AI Slop kills self publishing

It seems too much AI slop has been created and Smashwords/Draft2Digital's business model has consequently collapsed.  I will not be giving Draft2Digital a penny so my account will eventually deactivate.  I might move some of the old content over to Amazon if I can muster up the enthusiasm... Or it might be time to unpublish from Draft2Digital. Or I should probably just let them die now.  I haven't written any books in about a decade.  Problem is I would need them to unpublish from Amazon so I could reclaim my titles and publish as myself. Etc...  Of course in the good old days books no one reads anymore would go out of print but somehow digital publishing keeps them artificially alive in a living dead kind of way... The lower costs of digital to paper made this business model viable for a while but why would you need my content when AI can generate your own boring and unreadable literature for free.  I don't really plug my old books because I don't really believe in them anymore but if you want to torture yourself... Apart from Seaweed which did make money they are here...

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MrAEMiller

Promoting thing is such a terrible bore...

Dear Anthony,

For the first time in our history, we’re introducing account activation and maintenance fees. For many existing Draft2Digital authors, especially those with regularly selling books, these fees do not affect you. 

Here’s how they’ll work...

Activation Fee for New Accounts

If you already have a D2D account (if you’re reading this, you probably do), the activation fee doesn’t apply to you. New accounts will include a one-time fee of $20 (USD). This activation fee, combined with our verification tools and human reviewers, will help us maintain a secure, high-integrity publishing environment.

Like many platforms, we’ve seen a significant increase in automated and low-quality account creation in recent years. This onslaught from automated content farms threatens reader trust in indie titles and risks indies being associated with low-quality “slop.” A modest activation fee can make a real difference and allow our team to stay focused on supporting genuine authors like you.

Annual Maintenance Fee

An annual maintenance fee of $12 (USD) will apply to accounts whose earnings from book sales, meaning your net proceeds after D2D’s commission, total less than $100 over the preceding 12-month period. If you earn $100 or more from your book sales over 12 months, you will not be charged this fee.

Draft2Digital is primarily supported by earning commissions on book sales. For accounts that earn less revenue, a small annual fee helps offset a portion of the steadily rising costs we pay to maintain those accounts, including compliance, security, and infrastructure upkeep. 

Maintenance fees will start going into effect in 30 days, on May 14, 2026, and will be based on your account anniversary date. We’ll always notify you in advance.

The Bottom Line

Our goal is to keep D2D a place where authors can publish with confidence. That means continuing to invest in our tools, maintaining strong relationships with retailers, and protecting the legitimacy of indie authors and the trust that readers place in indie books.

If you have questions, additional details can be found on your Account Status page, or you can read our updated terms of service. You can also reach out to our support team via our contact us form at any time.

We appreciate your trust in D2D, and we remain committed to developing and protecting opportunities for indies to reach readers.

Sincerely,

Kris Austin

CEO of Draft2Digital