Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
This topic is about
Tamara Siler Jones
Questions (not edit requests)
>
Combine names author has published under
date
newest »
newest »
Shawna wrote: "Hello!I realized that Tamara Siler Jones' more recent works that she has published under the name Tambo Jones are not connected together... she's also published under the name Tamara Jones.
(Not..."
please provide links to the incorrect works referenced.
We would not link distinct pen names unless the author requests it.
Scott wrote: "We would not link distinct pen names unless the author requests it."Really? As a reader, I'd find it strange that her nickname that she blogged under for years would be considered "distinct".
OK then, I'll try emailing her. This really does readers no service, when it's an openly known name variation. Do only readers of well-known authors like Stephen King and JK Rowling get the courtesy of linking without the author themselves personally asking Goodreads for it?
Mod
King has editions of many of his books published under more than one author name. Rowling has publicly stated that the books published under her pen-name are hers, and publicized them as such.
Is either of those true for this author?
I've received an email back from her since I posted my previous message. Her reply? "I have asked Goodreads and they’ve refused to do so twice now, but I can ask again. It’s aggravating."And YES. On her correct current website. (Which only shows on one of her three profiles here. One lists an old website, and one shows none.)
http://www.tambojones.com/
"About Tambo
She writes, she sews, she herds cats
Formally known as award-winning Bantam author Tamara Siler Jones, "
And on Twitter she goes and has gone by TamboJones. https://twitter.com/tambojones
Even on her original blog, she went by Tambo: http://tambowrites.blogspot.com/
Additionally, on her Tambo Jones Amazon profile (https://www.amazon.com/Tambo-Jones/e/...) she has "Award-winning author of the Dubric Byerly Mysteries (Bantam Spectra)", which are the books she previously published under "Tamara Siler Jones", and she has new Dubric titles published on the Tambo Jones name.
Additionally, on Amazon, any of her books published under Tamara Siler Jones, when you look at the book, the "Follow the Author" link shows as and goes to her Tambo Jones profile.
AND, even here on Goodreads, it's acknowledged on the second and third name she's published (Tamara Jones) just a couple titles under - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... - "Tamara Jones is also known as Tambo Jones and Tamara Siler Jones."
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... - "Tambo Jones is also known as Tamara Jones."
In short, all three of these are openly known pen names by the same author, and should be shown as such:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
It's all just very messy and not helpful for readers who are looking for her titles. And the point of Goodreads in the first place is so readers can find books, isn't it?
It just seems like fixing it would be beneficial to everyone.
Hi, it's me *waves*When I decided to start indi publishing everything under Tambo Jones, I contacted Goodreads and was told that I already had added 'Tamara Jones' as an author name when Samhain wanted me to drop the 'Siler' part, and I couldn't add another. I protested with no effect, waited a while, and tried again but received no response. I sent in another request TODAY listing all of my current titles, along with the author name attached to them at the time of publication.
I've gone by 'Tambo' in my regular life for almost 31 years after my husband gave me the nickname. All of my author friends know me as Tambo, online I am *always* Tambo, my twitter handle is tambojones, on Facebook my author page is https://www.facebook.com/tambojones/, and my website is tambojones.com. Heck, I sometimes get snail mail addressed to Tambo.
If you have to limit me to two pen names, please drop Tamara Jones. I REALLY NEED to be searchable as Tamara Siler Jones (to bring in earlier readers) and Tambo Jones to corral *everything* else I'm putting out.
Thank you!
Tamara Jones can be merged into Tamara Siler Jones, but Goodreads has to do it. If you mentioned that you want to drop Tamara Jones in your request to them then that's what they will most likely do.Edit: They have a huge backlog of requests right now due to the pandemic, so it may take more time. (Librarians don't have access)
Thanks, Emily, but I've been trying to get everything moved to Tambo Jones since *last* summer or early fall. The site won't even let me change my own name on my own page.{{hugs}}
Mod
And that is the problem. Goodreads policy does not allow books published under Tamara Siler Jones or Tamara Jones to only have Tambo Jones listed as the author.
However, books published under Tamara Siler Jones or Tamara Jones can have Tambo Jones added as a secondary author.
Why can't it go the other way? Having Tambo Jones (me, as I am now) being the primary author and the others as secondary? I published the three Tamara Siler Jones books about 15 years ago and I'm no longer with that publisher. Doesn't it make more sense to default to the 'now' instead of 15-17 years ago?I have more titles as Tambo Jones than the other two names combined.
Mod
For books published under multiple versions of the author's name or published under multiple pseudonyms: The first author listed for any and all editions should be the author name the book was originally published under - so the reissued edition would need its primary author name changed to the originally published pen name, with the additional name added as secondary for all editions with it on the cover. Doing this will allow the various editions to be combined.
That's fine, but it doesn't help me, an author with about 18 titles out there, to get all of them listed in one place.How do we do that?
Fwiw, I recently re-released Morgan's Run (originally pubb'd as Tamara Jones, but re-released a couple of months ago as Tambo Jones) and if I need to change something on Amazon or whatever, I can do that. If I know ahead of time how to set it up, I can do the same with SPORE which we're re-releasing this fall. But I'm not at this time planning on re-releasing the three Bantam novels in their entirety so while many of my new releases are connected to those books, they're *not* those same books.
What can I do to get everything all grouped together so readers can *find* my new releases even tho I've modified my writing name?
Mod
Is that what you are requesting?
Maybe? I guess? If it would help my previously-established readers find my new releases, then I'm all for it!It'd also be nice if I could change *my* name to 'Tambo' instead of my author page insisting on it being 'Tamara'. I apparently need a librarian to do that and it, too, is frustrating.
Here is my author page for TSJ, which I can't even edit anymore. Can you please put Tambo Jones as a secondary author for all six titles (Ghosts in the Snow, Threads of Malice, Valley of the Soul, Fire, Endorphins, and Sid), please?https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Tamara wrote: "Here is my author page for TSJ, which I can't even edit anymore. Can you please put Tambo Jones as a secondary author for all six titles (Ghosts in the Snow, Threads of Malice, Valley of the Soul, ..."This is still your author page, and you can still edit it: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
The other one mirrors it. Librarians are not Goodreads staff and cannot edit Goodreads author pages.
Morgan's Run (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...?) has recently been released with Tambo Jones as the author. Can you please add Tambo Jones as the secondary author to the version I've linked to above?
I just went to my TSJ page (at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...) and it tells me I'm not a Goodreads author (yet), plus anything I click to edit, like my Bio, it informs me: Sorry, only users with librarian status can edit book and author data. If you would like librarian status, then please apply here.Since I can't access the books, how can I change the secondary author?
Tambo wrote: "Morgan's Run (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...?) has recently been released with Tambo Jones as the author. Can you please add Tambo Jones as the secondary author to the ve..."Done. Also added new Kindle edition.
Tambo wrote: "I just went to my TSJ page (at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...) and it tells me I'm not a Goodreads author (yet), plus anything I click to edit, like my Bio, it info..."You have to claim the TSJ profile the same as you claimed the first one.
Or
I suggest you contact Goodreads support: https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...
and ask them to combine your Goodreads author profile with the TSJ page, so there will only be the TSJ and the Tambo page, not 3 pages.
Suzi wrote: "Tambo wrote: "I just went to my TSJ page (at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...) and it tells me I'm not a Goodreads author (yet), plus anything I click to edit, like m..."Goodreads librarians are volunteers, not employees of Goodreads, and must follow specific policy, and do not have access to all site functionality.
I don't mean to be trouble, truly I do not, but CANNOT EDIT *anything* on the Tamara Siler Jones page, which Goodreads insists isn't even a Goodreads author.Can you understand how frustrating this is? I can get to the Tamara Jones page without any problems, but it won't let me change its name to Tambo Jones. I managed to get Tambo Jones as the secondary author on SPORE and Morgan's Run, but there's no apparent way for me to change *anything* about the TSJ books
Tambo wrote: "Here is my author page for TSJ, which I can't even edit anymore. Can you please put Tambo Jones as a secondary author for all six titles (Ghosts in the Snow, Threads of Malice, Valley of the Soul, ..."I will add the secondary author here.
That is something I can do for you.
Tambo wrote: "I don't mean to be trouble, truly I do not, but CANNOT EDIT *anything* on the Tamara Siler Jones page, which Goodreads insists isn't even a Goodreads author.Can you understand how frustrating thi..."
They are 2 distinct profiles. It is a systemic issue. To the Goodreads database, it is totally a different author.
You can either claim it separately or ask Goodreads staff to merge the TJ and the TSJ profile, making them all TSJ.
Merging them would be great and would simplify a lot, I think. I've just created a new account using another email to manage the Tambo Jones profile. Maybe that will help me manage all of this a little.
Thank you for your help!
Tambo wrote: "Merging them would be great and would simplify a lot, I think. I've just created a new account to manage the Tambo Jones profile. Maybe that will help me manage a..."
this is a public searchable forum. Please edit your comment to remove your private email address.
Yes I agree that using only TSJ and Tambo is the most efficient solution.
I realized that Tamara Siler Jones' more recent works that she has published under the name Tambo Jones are not connected together... she's also published under the name Tamara Jones.
(Not the author, not someone who knows her, just a reader who'd like it to be easier to find her stuff in the future. :)