Amazon A+ Content is a Nightmare

It's virtually impossible to add the modules one wants for their A+ content. My first problem, which should have had a simple answer, was where to find the A+ editor. I, of course, used Google to help me isolate it, but all the "answers" pointed me in the wrong direction. One told me to go to my Author Central dashboard. Wrong. Nevertheless, I finally found the right location and chose my book. (Go to your Bookshelf and click on "Advertise and Promote".)

Well, about adding modules...

No matter what, Amazon insisted upon adding its own AI-generated copy. What this does, I found, is limit the number of modules I'm able to use. I wanted to create four, but since AI insisted upon butting in, the screen would only display three of mine, plus the crappy Amazon one. And yes, I tried deleting it, but then it created a whole new one, even worse than the first.  

All of this fumbling and adding and deleting took an inordinate amount of time--a LOT of time. And in the end, I just could not get what I wanted. This was infuriating. Now I had three modules only, and Amazon refused to include one of the really good ones I'd created. Plus, I chose the text overlay modules, but the text appeared beneath the photos, instead of beside them.

Did I give up? Hell, no. When I'm dealing with visuals, I want them the way I want them. So, I started over. First, I deleted all three iterations I'd somehow managed to create, including my original basic one. Then I searched around for a box to uncheck regarding AI content (never found one). I then chose the module (supposedly) with black text overlay. I created the four modules I'd originally wanted. Well, naturally, the text overlay isn't text overlay. It's text that appears, once again, below the images.

On the plus side, Amazon no longer tried to bully me into using not only its AI images, but its AI-generated descriptions.

Now my content is awaiting approval. I have a feeling it won't appear the way I want it. If that's the case, I'll start over again.

Funny, in all the reading I did about adding A+ content, not one person mentioned what a complete pain in the ass the process is. There is no way it's just me.  

The other aspect Amazon needs to improve upon is its module examples. Here is the one specifically for books. Awesome, except its descriptions and sample results are misleading. And here's the general one. Apparently, according to the second link, I perhaps should have chosen "StandardSingleSideImageModule", except that one wasn't presented to me to use. Maybe it's just for widgets or something like laundry detergent.

Well, it could take days to find out how this finished product will look. And by then, I may have decided to wash my hands of the whole endeavor. 

I thought getting my book distributed to libraries would be hard. That process was a snap! This is the one I never should have undertaken.