I'm going to self publish!

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Old Hack

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If you upload new versions, do the people who bought them get offered those updated versions? Because if they've spent money on the books they deserve to get the good versions, don't you think?

If you take the books down and republish them later, the people who bought them earlier won't get those updated versions, so to some extent you'll be cheating some of your readers out of their money.

I understand that you're keen to walk away from the negative reviews your books have received but you have to do right by your readers, who have given you money for a book you published. They deserve a decent book, I think.
 

mccardey

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I understand that you're keen to walk away from the negative reviews your books have received but you have to do right by your readers, who have given you money for a book you published. They deserve a decent book, I think.

I suspect a lot of buyers avoid self-published books (rightly or wrongly) because there's a suspicion that this kind of "I can always fix it later" thinking is the norm.

Myself, I wouldn't be happy to find I'd paid for a book that was fixed later.
 

Celeste Carrara

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Old Hack & mccardey
Yes, anyone who has purchased my book can get the updated version for free. Amazon does this I'm positive about that. As for B&N & Kobo, I'll have to look into it.

But, I've only sold 2 books on Kobo. I have no problem with offering those 2 people a free updated version on my own.

That goes for B&N too. My sales are so minimal on there that I would not have any issue sending out new versions to those readers as well.

The thing is, how would I go about doing that?

Do either of you have any advice on me rereleasing? Is the above the only issue you see with it or is there something else I'm not thinking about?
 

mccardey

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Old Hack & mccardey
Yes, anyone who has purchased my book can get the updated version for free. Amazon does this I'm positive about that. As for B&N & Kobo, I'll have to look into it.

But, I've only sold 2 books on Kobo. I have no problem with offering those 2 people a free updated version on my own.

That goes for B&N too. My sales are so minimal on there that I would not have any issue sending out new versions to those readers as well.

The thing is, how would I go about doing that?

Do either of you have any advice on me rereleasing? Is the above the only issue you see with it or is there something else I'm not thinking about?

I have no idea how it works. Sorry :( Old Hack will know more.

Good luck with it.
 

Celeste Carrara

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I suspect a lot of buyers avoid self-published books (rightly or wrongly) because there's a suspicion that this kind of "I can always fix it later" thinking is the norm.

Myself, I wouldn't be happy to find I'd paid for a book that was fixed later.

I just want to be clear. I didn't put my book out there with the thought that it had errors & I could just fix it later. I honestly thought I had a great product to offer. (Beleive me, I now see how wrong I was. I was wrong thinking I could edit my own book)
 

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Old Hack & mccardey
Yes, anyone who has purchased my book can get the updated version for free. Amazon does this I'm positive about that. As for B&N & Kobo, I'll have to look into it.

But, I've only sold 2 books on Kobo. I have no problem with offering those 2 people a free updated version on my own.

That goes for B&N too. My sales are so minimal on there that I would not have any issue sending out new versions to those readers as well.

The thing is, how would I go about doing that?

The only way I can see you being able to do this is to upload a newer version of the book. No bookseller is going to give you contact details for the people who have bought your books through them: it would violate all sorts of data protection laws, I'm sure.

Do either of you have any advice on me rereleasing? Is the above the only issue you see with it or is there something else I'm not thinking about?

There are all sorts of issues you're not thinking of, but treating your paying readers unethically is the most problematic one that I can see.

Manipulating your reviewers is another problem. They're not going to like it if you delete the book to get rid of those reviews, and if they find out about this they might well repost their negative reviews on your newer versions.
 

Celeste Carrara

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The only way I can see you being able to do this is to upload a newer version of the book. No bookseller is going to give you contact details for the people who have bought your books through them: it would violate all sorts of data protection laws, I'm sure.



There are all sorts of issues you're not thinking of, but treating your paying readers unethically is the most problematic one that I can see.

Manipulating your reviewers is another problem. They're not going to like it if you delete the book to get rid of those reviews, and if they find out about this they might well repost their negative reviews on your newer versions.

I'm not trying to delete my reviews. I don't care if they stay. What I was thinking of doing is not deleting the whole book. If I take it off an "active" status and upload the edited version in place of the old version, everything else stays. Once I put it back on active everything is the same except the E-file.(is that even a word?) It's the same ISBN #, title, cover, blurb, reviews, etc. The only thing that's different is a much better quality book.

If someone on Amazon sees that a new version is available & they had already purchased the old version, they contact Amazon & will be sent a free new edition. At least this is my understanding of how it works.

BTW, OldHack I appreciate your help and was hoping you'd jump in and give me your advice! :)
 

Celeste Carrara

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Oh and I wanted to add that you cannot delete a book on Goodreads. Those reviews are always there & my reviews all came from Goodreads, then the reviewers also put them on Amazon. Kobo takes the reviews from Goodreads as well. So there is no way to delete the reviews and again I'm not trying to do that at all.
 

merrihiatt

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I wouldn't unpublish anything, but I would edit the book and note in the description that the book has undergone editing (maybe even put a date of when the new upload was made). I would also thank those who had previously purchased the book and let them know at the bottom of the description that a revision is available free. You can also ask Amazon to send those who purchased the book an email letting them know a revision is available for free.

As far as reworking which story comes first, second, etc., I don't have any advice. I wrote a trilogy with no intention of writing additional books. Since then, I now have three additional books slated for the story line.I called them sequels. If I had realized this in the beginning, I would have called it a series rather than a trilogy.
 

Celeste Carrara

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I wouldn't unpublish anything, but I would edit the book and note in the description that the book has undergone editing (maybe even put a date of when the new upload was made). I would also thank those who had previously purchased the book and let them know at the bottom of the description that a revision is available free. You can also ask Amazon to send those who purchased the book an email letting them know a revision is available for free.

As far as reworking which story comes first, second, etc., I don't have any advice. I wrote a trilogy with no intention of writing additional books. Since then, I now have three additional books slated for the story line.I called them sequels. If I had realized this in the beginning, I would have called it a series rather than a trilogy.


Thank you so much for your help! I think that is exactly what I'm going to do!

As for the series separation, I'm going to think more about that before proceeding.
 

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Thank you so much for your help! I think that is exactly what I'm going to do!

As for the series separation, I'm going to think more about that before proceeding.

Amazon sends a notice to those who purchased the book automatically. It shows up under "manage my Kindle"
 

merrihiatt

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Amazon sends a notice to those who purchased the book automatically. It shows up under "manage my Kindle"

I have never received a notice in that location, even though I purchased books that I know have been revised and uploaded again. Not saying Amazon doesn't do it, just that it might not be consistent and across the board. The authors I know who have revised their work contacted Amazon directly and requested they send out a notice.
 

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I have received emails from Amazon about books I've downloaded that have undergone changes. For example, one said,

The updated version contains the following changes:
Significant editorial changes have been made.

I don't know whether it's up to the author or not to send out these notices.
 

Amanda R.

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Don't try to cram through the editing just to get the book up. Don't try to tackle formatting for Kindle or Smashwords if you had a bad day or are tired. Self-publishing can be a lot of fun but, like anything else, there is a bit of a learning curve and you can get frustrated.

I was looking at the Kindle formatting stuff and getting overwhelmed looking at it. I don't think I could do it on my own. So I went to fiverr.com and found a couple of highly recommended people who can do the conversion from Word to Kindle for 5 bucks (one person had 400 satisfied customers). Also found someone to do the cover for 5 bucks and her past work was just gorgeous. So I would encourage people to check fiverr out if the formatting is just too much to handle.
 

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I was looking at the Kindle formatting stuff and getting overwhelmed looking at it. I don't think I could do it on my own. So I went to fiverr.com and found a couple of highly recommended people who can do the conversion from Word to Kindle for 5 bucks (one person had 400 satisfied customers). Also found someone to do the cover for 5 bucks and her past work was just gorgeous. So I would encourage people to check fiverr out if the formatting is just too much to handle.

Thank you for the tip! I'll have to take a walk over there to see if there are any artists I like.
 

Celeste Carrara

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Thank you for the tip! I'll have to take a walk over there to see if there are any artists I like.

Just as an FYI, I use Folium Book Studio for the conversion of my books. I love them & I love that I can go back in and make changes & they also give you an ISBN# But, it'll cost you more than $5 ;-)

Bibliocrunch is also a good site to find cover artists, editors, etc. Again, they will charge more than $5
 

Celeste Carrara

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Thanks for the help and advice everyone! I appreciate it.

I've hired a real editor for my 1st novel Give Me Forever! I was lucky she had an open slot and I'm excited to be working with her.

I've done some research, and a lot of thinking and this is what I plan on doing:

Once I get it back and make the necessary changes, I will format it and replace it with the file that is there now. When I do I will put it as a 2nd edition and note the 2nd edition is a professionally edited version. I will also change the publication date. All my reviews will remain the same because I am not deleting the book, just replacing the efile with a new version of the book. New readers will see the reviews but will also see that those reviews reflect an older version of my book. Those who already bought my book will have the oportunity to get the new version for free. (most of my sales are from Amazon)

Yes I wish I would have hired a professional editor from the start but you live and learn. I'm done beating myself up over it (believe me I was doing it a lot lately).
 

merrihiatt

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Good for you, Celeste. Way to take ownership, honor your readers and not simply throw in the towel. You will learn a lot throughout the process and undoubtedly be a better writer because of it. Forward motion!
 

thothguard51

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I was looking at the Kindle formatting stuff and getting overwhelmed looking at it. I don't think I could do it on my own. So I went to fiverr.com and found a couple of highly recommended people who can do the conversion from Word to Kindle for 5 bucks (one person had 400 satisfied customers). Also found someone to do the cover for 5 bucks and her past work was just gorgeous. So I would encourage people to check fiverr out if the formatting is just too much to handle.

So you turned your manuscript over to a bunch of guys/gals that you don't know because it only cost $5 bucks?

Wanna bet it ends up on some other site where anyone can download it for free?
 

kaitie

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I would also make sure that the formatting is up to snuff. You get what you pay for and all. I'm a little cynical about these things. Either someone really talented and ethical is so desperate they're willing to do that much work for so little, or someone is just going to throw something together in as little time as possible for five bucks.
 

Celeste Carrara

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I was looking at the Kindle formatting stuff and getting overwhelmed looking at it. I don't think I could do it on my own. So I went to fiverr.com and found a couple of highly recommended people who can do the conversion from Word to Kindle for 5 bucks (one person had 400 satisfied customers). Also found someone to do the cover for 5 bucks and her past work was just gorgeous. So I would encourage people to check fiverr out if the formatting is just too much to handle.

Thank you for the tip! I'll have to take a walk over there to see if there are any artists I like.

Please listen to the advice given below. You get what you pay for. I have learned that about editing and I know it holds true for other things as well.

So you turned your manuscript over to a bunch of guys/gals that you don't know because it only cost $5 bucks?

Wanna bet it ends up on some other site where anyone can download it for free?

I would also make sure that the formatting is up to snuff. You get what you pay for and all. I'm a little cynical about these things. Either someone really talented and ethical is so desperate they're willing to do that much work for so little, or someone is just going to throw something together in as little time as possible for five bucks.



Good for you, Celeste. Way to take ownership, honor your readers and not simply throw in the towel. You will learn a lot throughout the process and undoubtedly be a better writer because of it. Forward motion!

Thank you so much Merri!!
 

mairi

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I need some help and advice, please!

The editing of my 1st book Give Me Forever didn't go well. To be perfectly honest, I did not have it professionally edited before putting it up for sale. I relied on myself and 3 beta's. (believe me, I know this was a HUGE mistake) After a few months, I was told about some issues with spelling errors, and grammar erorrs. I then tried to fix things by using "friends" who had editing experience go through the book. At this point I could not afford to hire an editor. Then, when there were still issues, I hired a couple of people to proof read, and copy edit. Things still slipped by! Obviously I was not working with the right people.

My book has gotten what I feel are really harmful reviews about editing. They are issues I can't argue with and want/need to rectify. Which brings me to my delima.

Thankfully I have found a real, professional editor that I feel really good about. I have started to get the ball rolling and a new, properly edited version of my book should be ready within a few months.

I think I should take Give Me Forever (my 1st novel) and Give Me Your Trust (2nd in the series, novelette) off the market. I think after Give Me Forever is in top shape, then I should rerelease them both. Is this a bad move? I just don't want to have anyone else spending money on a poorly edited book. Is this too late to rectify? I know those reviews will always be there, but I'm hopeful that after I rerelease it with a note about it being a new edited version, it won't be an issue.

Since all this has gone on I have taken a better look at my books as a whole. I feel like I've made more mistakes.

My novella, Give Me My Destiny should have never been part of the series I started. I had called it the 3rd book in my series but it really should be the 1st book in a spin off series. (1st 2 books focus on the vampires, 3rd book focuses on the witches, all in the same city) So, since that book only has 1 review (4 stars on Goodreads, no written review) and has only sold about 3 copies, I have pulled it from being for sale. I'm going to get rid of the secondary title (Paranormal City book 3) and rerelease it as the 1st of a new series. Am I crazy for doing this? Will this have any negative affect on me? I know the cover will have to be reworked but that's not an issue. Neither is changing things on my website.

I just feel I need to do an overhaul on things and get myself on the right track! I've been feeling just so sick over all of this! I feel like I can't just leave things the way they are.

The only good thing, and really the only reason why I'm not just giving up totally, is that I have been contacted by readers who really loved my story. I have gotten compliments on my writing and story lines. Even some of the people who gave my book 2 stars said it was just because of editing!

What would you do if you were me? I'm open to any advice.

Thanks!

Just my two cents.

My book, The Werewolf Prince and I, had editing issues, too. It was also the only one of my books that didn't go through professional editing. I got a lot of bad reviews abt it, but I did post in my book's description that my novel is being professionally edited (and it is). The bad reviews abt editing still trickle in, but it doesn't really affect my sales that much. In fact, it's my most popular book, peaking at Top 2xx for overall paid ranking.

Basically, since you do have readers that love your books, I think it's okay to just upload the edited version to replace the old one when it's ready.

But that's just me. :)
 

mairi

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Thanks for the help and advice everyone! I appreciate it.

I've hired a real editor for my 1st novel Give Me Forever! I was lucky she had an open slot and I'm excited to be working with her.

I've done some research, and a lot of thinking and this is what I plan on doing:

Once I get it back and make the necessary changes, I will format it and replace it with the file that is there now. When I do I will put it as a 2nd edition and note the 2nd edition is a professionally edited version. I will also change the publication date. All my reviews will remain the same because I am not deleting the book, just replacing the efile with a new version of the book. New readers will see the reviews but will also see that those reviews reflect an older version of my book. Those who already bought my book will have the oportunity to get the new version for free. (most of my sales are from Amazon)

Yes I wish I would have hired a professional editor from the start but you live and learn. I'm done beating myself up over it (believe me I was doing it a lot lately).

Good job! :) Wish you all the luck with your books.
 

mairi

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AHAHA I know the feeling, because I do the exact same thing with people who rate my book low. One of them gave my book 1 star, and looking at her reading preferences, I discovered she rated my all time favorite book The Catcher in the Rye a 1. Animal Farm too. She gave a 5 star rating to Sailor Moon Vol. 7...UGH

I know how this feels. =/
 
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