Urgh - Smashwords problem

I'm assuming you mean "orphaned" by some other publisher?

That should have no impact on you publishing it as a new volume using your own account on Smashwords.

(You should, of course, ask them to unpublish it if they are no longer paying you for the right to publish.)

Generally, you should only see this error in the case where you have already uploaded this exact book title/file before on your own account using the Publish button.

You should doublecheck your account from the Dashboard to make sure there's nothing (public or private) that is an obvious source of conflict.

If there is something, then that's also the proper place to make your modifications to the existing version rather than uploading through the Publish button that is only for first time uploads of a new book.

Hope that helps...

Is there a reason you've chosen Smashwords over Draft2Digital? I use D2D and their customer service is impeccable. I had one issue (due to a policy of Apple's, not theirs), and the moment I emailed them they were on the case taking care of it. They contacted Apple on my behalf and straightened it all out within like a day. Their interface is also a breeze to use.

Highly recommend, unless you have a specific reason you want to go with SW.

I only use Smashwords for the channels that D2D do not support - and I upload a preformatted ePUB as the Meatgrinder and I had some issues...

Sorry I can't be more help, but you need Smashwords support to help you I'm afraid.

Hi Ninja,

I use Smashwords too. Log in. Go to your dashboard. You'll see the list of your books "Book Summaries". Find the title you want to upload the new version.

Beside the title is your name, status ("published" or "unpublish") and then a column that lists: Settings - Upload new version - Coupon - Stats - SEO - Change author

Click on upload new version and it will take you to the page that allows you to make changes to an already published book.

Hope this helps!

NinjaFingers said:

Mercy, you aren't understanding the situation.

My ex-publisher put the book on Smashwords. That version is under their account. I have no access to it.

When I try to post the book as a new book it gives me error messages.

I am asking if anyone has talked to Smashwords about this and knows what the protocol is so that if the answer is "Just ignore the error messages" I don't have to wait several weeks (with the book unavailable) to straighten this out.

Click to expand...

There's no such answer. If your old publisher doesn't have the rights to publish it any more, they need to take it down first, or you need to get SW to remove it so you can repost it under your own account. Such situations can take time to resolve--you're talking publishing rights, not process, at this point.