Draft2DigitalReviews of draft2digital.com

Starting to pile on fees for just having an account and making it very difficult to close your account so you don't have to put up with the fees. Also had the nerve to ask authors if they would let them feed books into Ai. Pro Ai. Anti indie author! Avoid.

I published at smashwords which was absorbed by d2d. Loved it, loved smashwords founder Mark Coker. it was completely free for anyone. When d2d I noticed they are based in Oklahoma and wondered how long it would be before they decided to charge fees. It started with pay to watch help videos. AND NOW THEY DO! New accounts 20$ and a 12$ sales sub performance fee. They have done nothing more then smashwords ever did for me and ditched features that made smashwords better. And fees will spread to other things they consider are inconvienient for them now that they have broken that "free" window. They have killed smashwords and will now drive away authors until they think they can't make enough money and sell or merge to become a traditional vanity press cheating anybody they can out of money

They're introducing fees for existing and new customers (including those that they acquired from Smashwords). But they were shady about this. The email notifying users of this WASN'T titled, as you'd reasonably expect, "Introduction of fees", but the vague, "Important Updates to Your Draft2Digital Account". So they're clearly trying to hide the fact. The email compounds their poor customer care by making no mention of how to close an account, and there is no mention in the FAQs, Knowledge Base, or Terms of Service. You can't seemingly achieve it yourself in My Account, which is very surprising as every other major website allows you to request account closure without contacting customer care. So when you raise a ticket you are shown in big red-font, "Please note that our team is experiencing a high volume of inquiries at this time". Well, duh. You reap what you sow. The website is oddly very hard to use on a smartphone - it's displayed as if you were using a PC browser, so you have to keep zooming in and out to find what you want. I very basic UX error. Yes they have an app, but I don't want another app (especially if it's as badly designed as their website). It wasn't surprising when visiting Trustpilot to write this that I discovered that their rating was rock bottom even before the fee imposition. How did they have the guts to introduce a fee for such a terrible customer experience? Amazing, really.

First of all the Customer Service especially from this person named MARIA is the worst! The only good thing about this company is the free ISBN which honestly you can get on KDP or just buy it yourself. I wish I would have known more before I published my first book series on this platform. They do not care and they respond extremely rude, and callous especially Maria. Stay away at all cost. Also the royalties are so low you have to price your books so high to get anything in return. I will not publish with them choose Amazon or just pay for your own ISBN and work with Ingram directly.

After investing considerable time building my catalog on Draft2Digital, my account was permanently closed without warning or any opportunity to discuss the decision. The termination email contained threatening legal language that felt unnecessary and unprofessional. Communication throughout was impersonal — no last names, no phone number, and no path to speak with a real person. I never received a royalty payment despite having active titles and measurable click traffic through their Books2Read links. My advice to indie authors: research their content guidelines thoroughly before investing time in their platform, keep independent copies of all your files, and have a backup plan for your universal links. There are more transparent and author-friendly distribution options available.

I value transparency in publishing platforms, but my recent experience highlighted a major issue. I submitted a book that is already published on Amazon and has sold several copies. The book discusses the challenges of AI, explains how AI can be used as a tool rather than an author, and introduces new definitions for authorship based on my research. Despite providing evidence of authorship and links to my published articles, the company refused to publish it for one simple reason: the topic involves AI, and they stated that the market is “over‑represented.” In practice, this means their system automatically rejects certain topics regardless of originality or quality. I corresponded with the support team, but the decision was based on a blanket rule, not on the content itself. This is exactly the kind of false positive I have written about in my research, including How Editors, Native Speakers, and AI Can Help Migrant Writers Find Their Voice and The False Positive Epidemic: The Evidence Against AI Writing Detectors. If certain topics are automatically blocked, the platform should clearly state this on their website. It would save authors time, effort, and unnecessary confusion.

Draft2Digital rejected my AI-assisted books, which reflects a broader issue. AI is already producing high-quality work across industries - including music and writing. The focus should be on content quality, not the tools used. My books were edited and intentional, not mass-produced filler. The rejection feels based on outdated thinking about AI rather than a fair evaluation of the content. The platform itself was also tedious and difficult to use, which made the process unnecessarily frustrating. AI is part of modern creative work. Platforms need to adapt!

I uploaded one of my books to the platform, and they blocked it, claiming it’s PLR—meaning it’s not mine. I sent them a complaint email with the copyright registration certificate for my book, and they didn’t even respond. The unbelievable part is that they accepted this exact same book on their platform years ago without any issues. They don’t inspire trust, credibility, or professionalism. I have about 50 books, and I’m taking them elsewhere. One less customer. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)