7 Reasons I Unpublished My First Novel: A Journey of Growth and Realization

Unpublish a book? But you worked so hard on it!

That’s the voice that pounds in my head each time I look at this beautiful book I wrote. I published my first novel in December 2021 with high hopes that it would be a success. And it aches me to let it go.

So why did I do it?

In this post, I’m going to talk about the very real reasons behind why I’m unpublishing and what I plan to do with this story in the future.

7 Reasons Behind Unpublishing My Novel

As I said, I published The Lost Pleiad in December 2021. This was intended to be a four book series too. It really is beautiful right?

Years after I published it, I didn’t stop learning how to hone my writing. The more I learned, the more I realized how much I should’ve done differently, which I know we all do with anything we create.

There is no denying that the cover is stunning and the layout looks as professional as what traditional publishers kick out. But what’s a good cover without a good story?

So below, here are the main reasons I ultimately chose to unpublish my book.

1. Too Much Unnecessary Information

The first 250 pages, as many people note in their reviews, drone on. And while, yes, I shouldn’t be deleting a whole book because of what reviewers say, they have a point. Even I am impatient to get to the point while reading what I wrote it.

One thing agents and publisher allegedly hate, are info dumps.

Info dumps happen when an author is trying to provide too much context right away which ends up stepping on the story’s momentum.

If you do that too much and too early on, it’s impossible to keep any reader interested. And if you can’t keep an agent interested, you might as well kiss your story goodbye.

There should be a healthy balance between show and tell, and something should be happening on every page. Each chapter should leave you with wanting more.

2. So Many Holes in The Story

The story started off with a clear vision. Girl feels lost in the world, girl has a revelation, girl finds out she’s alien, girl gives up boy to go to space to be with her family.

Okay cool! Then what? I had no clue.

As I was reading books like, “How to Write A Page Turner,” all I could think about was how unclear the end was.

By the time I decided the clear end picture, I knew I was going to have to contort this story in a whole new way to fill in those gaps. It was a lot of work ahead of me for the next three books, and I was prepared to do it, but I would still have to get people interested in the first book.

3. Poor Story Planning

I used Scrivener to write my current novel (which is way, way better start to a series).

In using the tool, I didn’t realize how many options were available within the tool to plan my story, develop my characters, and created an entire backlog of information that I could use in the following novels.

For The Lost Pleiad, I essentially shot from the hip, and created the story with no real planning, which isn’t always a bad thing, but for me, it didn’t turn out well.

There are some authors out there who are total pantsers and make it work. However, for many of is, we just need to do better at planning the beginning, middle, end, and overall goal of the story.

4. Lack of Understanding in Stages of Storytelling

Storytelling is a science. There are various studies and models on what makes a compelling story. These models all have a similar framework.

If you learn how to see each stepping stone of the framework, you’ll be able to notice them in greatest stories.

It wasn’t until after I published my book and started extending my learning that I discovered this framework and it’s importance. You can find it in “How to Write a Page Turner.”

5. Sucky Characters

Of all the people who read the book, I don’t think a single person but my mom loved it (and she’s biased because she loves me).

Not a single person came up to me and was like, I love these characters so much.

Why?

Because they have no depth. There is nothing about them that makes people root for them. They aren’t characters fan-fiction artists draw in their free time. They just suck.

In this novel I’m currently pitching, one thing my beta readers loved most where the characters, because I took the time to really develop them.

And let’s be honest, I think we all want to have artist like Madschofield drafting up a bunch of characters in honor of our hard work, right?

6. I Make $0 From Ingramspark

Perhaps my book sales are down because I don’t have the time to market like I should. With a full-time job, it really is a challenge, and I even have a heavy background in marketing.

My inability to do the marketing this deserves, likely results in little to no book sales. But Ingramspark, the place I distribute through doesn’t exactly help either.

In my time with Ingramspark, I have actually had to pay them money for books that were returned, even when I set them all to be destroyed. Turns out, there is one option, Global Connect, that doesn’t let you destroy them at all, so I had to eat a $200 cost for that one.

Ingramspark also recommends you sell your books at 55% wholesale discount so resellers will pick them up. This basically left me with mere dollars in profit after purchase and hiked the price of hardcovers up to $45.99.

And when I asked their support how to fix this, they gave me nothing to work with.

Some people report making $10,000 – $100,000 dollars in profit from Ingramspark, and truthfully, I don’t know how it’s possible.

7. You Can’t Publish as a Debut Author With an Already Self-Published Book

This was the ultimate nail in The Lost Pleiad’s purply coffin.

I was in a Q&A hosted by Senior Literary Agent at P.S. Literary, Carly Watters, and asked her if I could still be a “debut author” of my self-published book essentially flopped. Her short response was, “no.”

Additionally, she said:

“If it serves you in the long run, it [your book] should probably be taken down. Publishers like working with blank slates.” – Carly Watters, Senior Literary Agent, P.S. Literary

Turns out, there is far more merit in being a debut author than an author who self-published a book that flopped. Makes total sense.

At this point, I feel my current novel as so much potential, that it doesn’t make sense to keep my self-published book around, especially if it flopped and especially if it can jeopardize the success of future novels.

What Do You Do With Your Story After Unpublishing?

Thankfully, I don’t have to let this book go entirely, not according to Carly.

YES! There is hope for revising and publishing the story again in the future. So while this is definitely goodbye for now, I hope to revise the story and find it a different home in the future.

So, The Lost Pleiad story will not be finished if I have anything to saw about it.

Can You Unpublish a Book?

The worst part of this all, is knowing by beautifully sucky book was bought by people and is just floating around out there. Luckily, it’s only a few hundred people, but still.

But can you actually unpublish a book?

Yes, you can.

If you’re in platforms like KDP, you can only delete your books if you’ve never published them. It’s a weird feature I don’t understand, but it is what it is.

How Do You Unpublish a Book?

Depending on where you distribute your book, you can unpublish the book and mark it as unavailable for purchase. So here are brief steps on how to unpublish your book from certain platforms.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

1. Unpublish the Book:
   • Log in to your KDP account.
   • Go to your Bookshelf.
   • Click the ellipsis button (“…”) next to the book title and select “Unpublish.”
   • Confirm the unpublishing action.
2. Check Availability: Regularly check Amazon and other marketplaces to ensure the book is no longer available. If it still appears, contact KDP support to request a full removal.

Smashwords

1. Unpublish the Book:
   • Log in to your Smashwords account.
   • Go to your Dashboard.
   • Click on the “Unpublish” link next to the book title.
   • Confirm the unpublishing action.
2. Remove Distribution:
   • Make sure to disable distribution to partner stores (like Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.) in your Smashwords Dashboard.

Draft2Digital

1. Remove from Distribution:
   • Log in to your Draft2Digital account.
   • Go to My Books.
   • Click the “Remove from Distribution” button next to the book title.
   • Confirm the action.
2. Check Availability: Periodically check partner stores to ensure the book is no longer available. Contact Draft2Digital support if necessary.

Barnes & Noble Press

1. Unpublish the Book:
   • Log in to your Barnes & Noble Press account.
   • Go to My Projects.
   • Click the ellipsis button (“…”) next to the book title and select “Archive” or “Remove.”
   • Confirm the unpublishing action.
2. Check Availability: Monitor Barnes & Noble’s website to ensure the book is no longer available. Contact support if it still appears.

Apple Books

1. Remove from Sale:
   • Log in to your Apple Books account.
   • Go to My Books.
   • Click the “Remove from Sale” button next to the book title.
   • Confirm the action.
2. Check Availability: Check Apple Books periodically to ensure the book is no longer listed. Contact Apple Books support if it remains available.

Google Play Books

1. Remove from Sale:
   • Log in to your Google Play Books Partner Center account.
   • Go to the Book Catalog.
   • Click the book title to go to the book’s details page, then click on the “Remove from Sale” option.
   • Confirm the action.
2. Check Availability: Regularly check Google Play Books to ensure the book is no longer available. Contact support if needed.

BookBaby

1. Unpublish the Book:
   • Log in to your BookBaby account.
   • Go to your Dashboard.
   • Find the book you want to unpublish and select the option to unpublish or remove it from distribution.
   • Confirm the unpublishing action.
2. Remove from Distribution:
   • Ensure that the book is removed from all distribution channels, including partner stores.
3. Check Availability: Monitor various online stores to ensure the book is no longer available. Contact BookBaby support if necessary.

IngramSpark

1. Remove from Distribution:
   • Log in to your IngramSpark account.
   • Select “Support”
   • Ask Support to help you remove your titles from Ingramspark
2. Contact IngramSpark Support: Reach out to IngramSpark support to ensure that the book is removed from all partner stores and distribution channels.
3. Check Availability: Regularly check online retailers to confirm the book is no longer available for purchase. Follow up with IngramSpark if the book still appears.
4. Return Charges: Depending on how many copies you sold, you may be invoiced for any books returned after unpublishing. Distributors have 180 days to returned any unsold books and they can return them even if they’ve had them for years. Learn more about return charges here.

Additional Steps to Ensure Complete Removal

1. Contact Support: For each platform, contact customer support if the book is still available after unpublishing. Request a full removal from all listings and partner stores.
2. Monitor Aggregators: If your book was distributed through aggregators like IngramSpark or BookBaby, ensure that it is removed from their catalogs and all associated partner stores.
3. Search and Remove Listings: Regularly search for your book on various online stores and request removal from any sites where it appears.
4. Notify Readers: Inform readers that the book is no longer available and should not be purchasable from any source.

By following these steps and keeping a close eye on major platforms and partner stores, you can ensure your book is no longer purchasable on the internet.

Will My Book Still Be Visible On Amazon After I Unpublish?

After unpublishing a book, give it time to disappear from search engines, stores, and platforms. It might seem agonizing, but it’s how the internet works, unfortunately.

When you unpublish a book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), it typically becomes unavailable for purchase, but there are some nuances to be aware of:

1. Existing Purchases: Copies that have already been purchased will still be available to the customers who bought them. These readers can continue to access and download the book from their Kindle library.
2. Search Results: It may take some time for the book to be completely removed from Amazon’s search results and listings. Sometimes, metadata or cached pages might still show the book for a while even after unpublishing.
3. Product Page: The product page might remain visible, but it should indicate that the book is “unavailable” or “out of print.” This means that while the book can no longer be purchased, its page may still exist for a period of time.
4. Third-Party Sellers: If physical copies of your book were sold through Amazon (either through CreateSpace, which is now part of KDP, or other means), third-party sellers might still list and sell used copies. This is because these sellers have their own inventory, which Amazon does not control.

Keep all this in mind when unpublishing so you don’t panic during the process.

Unpublishing A Book: Embracing Growth and Looking Ahead

Unpublishing “The Lost Pleiad” was a tough but necessary decision. Each of the reasons I shared reflects my growth as a writer and my commitment to delivering stories that truly resonate with readers. Though it’s hard to let go of something I poured my heart into, I see it as a step forward in my writing journey.

For any writers considering unpublishing their work, remember that it’s not an end but a new beginning.

Embrace the opportunity to learn, grow, and come back stronger. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and stay tuned for more updates on my writing adventures.