New writers interested in publishing hear a lot of the same advice from several sources. One piece of advice comes up again and again:
Set up an email newsletter.
Why? Because every platform, from social media to online book retailers (I’m looking at you, Zon), runs on algorithms. Those algorithms can change your discoverability in a heartbeat—or a single line of code.
Your email list is one of the few things you truly own.
Well, if I haven’t learned, relearned, and gotten kicked in the teeth by that lesson.
TL;DR: My Threads Account Got Permanently Banned
Over a month ago, my Threads account disappeared.
After several weeks of bug reports, support chats, a verification selfie, and even a phone call with Meta support, I finally learned that my account had been permanently disabled.
The catch?
Nobody could tell me why.
The Great Threads Mystery
At first, I didn’t even know the account had been banned.
I learned something was wrong when my scheduling tool, Metricool, couldn’t publish a scheduled post. When I went to the Threads app to manually publish the post, I couldn’t log in. Threads kept asking me for a two-factor authentication code, but wouldn’t send me one. From where I sat, everything looked like a technical glitch.
So I proceeded to read help articles, submit bug reports, chat with AI-support bots, and bang my head against my keyboard. I spent far more time thinking about Threads than any human should. Every bug report promised a follow-up email within 48 hours, but no follow-up emails ever arrived.
Eventually, I discovered the holy grail: the Meta Business Suite support portal. Since I’ve spent actual money trying to advertise books on Facebook and Instagram over the years (with results that can generously be described as “mixed”), I had access to real human support agents.
One support representative even called me on the phone! At that point, I thought I was finally getting somewhere. Instead, I learned that my Threads account had been permanently disabled.
Why Was It Banned?
That’s the million-dollar question.
I asked. Repeatedly. And no one could tell me.
I submitted an appeal. I uploaded a fresh selfie. I spoke with multiple support representatives. Nobody had access to that information. At one point, a support representative told me directly that they didn’t have the tools to see why the account had been banned, and that there was no way to escalate my issue.
The final decision had already been made. The account was gone.
The best part of this whole ordeal came when I received an email informing me that my account had been permanently disabled and inviting me to click a button to review additional details.
… and the link was broken.
Which honestly feels like the perfect summary of the entire experience.
Moving On
I eventually told the last support representative that I would not be creating a replacement account. My brand name is Beth Martin Books. I use the same handle (bethmartinbooks) across all my social media accounts. If I can’t use it on Threads, then I won’t be using Threads.
Fortunately, Threads was never a major part of my marketing strategy.
The experience was frustrating, but it reinforced something I’ve believed for a long time:
Social media is borrowed space.
You don’t own the platform.
The algorithms make mistakes.
And sometimes no one can even tell you what broke.
So What’s the Lesson Here?
I love the first few lines of the Serenity Prayer—not even as a religious thing, but as practical life advice.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
I can’t change this situation.
As frustrating as it is, my best course of action is to move on and focus on what’s within my control.
I still have readers who want my next newsletter.
I still have this website.
I still have the mountain of books I’ve written.
I’m going to be okay.
Want to help an author out?
Consider picking up one of my books! May I recommend Starship Blunder 2: Starship Wonder, a humorous space adventure packed with lighthearted sci-fi misadventures.
Get Starship Blunder 2 ebook | Go to the Beth Martin Books web store | Buy one of my books on Amazon
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