Draft2DigitalReviews of draft2digital.com

I was extremely disappointed with my experience with Draft2Digital. After putting in significant effort to publish my work, my account was closed due to the classification of my submissions as low-content material. I was surprised by this decision, as I believed my content met the guidelines. If my books were indeed considered low-content, I believe it would have been more reasonable to simply not allow those specific titles to be published, rather than banning my entire account. The communication from their team was not helpful enough to clarify specific concerns or guide me on how to improve my submissions. Ultimately, I was left feeling frustrated and unsupported. I expected a more constructive and supportive experience from a platform that claims to assist authors. This situation has left me questioning whether Draft2Digital truly values the work of its contributors.

New client books uploaded fine then they started selling them Boom someone starts hacking and stopping my books publishing trying to tell me what to do with my books and coming up with ridiculous excuses. Books were already approved and selling. Please stop.

Draft2Digital, I am closing my writer's account with copyrights recognized by all other publishing houses, I have a Trilogy written by me as the author and I am printing the first two volumes and on the third volume they closed the account for copyright infringement, although they closed my account all 300 books written by me are still sold on Amazon. Draft2Digital is still collecting my income. I uploaded all 300 books to Lulu.com, for which my Draft2Digital account was closed.Avoid this company. They stole copyright by closing the abusive account. Their response was: it's my platform and I don't want to publish this book.

I wish I had read the reviews before trusting them. My experience confirms what many others say — arrogance, no transparency, and zero respect for authors. When a company shuts the door on dialogue and hides behind false accusations, it doesn’t just silence an author—it exposes its own lack of integrity. Authors, protect your work and your time — you deserve better. voices.

Draft2Digital and their Smashwords storefront have been the worst publishing experience I’ve ever had. Not only do they provide a clunky, outdated author platform, but their publishing practices is outright fraud. I lost my account thanks to their mishandling, and instead of support, I was met with extreme hostility. Their so-called “author support” will actually shut your account down preemptively if you ask the wrong question, interpret your words the wrong way, or raise concerns they don’t like. When they do that, they conveniently keep your royalties. I had even referred hundreds affiliated authors to them - which I was supposed to receive royalties for 2 years from. That is gone as well. There is zero author loyalty. If you’re publishing in erotica or romance, the treatment is even worse. Draft2Digital makes promises it doesn’t keep, creates unnecessary risk for your author business, and leaves you with no way to protect yourself when they pull the plug on your account. Smashwords used to be a viable option, but ever since the Draft2Digital takeover, the platform has gone steadily downhill. Payouts are questionable, the storefront is a mess, and authors are treated like disposable assets. This company should be criminally investigated. They are not trustworthy, not transparent, and not supportive of authors. ⚠️ Do not work with Draft2Digital. Do not trust Smashwords. Protect your career and avoid this fraudulent company.

Dishonest, money stealing 🐍

What on earth is going on here? Dozens of 1-star reviews within a few weeks? I have had an account with D2D for a bit over two years. I am also a book coach and a lot of my clients publish through D2D. They have the best customer service ever. What's more: 1.)Their page is very easy to navigate and transparent. 2.) Whenever I (or one of my clients) needed support with setting up their books, they were helped by a real human. It never took longer than 2 days for an answer. Yes, there is also a chatbot, which actually DOES a fantastic job, but it doesn't stop there. 3.) They actually do the formatting, so all you need is a word.doc or something similar to get your book on all platforms. 4.) as an international indie author myself (German) with clients and books in 5 languages, I particularly appreciate their reach onto important international platforms (such as Tolino in Germany or AdLibris for Sweden). 5.) Royalty Payments have always been transparent and on time. The amount of people review-bombing this site AND KDP for exactly the same reasons over just a few weeks makes me wonder whether Trustpilot has mechanisms in place to prevent this from happening. Sharing critical experiences honestly is important, but since the same is happening across multiple platforms smells of a smear campaign. For all authors wondering if they are about to be scammed when signing up with D2D: no, not at all. I vouch for them after two years of excellent experiences only. I am a real human, not a bot. I am not affiliated with Draft2Digital in any way, but felt the need to share my true experiences with an exceptional platform that I am very happy to continue to work with AND recommend.

🚨 THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN DRAFT2DIGITAL (2018–2025) ⚖️ 1. Unjustified Account Terminations “My account was deleted without explanation, and they kept my royalties.” Thousands of authors report instant or silent bans. No prior warning or detailed reason. Often triggered by automated flags or unverifiable identity (especially in Africa & Asia). Once terminated → all books removed, royalties withheld, and no appeal process. 📉 Effect: Total loss of author income and audience in one click. 🧩 Root cause: Automation + lack of human review. 💸 2. Withheld or Missing Royalties “They refused to disburse my $300. Said it was for KYC reasons.” Authors frequently report funds locked indefinitely. Payment delayed for months or permanently frozen. Excuses often include: “KYC verification pending” “Tax ID mismatch” “Account under review” 💰 Pattern: Funds usually small-to-medium ($100–$400 range). 🧾 Red flag: No transparent appeal or proof of wrongdoing. 🧠 3. Automated KYC & Tax Verification Failures “They rejected my ID five times for no reason.” System introduced mid-2023 → immediately backfired. IDs rejected for lighting, font, nationality, or “verification mismatch.” Some authors resubmitted 10+ times with no success. Support responds with form emails or silence. 🪪 Effect: Genuine authors blocked from payout or account access. 🧩 Root cause: Third-party KYC system (likely SumSub / Onfido) + poor integration. 📞 4. Support Silence & Robotic Replies “Customer service is dead. They just copy-paste replies.” Emails often unanswered for weeks or months. If answered, responses are templated and unhelpful. No escalation or live chat option. Post-merger, human response time dropped dramatically. 💀 Result: Authors feel abandoned, even in cases of lost income. 🧩 Root cause: Staff cuts after Smashwords merger + AI ticket sorting. 🪫 5. Racism / Regional Discrimination “They banned all African authors overnight. It’s pure bias.” Multiple cases (Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan, Morocco) where accounts were banned under vague “fraud” claims. Often simultaneous bans by region, not individual. No recovery process. 🚫 Effect: Entire continents lose publishing access. 🧩 Root cause: Risk-averse fraud filter → region-based blacklisting. 🧾 6. Unreliable Sales Reporting “Sales show up late or never appear at all.” Monthly reports frequently delayed or missing. Smashwords integration made tracking more confusing. Some authors claim months of zero sales → followed by a “catch-up” dump. No clear reconciliation between D2D and partner stores (Apple, Kobo, etc.). 🧩 Root cause: Poor synchronization between platforms post-merger. 📉 Impact: Loss of author confidence in financial transparency. 🧩 7. Merger Chaos (Draft2Digital + Smashwords, 2023–2024) “Everything broke after the merger — reports, payouts, formatting.” Two systems fused awkwardly: D2D accounts migrated to Smashwords backend. Authors lost book data or old dashboards. Royalty reports desynced for months. Support overwhelmed, most emails ignored. ⚙️ Root cause: Poor data migration + over-automation. 💥 Effect: Reputation collapse during merger transition. 🔐 8. Transparency and Trust Erosion “We don’t even know who’s behind decisions anymore.” No clear management communication. Authors not informed about system changes or bans. Policy updates silently appear after actions. Community forums closed or censored for complaints. 🧩 Root cause: Corporate opacity post-merger. 📉 Effect: Author community migrated to alternatives (PublishDrive, StreetLib, Kobo Writing Life).