand, platform and SEO up a few notches.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Be sure you're following the show: by clicking the + Follow button on the top right of our show page. If you're already following you'll see a ↓ downward arrow.Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section.Rate the podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating.Write your review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears.Save: Once you've written your review, click "Save" to submit it. Can't use Apple Podcasts? Email us your review and we'll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert....