Need some advice about unpublish/republish with KDP asap

[Kay Camden]

I'm posting this here instead of in the publishing forum because this one seems to get more traffic and I need some advice asap about a title that just went live.

1. What are the consequences of unpublishing and then re-publishing a paperback on KDP besides wasting an ISBN?

2. If I want my KDP paperback title to show up as "Book Title (Series Name, Book One)"
is this how I do it in the KDP book details?
Title: Book Title
Subtitle: Series Name, Book One

3. Will Amazon allow me to do #2 if my book's cover only says "Book Title" ?

4. Will all this be unnecessary once Amazon links my paperback to my Kindle book, because my Kindle book title shows up how I want it? Does the Kindle title take over for both formats?

[LilyBLily]

Maybe this will help.

1. Not sure why you think you need to unpublish just to change how the series name and volume number are listed on Amazon. I've never unpublished a book so I can't tell you about that part.

2. I just checked one of my series and I see that one book in paper shows "Volume 3" but the next in the series doesn't show the volume number across the top of the listing. I'm sure if I contact Amazon Author Central, they'll add the volume number.

3. None of my series books have a volume number on the cover, although they do have the series title.

4. I suspect unnecessary. Just check and contact Author Central if the info doesn't automatically generate. The paperback listing on Amazon still shows that my book is Book 4 in the series, just not at the top next to the title. It shows Book 4 and the series name under the review stars.

[Kay Camden]

Maybe I should add some background to this. I've been back and forth with Author Central already. I originally had "Book Title (Series Name, Book One)" in the title field of my paperback. Amazon rejected it, saying I needed to remove the parentheses or upload a new cover that included that part on the cover. They said the parentheses part was redundant, and that it would be added to the title automatically. So I removed it and hit publish. Book goes live with "Book Title" and that's it. Meanwhile, my Kindle version has the full thing. I emailed back and asked them to fix it so the paperback has the full thing, they said sorry, can't do that. Paperback title is not editable after publishing and my only option is to unpublish/republish. And that title field is now locked for me in KDP.

Maybe I'm being nitpicky, but it's my darn book and I want the title to appear how I want it to appear. As it is right now, the paperback looks like a standalone. I just don't expect readers to scroll down and read those details to see it's part of a series.

[Misty Bane]

Have you linked the paperback and ebook versions?

[Lick Darsey]

Maybe I should add some background to this. I've been back and forth with Author Central already. I originally had "Book Title (Series Name, Book One)" in the title field of my paperback. Amazon rejected it, saying I needed to remove the parentheses or upload a new cover that included that part on the cover. They said the parentheses part was redundant, and that it would be added to the title automatically. So I removed it and hit publish. Book goes live with "Book Title" and that's it. Meanwhile, my Kindle version has the full thing. I emailed back and asked them to fix it so the paperback has the full thing, they said sorry, can't do that. Paperback title is not editable after publishing and my only option is to unpublish/republish. And that title field is now locked for me in KDP.

Maybe I'm being nitpicky, but it's my darn book and I want the title to appear how I want it to appear. As it is right now, the paperback looks like a standalone. I just don't expect readers to scroll down and read those details to see it's part of a series.

I published a paperback with Book Title (Series Name, Book One) on the cover. I listed the title as Book Title (Series Name, Book One) in the metadata when publishing. The Amazon product page listed the book with Book Title (Series Name, Book One). The issues is that whatever appears in the title field of the metadata also has to appear on the cover. It can be super tiny but it has to be there or it won't pass the review. At least not for me.

Once you publish a paperback the title can't be changed because the ISBN is locked. In your case, I think you need to publish a new edition with the title you want on the cover and in the metadata. Unfortunately the product page of the first edition with never go away. Amazon doesn't remove print edition product pages. However, you can link to all editions of the book so that the newer edition, or whichever is available, shows in the store.

It used to be when entering the series information in the metadata the series name and book/volume number would show on the product page. Nowadays it works about half the time for me so I stopped counting on the series information to show in the store.

I hope this answers your question!

[Kay Camden]

Have you linked the paperback and ebook versions?

Not yet. I'm afraid the paperback title will take over.   

I published a paperback with Book Title (Series Name, Book One) on the cover. I listed the title as Book Title (Series Name, Book One) in the metadata when publishing. The Amazon product page listed the book with Book Title (Series Name, Book One). The issues is that whatever appears in the title field of the metadata also has to appear on the cover. It can be super tiny but it has to be there or it won't pass the review. At least not for me.

Do you know if this rule applies when using Draft2Digital? I'm seriously considering using them next time.

[Bill Hiatt]

I've never put the series info in the title area. I've always just filled it in where series information is asked for. and for me, it always showed up on the product page. I just went back to check the one paperback I've done since the switchover to KDP. Series info only in the series area, and the info shows up on the product page. Maybe that's the way to go in the future.

Kay, I'm not sure, but I think D2D-submitted books would be handled the same way.

[Lick Darsey]

Do you know if this rule applies when using Draft2Digital? I'm seriously considering using them next time.

I'm not sure how it works with D2D. I've never used them for print.

I've never put the series info in the title area. I've always just filled it in where series information is asked for. and for me, it always showed up on the product page. I just went back to check the one paperback I've done since the switchover to KDP. Series info only in the series area, and the info shows up on the product page. Maybe that's the way to go in the future.

Kay, I'm not sure, but I think D2D-submitted books would be handled the same way.

Putting series information in the series field used to work for me but it stopped working. Even after having books 2 and 3 published. I have no idea why.

[Kay Camden]

I need to do some research and find out if D2D does print, or if they have a sister company that does...

I've never put the series info in the title area. I've always just filled it in where series information is asked for. and for me, it always showed up on the product page. I just went back to check the one paperback I've done since the switchover to KDP. Series info only in the series area, and the info shows up on the product page. Maybe that's the way to go in the future.

Bill, would you mind telling me which paperback you've done in KDP so I can take a look at how yours looks when linked to the ebook?

Putting series information in the series field used to work for me but it stopped working. Even after having books 2 and 3 published. I have no idea why.

Do you think it stopped working after the switch from CreateSpace to KDP?

[Bill Hiatt]

I need to do some research and find out if D2D does print, or if they have a sister company that does...

I've never put the series info in the title area. I've always just filled it in where series information is asked for. and for me, it always showed up on the product page. I just went back to check the one paperback I've done since the switchover to KDP. Series info only in the series area, and the info shows up on the product page. Maybe that's the way to go in the future.

Bill, would you mind telling me which paperback you've done in KDP so I can take a look at how yours looks when linked to the ebook?

Putting series information in the series field used to work for me but it stopped working. Even after having books 2 and 3 published. I have no idea why.

Do you think it stopped working after the switch from CreateSpace to KDP?

Sure, it's here: https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Waits-When-Parallels-Collide/dp/1793871922/

Interestingly enough, when I looked more closely, the paperback doesn't show the series number. However, there is currently only one, so perhaps that's why.

[Lick Darsey]

Do you think it stopped working after the switch from CreateSpace to KDP?

There may be a connection but I'm not sure. Books I published through CreateSpace do show the series and book number entered in the series fields with the title at the top of the product page. Books published more recently through KDP don't show the series info at the top of the product page. However, I have a hardcover I published through IngramSpark that also doesn't show the series info with the title on the product page even though it's entered in the series field on IS.

To add to the mystery, the series info does show lower down in the Product Details section where sales rank and categories display for the paperbacks and hardcover but not for the Kindle edition. Actually, it's hit or miss with Kindle editions for me. I have one that shows the series info with the title and one that doesn't.

[Kay Camden]

Bill, first of all, great cover. Second, how did you get them to allow that series title in parentheses when it's not on the cover? And why did they put your series name in parentheses when they didn't put mine in parentheses? I filled out the series info on the book details page and I just looked and it's still there. It's so weird to me that a mostly automated system can have these kinds of inconsistencies...

[Kay Camden]

Do you think it stopped working after the switch from CreateSpace to KDP?

There may be a connection but I'm not sure. Books I published through CreateSpace do show the series and book number entered in the series fields with the title at the top of the product page. Books published more recently through KDP don't show the series info at the top of the product page. However, I have a hardcover I published through IngramSpark that also doesn't show the series info with the title on the product page even though it's entered in the series field on IS.

To add to the mystery, the series info does show lower down in the Product Details section where sales rank and categories display for the paperbacks and hardcover but not for the Kindle edition. Actually, it's hit or miss with Kindle editions for me. I have one that shows the series info with the title and one that doesn't.

 

[Bill Hiatt]

Bill, first of all, great cover. Second, how did you get them to allow that series title in parentheses when it's not on the cover? And why did they put your series name in parentheses when they didn't put mine in parentheses? I filled out the series info on the book details page and I just looked and it's still there. It's so weird to me that a mostly automated system can have these kinds of inconsistencies...

I have no idea why they do what they do. I've been doing the same thing since I started publishing, and it always seems to work. Maybe it was just dumb luck, and the next time, I'll have a disaster. As far as the parentheses are concerned, that's the way my series info has always appeared. Interestingly, the anthologies in which I've appeared display series info in the same way (all parenthetical).

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but my subtitle field is always empty. The one time I started out with something in the subtitle field, the series info didn't show until I removed it. I've also never put series info in the title area. Maybe having it in both places causes a problem. (I'm trying to look for rational explanations where there probably isn't one.)

From what Lick and others have said, it sounds to me as if there are glitches in the system. Since Amazon has no reason to suppress series information, there's some hope that the problem may get fixed.

[She-la-te-da]

D2D doesn't do print unless you've been accepted into their beta program. As far as I know, that's still not ready to open to all.

For the title to appear as you want it, it must be on the cover and entered into the proper fields in the upload process. Ebook and print must be exactly the same, title and author name, or it won't link. However CS did it, CS is gone and we have to do it the way KDP wants it. I haven't done a print book yet, so maybe the upload fields are different than the ebook, and I might be talking out of my butt.

[Kay Camden]

D2D doesn't do print unless you've been accepted into their beta program. As far as I know, that's still not ready to open to all.

For the title to appear as you want it, it must be on the cover and entered into the proper fields in the upload process. Ebook and print must be exactly the same, title and author name, or it won't link. However CS did it, CS is gone and we have to do it the way KDP wants it. I haven't done a print book yet, so maybe the upload fields are different than the ebook, and I might be talking out of my butt.

The series name of Bill's paperback doesn't appear on the cover yet it is included in the title field at the top of the product page... 

It would be nice for Amazon to give us a preview of the product page before everything goes live and permanent. I've suggested this in my messages to them. What's also frustrating is when you hit the "Publish" button on a paperback in KDP, it actually goes into final review where it could be delayed. "Publish" should mean publish, not send for review. That "publish" button should only show up after their review is finished, and we've seen a preview of what the final product page will look like.

[Lick Darsey]

All the fields match between print and Kindle editions for me.

[Kay Camden]

Good news, everyone. Persistence pays off. After about 10 messages with KDP support, they have agreed to change it for me. They say I'll need to republish, so I'm not exactly sure if that means there will be two editions of this paperback or if we are republishing the same one...

Edit: I spoke too soon. They're not going to fix it seamlessly. They say I have to republish which means there will be a new edition. This is what can be so frustrating about KDP support. A new rep every time, answering me based on a script instead of human problem solving, and failing to read the whole thread and understand the whole situation. 

[Kay Camden]

They fixed it!! No need to republish, no need for a new ISBN. I don't know what the secret was, other than being persistent, patient, and firm. Now all they have to do is link the paperback with the ebook and I'm ready to put this one behind me and focus on book two!! 

[Bill Hiatt]

Many times, the first response is no, but persistence does the trick. It's just a shame you had to put so much effort into it.