by Genevieve Chornenki
[Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published in Write Magazine’s Winter 2026 issue]
You’ve polished and perfected your manuscript. Your beta readers love it. Now you want to get it out into the world. Should you self-publish?
My advice in the past would have been sure, why not? And while many writers, including TWUC members do well through self-publishing, my most recent experience has not been a good one.
Let’s take a look at what went wrong.
I’ve published four books: two with traditional publishers and one with a hybrid publisher that, for a fee, looked after printing, distribution, and an online launch. Then, in 2025, I self-published the fourth, If I Were God: Poems for People Who Don’t Read Poetry.
“I’ll likely publish with my previous hybrid publisher. It has established distribution networks, and I’ll gladly pay to have someone else take that on.”
Self-publishing let me bypass literary gatekeepers and made for an early release. But most compelling was the ability to access a distribution network and avoid storing a box of print books at home. IngramSpark promised global e-book and print-on-demand distribution.
If I Were God went through multiple edits by TWUC member Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, and I retained Jan Westendorp of Kato Design for layout, cover design, and ebook formatting. Working with these professionals was delightful.
Distribution was not.
To list my book on Amazon, I needed a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account. That meant entering details and uploading a photo of official ID to verify my identity. I tried different IDs and, over three hours, went back and forth between my desktop and smartphone, only to receive error messages. What was I doing wrong? I asked Sue Morley, my virtual assistant, for help. She accessed my computer remotely. Together we re-read the directions and watched instructional videos. We ensured that the text I input corresponded exactly with the text on my IDs. No luck. Appeals to KDP’s help function were unhelpful. I begged to send photos via WeTransfer — Not allowed! I gave up after two more hours. My passport was being renewed; maybe the new version would make a difference.
Next up was IngramSpark. No sooner had Jan uploaded If I Were God than I received aCatalogue Integrity Notice. The book had been cancelled: “After review, one or more of your titles are believed to violate our Integrity Guidelines. The below title has been removed from distribution… If I Were God: Poems for People Who Don’t Read Poetry.”
The notice listed nine guidelines, but there were no specifics about which ones we may have violated. Jan surmised that the front cover image — the Venus of Willendorf statue, her pits and parts on full display—offended a puritanical employee. Or maybe the image was flagged by an automated system. I guessed that a bot interpreted references to published poets as plagiarism. Shaughnessy wondered if epigraphs were the problem. I filed an appeal — from what? — that would take 10-15 business days. In the meantime, print-on-demand could not be enabled.
My book launch was days away. Jan offered Draft2Digital as an alternative distributor, but its website said, “If your book has been blocked on a retailer’s site Draft2Digital will not be able to publish it on your behalf.”
Countdown to book launch
I booked a paid appointment with IngramSpark’s customer service. The representative was attentive but uninformed. He did not know why my book was cancelled, but offered to walk over to the appropriate department to ask. A day later, he emailed: “Great news! Your titles are unrestricted. I don’t know what the issue was, but I got them to push them through.”
Two days to book launch. The new passport arrived, and I tried again to verify my identity with KDP. Same error message.
A friend double-checked IngramSpark’s distribution at our local indie bookstore, but the clerk was unable to locate If I Were God.
I booked a second paid appointment with customer service.
Meanwhile, I sent Sue my new passport via WeTransfer. She was able to upload the image. I later learned that the issue had nothing to do with my documents, but had been an internal problem at KDP.
Next, I turned to a service called Booklinker which promised “a single localized link” that would take international audiences directly to their local stores. I studied videos and followed Booklinker’s step-by-step instructions, but my book’s Apple version didn’t appear. I tried again. No luck. I contacted help. To date, no answer.
At the launch, I signed and sold books printed by a reliable local printer.
Do I have plans for further marketing and promotion? Maybe next year. In the meantime, I’m working on a short story collection that I’ll likely publish with my previous hybrid publisher. It has established distribution networks, and I’ll gladly pay to have someone else take that on.
Genevieve Chornenki is a Toronto-based poet, writer, editor, and literacy coach with a background as a civil mediator and arbitrator. Her poems have appeared in print and online in North America, Europe, and Australia. She is the author of Don’t Lose Sight, (2021), and If I Were God: Poems for People Who Don’t Read Poetry (2025).