Multiple Authors: Questions about correct order

[Michael]

I was editing this book: Blessed Child, which has two authors: Bill Bright and Ted Dekker. Ted Dekker is listed first on the majority of the editions, so I moved him to be the primary author to all editions, even the ones on which Bill Bright's name is listed first on the cover.

My question is, would it hurt to make it so that the primary authors are different for each edition, in order to match the covers? I would like Bill Bright's name to come first on the books in which he is listed first on the cover. How would this affect the system if we tried to combine another edition, since the primary author would be the same for some editions but not others?

[rivka, Former Moderator]

Primary author should be the same for all editions. Otherwise combining does not work properly on a consistent basis.

[Paula]

The librarians manual indicates:

Books with multiple authors

Goodreads currently allows up to 30 authors per book. Authors should be listed in the order they appear on the book cover. If there is no cover or covers of various editions differ, use alphabetical order. For compilations that include both editors and authors, please list the editors first and then other contributors.

http://www.goodreads.com/help/librari...

If the primary author is not the same then we cannot combine editions

[Michael]

Ok, thanks rivka! And thanks, Paula. I wasn't sure if it mattered if you changed the order after combining. I looked at the first part of the manual labeled "authors" but I didn't look under "work-specific data" so I didn't see that part. Since Bill Bright comes first alphabetically, I'll go back and change the orders again.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For]

BTW, I think the max number of authors is now 50, not 30.