Self-publishing is supposed to be empowering—giving authors creative control, financial freedom, and the ability to bring their books directly to readers. At least, that’s the dream. The reality, particularly with Amazon KDP, is often a different story.

I knew going into this that KDP had its drawbacks. The royalty split is steep, taking a significant cut of every sale. But what I didn’t expect was just how frustrating my first experience would be.

My book was rejected for lacki...