Author Topic: Well they found a way to make blurbs a bigger pita (Read 11650 times)

notthatamanda · « **on:** February 06, 2020, 07:25:09 AM »

I retooled my blurb. Uploaded it on Author Central. I always change my blurbs on author central because how else are you going to do italics and bold? Can't do them on the KDP page.

Well now on Author central the paragraph returns don't work. I put the HTML code in, when the change shows up on Amazon (I know it went through because the words changed) no paragraph returns at all. Called author central. Got switched to KDP. He said if I'm changing it on author central I have to fix it on author central. Author central says I have to put it in on the KDP page. Thanked him and hung up before my head exploded.

Went and changed it on the KDP page. I guess it that works I'll change it on Author central to get the bold and italics where I want them? Does this really have to be this difficult? Don't blurbs suck enough already?

Shoe · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2020, 07:31:19 AM »

That's bad news. I hate going into KDP to make changes and seeing the "Under Review" status sneer at me for hours or days.

JRTomlin · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2020, 07:57:23 AM »

I just changed a blurb in Author Central and it doesn't seem to be going through at all.

Lynn · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2020, 08:25:46 AM »

If you want italics and bold but you want to do your blurbs in KDP, wrap them in or . Some HTML does work in KDP. Wrap paragraphs in . To get spacing issues to not be a problem, mush it all together.

To get spacing issues not to be a problem, mush it all together.Like this.

dgcasey · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2020, 08:41:10 AM »

I stopped using the Author Central blurb editor because it wouldn't give me what I wanted and the results were always hit or miss. I started using David Chesson's Kindlepreneur blurb tool and I just take the code it spits out and paste it into the KDP dashboard for whatever book I'm using. That tool won't allow you to use characters that Amazon won't like and it always seems to go through the Review process.

AmHere · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2020, 08:47:41 AM »

Supported HTML for Book Description

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201189630

notthatamanda · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:03:03 AM »

I tried Chesson's tool a while ago and it was worse. Guess I'll search my email and try it again.

I can also try putting the html codes in KDP. Thanks Lynn.

It's very easy on D2D or Kobo.

JRTomlin · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:30:58 AM »

Quote from: dgcasey on February 06, 2020, 08:41:10 AM

I stopped using the Author Central blurb editor because it wouldn't give me what I wanted and the results were always hit or miss. I started using David Chesson's Kindlepreneur blurb tool and I just take the code it spits out and paste it into the KDP dashboard for whatever book I'm using. That tool won't allow you to use characters that Amazon won't like and it always seems to go through the Review process.

Ooo. I'd forgotten about that. Do you happen to have the link?

notthatamanda · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:46:06 AM »

This is the one I have:

https://kindlepreneur.com/amazon-book-description-generator/

I just tried it. Plugged the code it gave me into Author central and checked the preview. The spacing was okay, but the bold and italic didn't work. And even before when I had the code right and the spacing looked okay on the preview, it stripped it out when it published and squashed all the beginnings of the next paragraph after the period in the last one. No space even. I think there is a different problem here.

At least I'm not in a time crunch on this.

Edit - I'll have to try using the code generated on KDP next, but I need to wait for it to publish or else I'll have no idea what I am looking at.

Bill Hiatt · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:50:58 AM »

One of the things that has irked me about Amazon since I first started KDP is the fact that the various parts aren't well integrated. When I first started, the HTML requirements for blurbs were different on KDP, Author Central, and Createspace. Now, the situation is slightly less complicated--but only because CS no longer exists. I don't understand why it's so difficult to have a common blurb interface that works across Amazon and handles HTML in the same way. It isn't exactly as if HTML is a new thing.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:51:36 AM »

Quote from: AmHere on February 06, 2020, 08:47:41 AM

Supported HTML for Book Description

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201189630

Thanks, that's helpful, but if it looks okay on the author central preview and then the code doesn't work when it publishes...
I went back and copied the code on another book that I have that looks fine. Looked exactly like I wanted in the preview. Didn't work on the store.

I'm in a holding pattern until my blurb publishes with proper spacing via kdp. Then I'll try adding the code on the KDP side.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #11 on:** February 06, 2020, 09:54:01 AM »

Quote from: Bill Hiatt on February 06, 2020, 09:50:58 AM

One of the things that has irked me about Amazon since I first started KDP is the fact that the various parts aren't well integrated. When I first started, the HTML requirements for blurbs were different on KDP, Author Central, and Createspace. Now, the situation is slightly less complicated--but only because CS no longer exists. I don't understand why it's so difficult to have a common blurb interface that works across Amazon and handles HTML in the same way. It isn't exactly as if HTML is a new thing.

Do we even know which one takes precedence if there are blurbs for a book on KDP and author central?

Lynn · « **Reply #12 on:** February 06, 2020, 10:12:54 AM »

It's my understanding that KDP always takes precedence. And if you make a change on Author Central, you MUST make that change on KDP or it will revert to the KDP version the moment you republish for any reason. OR you have to go back to Author Central and redo the description as soon as you republish on KDP.

(If I'm wrong, someone please correct me! But I have heard this from multiple sources.)

JRTomlin · « **Reply #13 on:** February 06, 2020, 10:18:35 AM »

Fortunately, I republish so rarely that that isn't much of a problem. It is good to know though. *sigh*

Why do they have to make something that should be quite simple - since HTML has been around forever - so damned complicated?

Lynn · « **Reply #14 on:** February 06, 2020, 10:22:23 AM »

Quote from: JRTomlin on February 06, 2020, 10:18:35 AM

Fortunately, I republish so rarely that that isn't much of a problem. It is good to know though. *sigh*

Why do they have to make something that should be quite simple - since HTML has been around forever - so damned complicated?

I honestly don't know. It's ridiculous how unfriendly even the new interface to add a book is.

I have known about the precedence issue for a long time though and so haven't ever bothered with changes on Author Central. I avoid it because I just know I'll make a change and forget to carry it over and update something and then have an outdated description up for the world to see. My luck it would be one I corrected for a typo or something.

AmHere · « **Reply #15 on:** February 06, 2020, 11:29:07 AM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on February 06, 2020, 09:51:36 AM

Thanks, that's helpful, but if it looks okay on the author central preview and then the code doesn't work when it publishes...
I went back and copied the code on another book that I have that looks fine. Looked exactly like I wanted in the preview. Didn't work on the store.

I'm in a holding pattern until my blurb publishes with proper spacing via kdp. Then I'll try adding the code on the KDP side.

Not sure what's happening in AuthorCentral since I don't use it for book descriptions. Maybe they have tags that are not supported in KDP? Not sure.

I use html tags in KDP for my descriptions and have had no problems.

Here is what I use to test it on my laptop.

1)Create a file called test.html. I use Notepad for this.

2) Put the code below in it
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h4>This should help test product descriptions on your laptop to see how it looks.
</h4>Keep all info mushed as Lynn said.You can use notepad to create/edit
your description using html tags.

</body>
</html>

3) Your html tags and description should go between the <body> </body> tags. This is only for testing on your laptop.

4) Double click on this test.html file and it should open in your default browser and show how it will appear on a web page.

5) Once it looks good on your laptop, only copy everything between <body> </body> tags to KDP (do not include the <body> tags).

6) When you upload to KDP sometimes you may notice line breaks and empty spaces - I just delete these manually and have never had a problem with my descriptions loading the way I want.

EDIT: In fact, you can see the empty spaces I am talking about in step 6, in this post in the html code.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #16 on:** February 06, 2020, 12:05:12 PM »

On KDP it said I had unsaved changes so I figured I'd try the HTML generator. Boy it really hated that.

Description contains an unsupported HTML tag. A lot of the code was underlined with angry red squiggly lines.

I break stuff. Sorry.

Back to plan ?

Edit - I just added the code in manually to the KDP page. All I needed was one bold, two italics and 4 line breaks. I guess we will see in the morning. If it works it wasn't that bad. Thanks for all the suggestions.

TimothyEllis · « **Reply #17 on:** February 06, 2020, 12:49:55 PM »

Author Central has been glitchy for a long time.

When I do Author Notes, I type it in until I'm ready to submit it, then copy and paste it into notepad, copy that again, and paste it back over what I started with.

It fixes the lack of paragraph returns.

One thing about doing the blurb in AC, if it ever stuffs up, you'll never have access to that again for that book. If the blurb thing breaks, Amazon cant fix it. You get forced back to KDP to change a blurb, or you have to submit it manually to AC. Total pain.

I try to avoid changing blurbs in there now.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #18 on:** February 06, 2020, 01:24:34 PM »

Some progress. Italics are good. Bold is good. I have four or so empty lines between each paragraph. Off to try to fix that on the KDP side.

TimothyEllis · « **Reply #19 on:** February 06, 2020, 01:26:31 PM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on February 06, 2020, 01:24:34 PM

Off to try to fix that on the KDP side.

What you put in AC doesn't get transferred to KDP.

So there will be nothing to fix. You have to redo it in total there.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #20 on:** February 06, 2020, 01:33:33 PM »

Yup I'm totally working in KDP now. Thanks. The change was made on the store, I'm still locked out in my bookshelf. I'm just torn between eliminating the two or keeping one. I want a blank line between the paragraphs. I'm sure whichever I pick will be wrong and then I'll be waiting for the system to let me back in again.

dgcasey · « **Reply #21 on:** February 06, 2020, 05:36:55 PM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on February 06, 2020, 01:33:33 PM

Yup I'm totally working in KDP now. Thanks. The change was made on the store, I'm still locked out in my bookshelf. I'm just torn between eliminating the two or keeping one. I want a blank line between the paragraphs. I'm sure whichever I pick will be wrong and then I'll be waiting for the system to let me back in again.

Don't use . It will always come to tears.

Use and , the first to start a paragraph and the second to end it. So, your code will look something like this.

The first paragraph goes here.The second paragraph goes here.

It will end up looking like:

The first paragraph goes here.

The second paragraph goes here.

Bill Hiatt · « **Reply #22 on:** February 07, 2020, 02:31:05 AM »

Quote from: Lynn on February 06, 2020, 10:12:54 AM

It's my understanding that KDP always takes precedence. And if you make a change on Author Central, you MUST make that change on KDP or it will revert to the KDP version the moment you republish for any reason. OR you have to go back to Author Central and redo the description as soon as you republish on KDP.

(If I'm wrong, someone please correct me! But I have heard this from multiple sources.)

Interestingly, I've heard both. Years ago, I heard from two separate sources that Author Central took precedence, and in fact, if you used Author Central, your changes in KDP would never again work. Of course, I heard a lot of things years ago that proved to be false, and the system may have changed since then.

Bill Hiatt · « **Reply #23 on:** February 07, 2020, 02:31:45 AM »

Quote from: dgcasey on February 06, 2020, 05:36:55 PM

Quote from: notthatamanda on February 06, 2020, 01:33:33 PM
Yup I'm totally working in KDP now. Thanks. The change was made on the store, I'm still locked out in my bookshelf. I'm just torn between eliminating the two or keeping one. I want a blank line between the paragraphs. I'm sure whichever I pick will be wrong and then I'll be waiting for the system to let me back in again.

Don't use . It will always come to tears.

Use and , the first to start a paragraph and the second to end it. So, your code will look something like this.

The first paragraph goes here.The second paragraph goes here.

It will end up looking like:

The first paragraph goes here.

The second paragraph goes here.

+1

notthatamanda · « **Reply #24 on:** February 07, 2020, 03:30:00 AM »

Still waiting for the change to go through before I can revisit it. Does make the first line of the paragraph indent? I don't want that.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #25 on:** February 07, 2020, 10:07:06 PM »

Well it looks like I want. I ended up using the and it was okay. That put an extra big space between the paragraphs. Now that I know that you can put the HTML code in on the KDP side it isn't that bad. I can't see using anything other than bold and italics.

Now I have to get back to working on the content of the blurb. Not looking forward to it.

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #26 on:** February 08, 2020, 02:31:29 AM »

When I use Author Central to update a blurb (never, these days), I click the HTML tab and enter the blurb manually with my own HTML codes.

The 'smart' text editor is buggy as hell, and will drop line spacing at a minimum. It will usually mangle everything else too.

However, since I can use the exact same HTML code on the KDP dash, I just enter it there instead.

BTW has anyone else noticed that paperback listings (KDP print) lose the line breaks if you include any HTML? I just enter everywhere I want a line break to fix it - not necessary for KDP ebook pages.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #27 on:** February 08, 2020, 02:49:15 AM »

Well I'm done with entering blurbs on Author Central, but it wasn't working earlier in the week, even with entering the HTML code, instead of using the editor.

I can't say on the paperback side, I use Ingram.

I just can't wrap my brain around this part being so hard for Amazon to get right. It seems really basic.

Post-Doctorate D · « **Reply #28 on:** February 08, 2020, 06:54:24 AM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on February 08, 2020, 02:49:15 AM

I just can't wrap my brain around this part being so hard for Amazon to get right. It seems really basic.

They don't have to use the interface so it's not a priority for them. Amazon is basically the ultimate study in throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Some things stick and others don't and, while the wall gets all messy, the ones doing the throwing are wearing rubber gloves so all's good as far as they're concerned.

News:

Author Topic: Well they found a way to make blurbs a bigger pita (Read 11650 times)