I updated my published book, but when I download it, it's not changed. What's Wrong?

Note, this article has been superseded. The original information, published in 2018, is no longer valid.

New Information:  

Now, due to changes in KDP's policy, if you buy a copy of your ebook, after you publish it, and then decide that you're going to update it, you will not be able to obtain an updated copy on your Kindle device. yes, that's right, KDP will no longer 'push' a new copy of your updated file to you, the publisher.  

While KDP did not announce this as a major change, the changed policy--along with their policy about updating purchasing customer's copies--is clearly stated on their HELP pages, here:

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200966010 

Although the title of that article originally makes it appear that you can "push" updated content--in short, you can't. Not unless KDP itself demanded that you make the changes, or that they were so significant that the original buyer would have had a disappointing experience. In short, what they are telling you is, "don't think that you can just update your ebooks willy-nilly; make sure that they are as perfect as possible before you publish!"

One can only presume that KDP was so overwhelmed with requests, for updated files being "pushed" to owner's Kindles, that they just got fed up. I do know that I've seen not one, but many publishers on the various Kindle and KDP forums nearly bragging about the fact that they've updated their eBooks 11, 15, 20-something times so you can see how KDP might have lost its sense of humor. 

Nonetheless, you've been warned--don't assume that your Kindle ebook is like your 8th-grade book report, sitting on your computer in Word. You can't just willy-nilly update it and expect to see the latest and greatest on your device--you won't. Neither you, nor more importantly--your purchasers, either.  So, edit, edit edit and proof, proof proof!

Superseded, old information, DO NOT USE or RELY UPON:

Unfortunately, just re-downloading your book won't get you the updated file. Why? Because Amazon customers can make annotations, bookmarks, etc., in their eBooks, and if a new version is "automagically" uploaded, over their existing, all that information is wiped out.  Customers don't want that, not without choosing it for themselves.  That means that you need to ask Amazon to "push" (that's the specific  term to use) the new version to your "Content and Devices" so that you can upload it to your Kindle.

 This also means that your existing buyers won't get the new, updated file, either. If you feel strongly that you want them to receive this, or have the option to receive it, you have to write to Amazon, or use their Contact Us page, https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/contact-us and ask them to "push" the book to the buyers.  They won't do this, just because you screwed up and didn't proofread!  You have to explain to them, and make a compelling case, as to why they should notify the buyers that there's a new version, and make it available to them.

 Good luck!

---end of superseded article---

 

 

That poor bastard was the victim of the Double Whammy.  First, he's pirated, and then, to rub salt into the wound, the mere act of him being pirated causes Amazon to question the legitimacy of his publishing the Boxed Set!  Talk about ignominy. Another wrote:

"We are trying to publish a couple of books on KPD which my husband wrote in 2012. They have told us we need to prove we have publishing rights, but don't help with insight as to how to accomplish this. Say they can only respond to publisher!" 

That one goes on to say that she can't get anywhere with Amazon because they don't accept that her husband is the publisher. What the hell do you do, if you're in that situation?

Now, the only way that this would be occurring is if someone else--we'll call that thief Darth Dickhead--files a claim, with Amazon, that your work is actually their work. So...how do you prove that you're you? How do you prove that you wrote your own book?

This is simply a newer, digital form of a type of thievery that's been around forever, known as claim-jumping.  If you're unfamiliar with the term, claim-jumping is when someone else claims to own or have rights to property that you have already claimed as your own.  

The bigger and easier-to-answer question is: how can you easily prevent this from happening?

The simple answer is, you can't.  Any idiot--any Darth Dickhead--can click a button on Amazon's website and claim that your Intellectual Property--your book--is theirs.  In this day and age, the sound of a Light Saber swooshing has been replaced with the sound of a click.  The click that will deprive you of your rights.  

Click below, on "Read More," to answer the question, "How Can You Protect Your Books?"

If you've been hanging out with me for a while, or you're one of our clients, you know that one of my pet peeves is the inattention, by many self-publishing authors, to the realities of the importance of COVER DESIGN. I started nagging you all about this not less than 5 years ago (see my early-on article, Cover Design Calypso which I originally published in 2010), and my various and sundry kibbitzes since then, if you don't remember.

Jackie Collins' "Chances" available now! 

Get it Now on Kindle!

...And we're thrilled to have her IN THE HOUSE!  "Chances," her runaway smash hit, is coming out in less than 3 days available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple...all the usual places.  We're thrilled, of course, that her team chose Booknook.biz to be the eBook producers for "Chances," and we hope to continue this relationship with her as she keeps breaking ground as a self-publishing big-time bestselling author.  You can find "Chances" at:  http://amzn.to/LdU1Qz on Amazon. 

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The book that made Jackie Collins one of America’s favorite authors sweeps you from the sophisticated playgrounds of Europe to the glittering gambling palaces of Las Vegas. It plunges you into the reckless, dangerous world of the Santangelo crime family. It introduces you to Gino Santangelo, the street kid who makes it all the way to the top. And then brings you Lucky—his sensual, stunningly beautiful, and passionate daughter; a woman who dares to win her father’s empire for herself; a woman unafraid of taking…CHANCES.

Don't miss the eBook launch of Chances--coming June 7th.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, I received a panicked email from a long-time editing acquaintance of mine. Why is my book on Amazon all in italics?

On a recent Saturday afternoon, I received a panicked email from a long-time editing acquaintance of mine.  Her award-winning book needed some updates, so, being über-competent in making her own ebooks, she made the changes and uploaded the book.  She checked back a few hours later, and it was one of those, "good news, bad news" moments.  The good news?  The LITB (Look Inside The Book) had updated, almost immediately.  The bad news?

Holy Typography, Batman!  Her entire Look Inside The Book was in italics.