Amazon ranking issue update

Well, according to Publisher’s Weekly, Amazon Says Glitch To Blame for “New” Adult Policy.

Personally, I don’t think think it was a glitch based on the very specific genre of books that were stripped of searches and rankings. I’d like to see a better explanation, but I’m pleased that they’ve backtracked their position and claim to be working on the glitch.

As of tonight, none of the Sydney Croft books have rankings. Nor does Sydney Croft show up on a search under All Departments. We’ll see how quickly that changes. As I said earlier, I adore Amazon – I call myself the 1-click queen. I use Prime and Associates and it’s a rare day that goes by that the UPS man doesn’t deliver an Amazon package here. I think that’s why this was so disappointing.

When I started writing, I got a lot of snide comments about ‘trashy romance novels.’ I still do – even from people who are my (non-writer) friends. Of course, I’m not as close to them as I was because of the constant comments of this nature. When I began writing erotic romance with Larissa as Sydney, things got worse. I had family members who said things like, I’m embarrassed to say I’m related to her, while admitting that they’d read the entire book.

Whatever. I expect that. I’m thick-skinned about it. But to have another major retailer – one that had always been fair and, dare I say, welcoming, to my erotic romance titles, turn and do this makes me very wary. And I’m once again thankful for the internet and the way the romance and other communities jumped on this. I know it made me feel very supported and a lot of my writing buds felt the same way.

Hopefully it’s over. Hopefully. And thank you to my readers for jumping on this and emailing Amazon and joining the fray. You guys are awesome.

6 Comments

Tori Lennox on April 13, 2009 at 2:39 am

I just did a search (at 1:40am Central) and Sydney Croft still doesn’t come up on a search.

Amazon has gotten too big for its britches, to coin a phrase.

Melissa on April 13, 2009 at 11:51 am

As far as I’m concerned Amazon wouldn’t be so huge if it wasn’t for readers like us….we built them because we liked what they were. To change what they were, let alone to censor books, is to tell me they no longer want to do business with me.
I hope they fix this…glitch, policy, whatever…and make public ammends to all the authors like yourself they’ve offended.

Janice on April 13, 2009 at 3:26 pm

I personally like “trashy Romance” novels. I devor them and shame on anyone who puts you or anyone else down for enjoying them. (My parents would have messed their pants if they had seen my reading material when I was 12)!
Amazon execs are fools to think that it wouldn’t matter to its customers.
I hope its fixed quickly.

Stephanie Tyler on April 13, 2009 at 9:11 pm

Tori, Syd comes up on the main page but it’s waaaaay down. And still no rankings.

Melissa, so far they’re offered the glitch apology (which, yeah, I can’t buy the glitch at all – I think maybe more books than they intended got caught up in all of it, forcing their hand)…but it stinks for both authors and readers, you know?

*waves to Janice* Agreed, totally. It’s just amazing how people can think nothing of saying certain things, you know? I’d never in a million years trash someone’s job. I don’t get it. I adore romances and think the world would be a better place if everyone read them! And, with the recession, it appears that more people are turning to them 🙂

Melissa on April 14, 2009 at 2:27 am

Sharing the email I got in reply to my email to Amazon telling them how pissed I was about the policy change:
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles – in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon’s main product search.

Many books have now been fixed and we’re in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.

Thanks for contacting us. We hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.com

Note: this e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.

Hopefully it will all be corrected quickly!! Sounds like they’ve taken the easy way out and found a scape goat………

MaryBeth on April 14, 2009 at 8:32 am

Steph,
You know all of Lily’s Aunties are so proud of you and your books! I personally always eagerly await Stephanie Tyler’s and Sidney Croft’s new books. I always recommend your books to my friends and customers every chance I get. More books sold = private jet!
Love,
Auntie MaryBeth

Tori Lennox on April 13, 2009 at 2:39 am

I just did a search (at 1:40am Central) and Sydney Croft still doesn’t come up on a search.

Amazon has gotten too big for its britches, to coin a phrase.
Melissa on April 13, 2009 at 11:51 am

As far as I’m concerned Amazon wouldn’t be so huge if it wasn’t for readers like us….we built them because we liked what they were. To change what they were, let alone to censor books, is to tell me they no longer want to do business with me.
I hope they fix this…glitch, policy, whatever…and make public ammends to all the authors like yourself they’ve offended.
Janice on April 13, 2009 at 3:26 pm

I personally like “trashy Romance” novels. I devor them and shame on anyone who puts you or anyone else down for enjoying them. (My parents would have messed their pants if they had seen my reading material when I was 12)!
Amazon execs are fools to think that it wouldn’t matter to its customers.
I hope its fixed quickly.
Stephanie Tyler on April 13, 2009 at 9:11 pm

Tori, Syd comes up on the main page but it’s waaaaay down. And still no rankings.

Melissa, so far they’re offered the glitch apology (which, yeah, I can’t buy the glitch at all – I think maybe more books than they intended got caught up in all of it, forcing their hand)…but it stinks for both authors and readers, you know?

*waves to Janice* Agreed, totally. It’s just amazing how people can think nothing of saying certain things, you know? I’d never in a million years trash someone’s job. I don’t get it. I adore romances and think the world would be a better place if everyone read them! And, with the recession, it appears that more people are turning to them 🙂
Melissa on April 14, 2009 at 2:27 am

Sharing the email I got in reply to my email to Amazon telling them how pissed I was about the policy change:
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles – in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon’s main product search.

Many books have now been fixed and we’re in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.

Thanks for contacting us. We hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.com

Note: this e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.

Hopefully it will all be corrected quickly!! Sounds like they’ve taken the easy way out and found a scape goat………
MaryBeth on April 14, 2009 at 8:32 am

Steph,
You know all of Lily’s Aunties are so proud of you and your books! I personally always eagerly await Stephanie Tyler’s and Sidney Croft’s new books. I always recommend your books to my friends and customers every chance I get. More books sold = private jet!
Love,
Auntie MaryBeth