Kobo, Apple Books, and Draft2Digital — Common Issues Wide Authors Hit and How to Fix Them
Wide publishing means more platforms — and more platform-specific quirks. These are the issues wide authors encounter most often, with plain-English solutions that don't require you to be a technical expert.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time to Fix: Varies by issue — most are resolved within 24–72 hours
Platforms Affected: Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books for Authors, Draft2Digital, Barnes & Noble Press, Google Play Books
Best For: Authors who publish wide and encounter platform-specific problems — upload rejections, duplicate book listings, pricing that won't update, or royalty reporting that doesn't match expectations.
The Most Common Duplicate Book Problem
Wide authors who publish through both a direct platform account (like Kobo Writing Life) AND through an aggregator (like Draft2Digital) for the same retailer will frequently encounter the duplicate book rejection. This is the single most common wide publishing technical problem.
The fix is simple: you must choose one channel per retailer. Either publish directly to Kobo and exclude Kobo from your Draft2Digital distribution list, or let Draft2Digital handle Kobo and don't have a separate KWL account active for that title.
How to fix a Kobo duplicate
If you have a duplicate on Kobo (same book showing twice with different listings): contact Kobo Writing Life support at kobowritinglife@kobo.com. Provide both listing ISBNs or ASINs and ask them to remove the duplicate. Most resolutions take 24–48 hours.
⚠️ WARNING: Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, and most retailers will reject or block a book if they detect it's already listed from another source. Before publishing wide, decide which books use direct accounts and which use D2D for each retailer, and document this in a simple spreadsheet. Changing your approach later causes exactly these duplicate problems.
Kobo Writing Life — Specific Issues
Book blocked or rejected by Kobo
Kobo's most common rejection reasons (published in their Help Centre): explicit cover art or description in a non-adult-designated category, companion novels (study guides, summaries, analyses — Kobo no longer accepts these), duplicate listings from aggregators, and content that triggers their automated content review. The rejection email from Kobo usually specifies which policy was triggered — this is more helpful than KDP's messages.
Price won't update
Kobo price changes typically propagate within 24–48 hours. If your price hasn't updated after 72 hours: log into KWL, go to the book, and manually trigger a re-save by making a minor metadata change (add a space to your description and remove it), then save again. This forces a re-sync with Kobo's systems.
Kobo Plus enrollment for your market
Kobo Plus (their subscription service) availability varies by country. Not all titles are eligible in all markets. Check your KWL dashboard for the Kobo Plus tab for each title — eligible markets are listed there.
Draft2Digital — Common Issues
Book not appearing at a specific retailer
After publishing through D2D, books typically appear at retailers within 24–72 hours. Apple Books can take up to a week for first-time submissions. If your book hasn't appeared at a specific retailer after 5 business days: check your D2D distribution settings to confirm that retailer is selected, and contact D2D support at draft2digital.com/help — they have a reputation for fast, helpful responses.
Formatting looks different from what you expected
D2D auto-formats your manuscript, and the output isn't always what you'd produce with manual formatting. For better control: provide a clean, professionally formatted EPUB file rather than a Word document. D2D accepts EPUB uploads and passes them through with minimal modification.
Universal Book Links (Books2Read) not working correctly
D2D's Books2Read universal link system sometimes lags behind new retailer availability — if a new edition isn't showing on your universal link page, log into your D2D account, find the book, and click 'Update Links' to force a refresh of retailer availability.
💡 TIP: D2D's customer support team (staffed by people who are often authors themselves) is genuinely helpful. For any issue you can't solve through the Help Centre, contact them directly — they typically respond within a business day.
Apple Books for Authors — Common Issues
Slow approval times
Apple's review process is the slowest of all major ebook retailers — first submissions can take up to two weeks. Subsequent uploads of previously approved titles are faster (typically 24–48 hours). Plan your launch timelines to account for this.
Pricing in non-US currencies
Apple Books has specific price tiers for each currency. You cannot set arbitrary decimal prices — Apple requires you to select from preset pricing tiers. If your book is priced at $3.99 in USD, the GBP and EUR equivalents may not be exact conversions. This is by design.
iTunes Connect vs. Books for Authors
Apple's platform for authors has been gradually unified under 'Books for Authors' (books.apple.com/author), but some legacy account settings still live in iTunes Connect. If you're having trouble locating a setting, check both interfaces.
Royalty Reporting Across Wide Platforms — Setting Expectations
Wide publishing means more reporting timelines to understand. A quick reference:
Kobo: monthly royalties paid approximately 45 days after month-end
Apple Books: monthly royalties paid approximately 30 days after month-end
Barnes & Noble Press: monthly royalties paid approximately 60 days after month-end
Draft2Digital: monthly consolidated payment for all D2D-distributed sales, typically around the 15th of the following month
Google Play Books: monthly royalties paid approximately 30 days after month-end
💡 TIP: Wide publishing with multiple direct accounts plus D2D for additional retailers means tracking 5–8 separate payment timelines. ScribeCount consolidates all of these into a single dashboard, so you don't have to log into each platform separately to understand your total monthly income.
How ScribeCount Helps
The practical argument for ScribeCount is never stronger than for wide authors. Logging into KWL, Apple Books, D2D, B&N, and Google Play separately to understand your total income takes significant time every month. ScribeCount connects to all of these platforms and shows you a consolidated income view, platform-by-platform breakdowns, and historical trends — so you spend your time writing instead of dashboard-hopping.