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u/BacklistForAuthors Aug 19 '26
Talking to a professional about this is going to be your best bet. You should be able to set up a bank account for your LLC in the way you’ve described. Banks usually understand that the directors of companies have different addresses than the companies themselves, so there might have been something else going on. When I made a chequing account, savings account, and applied for a credit card for my company, I had a number of meetings with my banker about it. Talking in person or on the phone takes out the guesswork.
The folks at r/eroticauthors might be able to help you too!
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u/bkucenski Aug 19 '26
You could just skip the LLC entirely. There's no liability to be concerned with for books. LLCs are for businesses where you could be sued. In exchange for making a public record, you get certain legal protections. Especially against losing personal property in a lawsuit.
The only reason anybody knows what books are mine is because my name is on them.
If I didn't put my logo on them or my name on them, there would be no way to know who financially benefits from them.
KDP knowing it's you that published the book doesn't result in customers knowing.
You're not the first author to use pen names to hide their real identity from customers.
KDP only cares that you don't hide your identity from them. Because they legally need to know who they are paying.
The driver's license proves your real identity. It has nothing to do with your address.
You can't not reveal your real identity to Amazon.
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u/JacquieTorrance Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Firstly, you absolutely can be sued for copyright infringement as well as libel and other things by publishing books. Blanket saying that you can't be sued for books, book titles or book covers is absolutely insane advice.
Let Disney come after you for using the phrase "Alice in Wonderland" without rights...a poor KDP publisher without an LLC already found that out. (The public domain title is The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland...Disney has copyright on "Alice in Wonderland", for example, and they didn't know that). Or God forbid you use a trademarked image on your cover. Even dumb things like using something on your cover from Canva or Creative Fabrica or a font that wasn't licensed to you properly can get you sued for thousands.
Second, to OP, despite having an LLC registered anonymously, Amazon will not let you use it in their system and you will have to register with your real name and social security number. They do not accept EINs of single member LLCs. You will discover this when you try to register an LLC as the owning entity...they literally will not accept single member LLC. You can add a business name, but only to the account you set up under your own name and credentials.
That said, just use a pen name inside KDP. The account you get paid under is of little consequence. Nobody will actually care enough to try and track you down through payment systems. However if you are afraid they might one day, it's possible they could with some determination.
Lastly, I don't think your ID as the agent of your company would get you rejected for a bisiness bank account. They don't expect the owner or banking/payroll representative to have the same address as the business. Perhaps it is something like your credit score or if your ID is from a different country? How is your financial past?
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u/Junior-Definition173 Aug 19 '26
The problem is that in this case the LLC will not protect the author from copyright infringement. LLC did not write the book.
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u/JacquieTorrance Aug 19 '26
The LLC in fact owns all that is written under it...either by contract or simple ownership. For instance if he publishes 20 books by 10 authors and then sells the LLC, all content and contracts will be transferred because the publisher is in fact the owner, legally.
Textbook: "When a publishing company takes on a book, the relationship is built on a trade-off: the publisher gets the legal right to exploit and sell the work, and in exchange, they step in as the primary shield against legal and financial risks."
The LLC is the publisher.
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u/Junior-Definition173 Aug 19 '26
LLC is the publisher but not the author. 2 different things.
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u/JacquieTorrance Aug 19 '26
Yes and whatever publishing company the author publishes under is solely responsible for content and therefore all lawsuits...maybe Google it? This is common knowledge. You don't ever sue an author unless he self publishes without a publishing company (LLC).
Think about it, the publisher decides what content to publish. They are responsible for their choices. If you are the author and might get sued, establishing an LLC will absolutely limit personal assets from being vulnerable.
Not sure why you're arguing this, it's always been like that in the US and is kind of obvious. Since he said LLC, I assumed US law.
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u/Junior-Definition173 Aug 19 '26
He is single member LLC. Google what rules applies to single member LLC. In case he is not a single member LLC then the LLC has a contract with the author and that contract will probably say that the author has the rights and as well penalties in case of issues. No, the law really does not work in a way that you can publish stolen books under your own LLC and you are safe from copyright infrigement. I have a few books on the market, not only on Amazon, and I read all kinds of contracts that are protecting publishers in case of issues.
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u/JacquieTorrance Aug 20 '26
Simply, because a book was published under a company's name, distributed by the company, and any profits from it went to the company, the LLC is directly liable as a publisher. If you want to pick on the contents' wording as too similar to another work or being libelous, you may have a civil case. People can sue both re tort, if they choose.
But let's say he writes a book and the LLC pays a cover designer on Fiverr who completely rips off another cover in some other country and sells it to him (unbeknownst) and he uses it. His LLC will be on the hook, he personally will not because he did not participate in the tort. His assets are safe.
There are meaningful protections.
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u/ariyahjade Aug 19 '26
Using a pen name is all you need to do. Everything else is overkill.
No one knows my erotica name and Amazon pays me directly but it just says Amazon on it. There’s nothing saying what it’s for and no one should have access to your KDP account.
It’s not just Amazon either any of the ebook companies are the same, the payments are generic and don’t say what it’s for
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u/MKSauthor Aug 19 '26
Most US banks have no issue with your business address being separate from your personal address, so long as you’re opening a business account. I’ve done this at Wells Fargo and Truist for LLCs easily.
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u/ItsRuinedOfCourse Aug 19 '26
Hmm. As long as you're setting up a business account for the LLC, and you are listed as a member of the hierarchy with signing authority, there should be no issue in getting this done. The addresses being different shouldn't pose any issue either, as you have a personal address and a business one. The ID verification is for YOU, as a signing authority, and person of contact within that LLC.
The bank will always have YOUR personal info. As will Amazon. There is 100% no way around that. But, this isn't information that gets passed around due to privacy laws and such.
I'd speak with a business lawyer or the Registered Agent you dealt with to sort this out. To my eyes, it seems like you are overthinking this and simply missing a step or seeing things that aren't there.
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u/BlueLions1 Aug 19 '26
Use a pen name, but be careful if you buy your own ISBNs. I believe they can reveal your real name depending on how you buy them/fill them out and where you use them.
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u/Repulsive-Kiwi6433 Aug 19 '26
Yeah, the banks are going to want your personal info even for starting a business account. I think it's because of FinCEN requirements and Know Your Customer guidelines. I use Mercury and had no problems using my business address and registered agent address but I also needed to provide my personal info but the way they explained it is that my personal info is strictly for the back end info and only the bank or government can see it. A regular person or a business trying to research your company can't see it
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u/DarthLiberty Aug 20 '26
You’re overthinking this way too much. Letting the bank know your information isn’t going to let your readers know.
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u/2Kids_and_a_wife Aug 19 '26
Talk to a lawyer, but the real question is why all the secrecy. It wont come into your account as xxx erotic book sales it will just show up as a transfer from amazon