Rewrites

[R.F.G.]

Ken wrote: "I use Lulu for hardcover, Createspace for paperback. It seems to work for me. Are you saying that you saved $4.50 relative to the same book and page count on Createspace?"

No, I'm saying by doing the research to nail the typography as professionally as possible using Word 97 I reduced the number of pages enough to pass on a roughly $4.50 saving.

I mentioned what I did to tighten things up in the typography post in the tech section.

One other thing I did was a promo version of each on Lulu (direct access) on the 50# paper, using the same improved print files, for $3.46 and $3.57 respectively. The Lulu discounted price for the premium 60# paper versions is $7.61 and $8.02.

So in doing a rewrite it's something to consider.

[[deleted user]]

Not to keep this thread alive, but it's hard to know where this one belongs: why is Amazon taking so much time to post the digital version of my update to Ship of Storms? Thought we were in the "Digital Age," and things are supposed to go quicker than they did in the old snail-mail days. It's been 6 days, and the new paperback version has already posted. Usually the digital version posts within 24 to 48 hours. I've sent them an inquiry. That's also supposed to take about 24 hours. We'll see what happens.

[Christina]

I've heard of others running into snags like this. Usually it's a technical glitch and once you contact them they'll sort it out.

[Owen]

Ken: The only time I had a problem like this is was a glitch. They straightened it out fast once I wrote.

If you are not in the US, maybe things are more "glitch prone"? Our updates usually post within a few hours. They say it can take up to 12 hrs here, but aside from the one instance back in 2013, it's always been quicker than that.

[[deleted user]]

I do live in the US, and I've updated two books, this one and The Villain & The Golden Apple, with minor changes, and neither ebook version has updated. Maybe Amazon is on vacation.

[Owen]

Ken wrote: "I do live in the US, and I've updated two books, this one and The Villain & The Golden Apple, with minor changes, and neither ebook version has updated. Maybe Amazon is on vacation."

That is odd. I just updated one of our books last night and the (minor) changes went thru promptly. Hope they get it figured out!

[[deleted user]]

What's really odd, is that Barnes & Noble already has the updates that I put through on Smashwords. Usually Amazon is much faster. And the bothersome thing is that I can only publicize the new 2nd edition piecemeal until Amazon catches up--example: I just announced that the new paperback version is available on Amazon, while the ebook version is not.

[[deleted user]]

Amazon's response was a little disturbing, since the "Look Inside" feature is a main selling point:

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

Please know, normally the “Look Inside” feature for a Kindle book usually takes a week to appear after becoming available for sale on Amazon.

Please be informed that currently we're experiencing a technical problem where the "Look Inside" feature is taking longer time to update on the website than usual.

This is a known issue affecting hundreds of books right now. Our technical team is aware of this problem and is working hard to fix it as soon as possible.

Errors like this are usually corrected shortly after they're reported. We are working to correct the problem and hope to have that fixed as quick as possible.

We sincerely apologize for this error and are doing everything we can to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.

Thanks for your understanding and patience while we fix this problem."

I checked just before posting this, and it still hasn't been fixed.

[[deleted user]]

Well, Amazon still hasn't updated the "Look Inside" feature, so I've uploaded the new doc again. Maybe starting over will help. I had since uploaded a slightly revised doc for another book, and that's already posted. Not sure what the problem is with this particular book.

[D.L.]

I've also noticed this. I updated one of my books with a new cover and a revised "also by this author" page because I'll have a new book coming out soon and this was the first of this planned trilogy. Whereas Amazon is showing the new cover on the landing page, the 'look inside" feature still shows the old cover and text.

[[deleted user]]

D.L. wrote: "I've also noticed this. Amazon is showing the new cover on the landing page, the 'look inside" feature still shows the old cover and text..."

So does mine. I added this disclaimer under "From the author": "Have been trying to get Amazon to update the file of this book with the new 2nd edition version. No luck so far. The paperbook version shows the correct file. Competing markets have already updated."

Maybe readers will go to Smashwords or Barnes & Noble instead.

[Christina]

Now you've all got me paranoid. I've just this morning submitted an update to one of my books. Nothing major, but there were some rather glaring typos that were pointed out. It just now went from review to publishing and typically, that's the quickest step.

[Owen]

I was going to upload a new copy of our latest book with some minor lingering issues fixed, but in view of the foregoing, I think I'll wait.

[Christina]

Well, I got the email showing my book is live, but same thing, the Look Inside still shows the old file. The mobi I downloaded to proof is correct, but there's no guarantee that it actually uploaded until I can see the proper Look Inside. How frustrating.

[[deleted user]]

Yeah, I uploaded mine a second time, still not updated on the ebook. It's been more than a week. The paperback has updated but still shows the wrong back cover, but the "Look Inside" issue apparently affects only the Kindle edition. One book I changed has updated, this one hasn't. Not sure, but apparently they're still working on the problem. I left comments in the "Community" section at Amazon Kindle Direct.

[D.L.]

Hmm... I had the same 'look inside' problem with the paperback edition of the book I recently updated. I'm not overly concerned. I figure people that order it will get the revised edition. I'm sure Amazon will fix the problem eventually.

[[deleted user]]

After a week and a half I just sent Amazon another request to update the book, specifying the changes and asking that the update be available to previous purchasers. If it goes nowhere, as did the last request, I'll probably "unpublish" the ebook edition and wait a couple of weeks to reinput it. I don't want potential buyers to see the current form and dismiss it as something they may not want before the new version shows up.

[[deleted user]]

Update: a month after uploading the file I just uploaded it again, for the third time, and that was the charm. The "Look Inside" feature now shows the correct file, and I made the first sale of the new second edition--in Australia!

[Owen]

Ken wrote: "Update: a month after uploading the file I just uploaded it again, for the third time, and that was the charm. The "Look Inside" feature now shows the correct file, and I made the first sale of th..."

Glad that finally got resolved!

[[deleted user]]

Why do I get the feeling that Amazon must have laid off a lot of its IT staff?

[Owen]

Ken wrote: "Why do I get the feeling that Amazon must have laid off a lot of its IT staff?"

They are making changes, because things are working differently in my ancient browser. My guess would be they are security related and this is causing hiccups.