Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

39 views
Serieses! > subtitle in parenthesis for two books in a series? not showing

Comments Showing 1-20 of 20 (20 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jonathan (last edited Sep 01, 2023 12:12PM) (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Hi, I recently added a new book that is part of a series. There are now 2 books and I would like their titles to include the series in parenthesis per standard GR presentation.

I followed the directions several days ago - adding the series title to both books as a subtitle in parenthesis. It is showing on both books in the "Edit book details" but not on the live home page.

Could someone help me work out this kink?

I a NOT trying to make a series page, etc. Just have the titles reflect that they are part of a series (like my other WIND TIDE books).

The two books are:

Stellar Instinct

To Spy a Star


*Both should have the following series title in parenthesis:

(Agent Renault Adventures)


So they should appear like this on my home author page:

Stellar Instinct (Agent Renault Adventures)

To Spy a Star (Agent Renault Adventures)

Thanks!!!

Jonathan Nevair


message 2: by Tami (last edited Sep 01, 2023 02:02PM) (new)

Tami (tamicarvallo) | 6987 comments When something in parenthesis doesn't have this: # it won't show, it's there if you go to the book edit page and if you search. Try "Stellar Instinct" in the search bar. If you want it to show in your author profile use [ ] or keep it as a subtitle if it's one "Title: Subtitle" . Although isn't this a series? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGXWWR54 only librarians can create a series btw. Formatting the title won't create a series.

Also, you might want to create an ACE for this book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... The cover on Amazon is different. It has the series title https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B...


message 3: by Scott (new)

Scott | 9270 comments I have added the numbers.


message 4: by Jonathan (last edited Sep 01, 2023 02:41PM) (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Scott wrote: "I have added the numbers."
Hi Scott, thanks but this is an un-numbered series. There is no sequence to the books. Can you please remove them? (On amazon there are no numbers).


message 5: by Scott (new)

Scott | 9270 comments If you want the series to show in your listing, that is the only way.


message 6: by Jonathan (last edited Sep 01, 2023 02:41PM) (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Tami wrote: "When something in parenthesis doesn't have this: # it won't show, it's there if you go to the book edit page and if you search. Try "Stellar Instinct" in the search bar. If you want it to show in y..."
Thanks Tami - I am not sure I understand what you mean by ACE? Can you please explain what you mean by the cover is different on Amazon? - it has the series title on Amazon, yes. That is what I am hoping to get added and visible so readers know these are part of a series. Sorry, confusing!

The confusing thing is, this is an unnumbered series. There is no #1, 2, etc. They are all standalones - (think James Bond, Dirk Pitt, etc.) that kinda thing - they are all adventures by the same cast.


message 7: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Scott wrote: "If you want the series to show in your listing, that is the only way."
Ok thanks Scott! Appreciate your help!


message 8: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Tami wrote: "When something in parenthesis doesn't have this: # it won't show, it's there if you go to the book edit page and if you search. Try "Stellar Instinct" in the search bar. If you want it to show in y..."
I tried those brackets and they seemed to have worked. Thanks!


message 9: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments THANK YOU BOTH! This was a workaround! :-)


message 10: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16363 comments I don't see any series name in the title field, either in parentheses or square brackets?


message 11: by Tami (last edited Sep 01, 2023 05:45PM) (new)

Tami (tamicarvallo) | 6987 comments lethe wrote: "I don't see any series name in the title field, either in parentheses or square brackets?"

Someone reverted the edits. Take a look at the edit log.


message 12: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16363 comments Tami wrote: "lethe wrote: "I don't see any series name in the title field, either in parentheses or square brackets?"

The author reverted the edits. Take a look at the edit log."


Huh, I thought I did. Apparently not :)


message 13: by Tami (last edited Sep 01, 2023 04:41PM) (new)

Tami (tamicarvallo) | 6987 comments Jonathan wrote: "I am not sure I understand what you mean by ACE? Can you please explain what you mean by the cover is different on Amazon? "

ACE stands for Alternate Cover Edition. It's used when the ASIN or ISBN is reused in a new cover. The cover for ASIN B0BGVQ71GR on Amazon is different from the cover on Goodreads. Look above the title. On Goodreads, it says "A Spy-Fi Space Adventure". On Amazon, it says "An Agent Renault Adventure". So yeah they are slightly different. I assume the cover was changed after publication.

But don't make one because the bot messed up and added the ISBN13. Kindle editions should have ISBN numbers, only ASIN. So just let it be I suppose until that's fixed. You might want to contact support so they fix that. Librarians cannot edit or move those numbers. The ISBN 9798985855586 is probably for the ebook but I can't any info online. So a new edition should be created for the ebook edition or whatever it actually is and the ISBN added to that record.

This is the librarian manual page for ACEs if my explanation was not sufficient https://help.goodreads.com/s/article/...

Jonathan wrote: "The confusing thing is, this is an unnumbered series. There is no #1, 2, etc. They are all standalones - (think James Bond, Dirk Pitt, etc.) that kinda thing - they are all adventures by the same cast."

That's not confusing, don't worry :) lots of series don't have numbering and we can create a series page without numbering if you want. It does qualify as a series because it shares the same characters.

lethe wrote: "Huh, I thought I did. Apparently not :)"

No worries :D although maybe I should've said someone instead, my bad.


message 14: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Tami wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "I am not sure I understand what you mean by ACE? Can you please explain what you mean by the cover is different on Amazon? "

ACE stands for Alternate Cover Edition. It's used when..."

Thanks for taking the time to explain this - yes, I had a new cover made for that book and that's why it is screwy - maybe I added the ISBN instead of the ASIN when i added that edition... that may be.

I think you are right - requesting the two books be made into a series would help! That would at least add the italicized series name at the top of the title on the book pages, right?


message 15: by Scott (new)

Scott | 9270 comments Yes, creating a series is what causes the grey series text to appear above the title.


message 16: by Tami (new)

Tami (tamicarvallo) | 6987 comments Series done: https://www.goodreads.com/series/3768... the book pages will take a while to update, so it might take a while before you see the grey series text above the title.

About the ISBN, it wasn't you, it was the bot. It has been making lots of mistakes [the bot]. Unfortunately, librarians can no longer edit these numbers. Staff is aware and they are supposedly implementing a fix "in the coming days", not sure how many days those are. It has been 11 days since the announcement: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... so you could technically wait until they implement this fix or contact staff and they should fix it. I noticed the ISBN was added by the bot to "To Spy a Star" too.


message 17: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Tami wrote: "Series done: https://www.goodreads.com/series/3768... the book pages will take a while to update, so it might take a while before you see the grey series text above the titl..."

Ahhh! That is so cool! Thank you! I really appreciate your help!


message 18: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Nevair | 17 comments Scott wrote: "Yes, creating a series is what causes the grey series text to appear above the title."

Thanks to you too Scott!


message 19: by L J (last edited Sep 01, 2023 06:24PM) (new)

L J | 625 comments Jonathan wrote: "... The confusing thing is, this is an unnumbered series. There is no #1, 2, etc. They are all standalones - (think James Bond, Dirk Pitt, etc.) that kinda thing - they are all adventures by the same cast."

To avoid confusion you might want to change or remove your examples as both are numbered on Goodreads.

James Bond (Original Series)
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4962...

Dirk Pitt Series
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4065...

Not a problem so far but no telling who might look at this thread in the future.


message 20: by Scott (new)

Scott | 9270 comments Indeed, numbering can simply indicate publication order, and not necessarily that the stories are continued.


back to top