Actually, I’ve been having one of those days since Friday. Ever since I sat down to format Finding Hunter for CreateSpace, and Word refused to cooperate. Slowly, I’ve become a snarling, ill-tempered wreck, biting my nails, tearing my hair, and cursing everything and everyone in my sight. NOT a pretty picture.
But I thought I had finally gotten everything wrapped up pretty well this morning. Then I decided to make a small change to the back material in Finding Hunter for Kindle. I made the change, uploaded the new file, and checked out my Bookshelf…ONLY to see that I had uploaded the newly revised Finding Hunter manuscript to the Swamp Ghosts file!!!! (If you heard a hideous scream coming from every direction at once an hour or so ago, it was probably me. No matter where you live.)
Once I could breathe again, I called Amazon customer service, and got a very nice man immediately. Only problem was, he couldn’t cancel the upload. Only Kindle Select folks can do that. And they’re gone. For the weekend. But they’ll email me when they get back. 24 to 48 hours from now. Meanwhile, the changes will go live in 12.
The good news is, I can fix them at that time, but then along will come Kindle Select personnel in 24 hours, and stop what I just fixed. For the life of me, I can’t see how this plays out in less than a week of messing around, during which time anyone who buys Swamp Ghosts is going to find the wrong book inside the covers.
Now, you’d think they could go back and download the RIGHT one, once it’s all fixed. But I’m still without a current version of Wake-Robin Ridge, after paying for it three times. It still sends me the original version, errors and all.
I’m not a happy camper. I’m not sure I’m ever going to be a happy camper again. And right now, I’m in the ridiculous position of praying no one downloads a Kindle version of Swamp Ghosts for the next week or so. You’ve been warned. If you were considering reading it, please wait until I give the go-ahead, to be sure you aren’t stuck with Finding Hunter in a Swamp Ghosts cover. I’d say a week should do it, but I’ll post here if it gets sorted sooner.
Now, I’m going to go lock myself in my room and have a good cry. So there.
The Write Stuff 
I’m so sorry you’re having a rough day! On the plus side, you probably can fix the book much sooner than you think. I stalk my KDP dashboard sometimes after uploading a new file, and it often lets me start editing again in as few as a couple of hours. If that’s the case, you can upload the correct file then, and it will go live in a similar length of time. Chances are good that there will only be a couple of hour window with the wrong file up, so no readers may be affected at all.
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Thanks, Aimee. I’m trying to calm down (or clam down, as I usually type). I’ve been checking constantly, and the access buttons for editing are still grayed out. 😦 I THINK Finding Hunter is going to be okay, fingers crossed. But not Swamp Ghosts.
Here’s my biggest worry. Swamp Ghosts will go live, and I’ll upload the proper file, and by the time the Select folks get back and check on it, they’ll put a stop on the upload, which by then will be the RIGHT one. Arrrggggggggggghhhh. I wish the guy hadn’t even emailed them about it. At any rate, I’m going to correct it the very minute it goes live, and hope it’s all a done deal when they get back from their holiday. Then maybe they’ll email me BEFORE they touch anything, and I can avoid any more delays.
This has been a learning experience, for sure. Check and DOUBLE check before clicking any buttons, anywhere. If I hadn’t been so worn out from this mega-formatting job, I wouldn’t have made such a bozo mistake. Shouldn’t this stuff be getting easier, after 5 books? 😀
I think tomorrow will be a day in the garden. I need a break! And I’m going to sit up all night watching for SG to go live, I imagine. I might just hire someone to format the print book next time. Maybe. (I hate relinquishing control, even when I don’t want to do something.)
I appreciate hearing your experiences. I’m trying to be positive. (Sometimes it’s hard.) Hope all is well with you.
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Ooh, you have my sympathy. I haven’t done exactly what you did, but back last year when the EU VAT situation appeared, and we were told we’d need to adjust our prices to compensate for that or lose revenue, I obediently changed the UK prices of my books, (at that point they hadn’t gotten around to telling us they would do it automatically), and suddenly the Countdown promo I had arranged for the one I have in Select was cancelled, because I’d changed the price too near the time of the promo!
I had a whole bunch of ads paid for, and although the US countdown went ahead, it became a US only promo – not so good for me here in the UK.
I asked Amazon if they could make an exception, for exceptional circumstances, and although the rep agreed I should be able to, the whole thing is automated, and they can’t by-pass it.
Such is the juggernaut that is Amazon 😦
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Ooooh, that’s so much worse, Deb! That cost you money!! And potential income. 😦 I’m so sorry that happened.
I’m not going to be hurt by this, but I worry about those who might download the book, and then wonder what the heck happened. I can explain, assuming I find out about it, but that doesn’t help much. And I have to say that even though Amazon says you can update your books if they’ve been edited, I’ve never been able to get it to work. So I’m afraid anyone who gets the bad copy will be stuck with it, forever! All I can do then is send them a print version, again, IF I know about it.
I get really upset when things happen to readers, especially if it’s due to an error I’ve made. But I am assuming (maybe foolishly) that this can be sorted out in a couple of days, and if there haven’t been too many downloads, it will be okay. Mostly. I THINK Finding Hunter is going to be fine, and since I haven’t officially announced it’s up there yet, there aren’t many folks grabbing that one. The reason I was worried about it is because I’ve always converted my Word docs to filtered HTM files before uploading to Kindle, as I was instructed to do. I forgot to do that, after my 10th time of trying to fix this little glitch (which I wish I’d left alone). So I thought maybe I’d screwed up everything. But if it wasn’t an acceptable format, surely it wouldn’t have…well…ACCEPTED it. Which it DID. *me, scratching my head, here* Maybe you don’t have to convert to htm anymore?
Yes, Amazon is a true juggernaut. The good news is, I got a phone call within 30 seconds of clicking Call Me Now. The bad news is, the guy couldn’t help me. 😦 Ha. Go figger!
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Fingers crossed you can get it sorted fast – keeping the customer/fan happy is our greatest goal, after all.
I’ve had great help from Amazon on other issues, just this one time when it cost me money was so infuriating, because they even agreed with me but still couldn’t do anything about it!
Did you get your Createspace issue sorted? I’ve struggled with that one before now too.
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Hi, Deb,
The sorting consisted of an email from Kindle Select folks saying there was nothing they could do, and I had to wait until the book is Live again, then reupload the correct file. 😦 However, it shows no signs of going live. It is still “In Review” after nearly 24 hours. Not even “Being Published” yet. The good news about that is that my original (correct) book is still on the sell page. The bad news is, I have to continue checking constantly, so when it goes live (if it ever does), I can immediately fix it. There will be a gap when it is wrong, but I can’t help it. Anyone who downloads during that period will have two days to “return” it, as usual. Hopefully, they’ll try again when it’s corrected.
Of course, if it’s stuck forever in “In Review Mode,” well…that might be just fine, too. I never intended to make any changes in it, and it’s still available for purchase. So I guess that wouldn’t be TOO horrible. Though I think authors should have access to their own books. And currently, I don’t, what with all the buttons and choices grayed out.
Still…it’s not as bad as losing money would be, and so far, that hasn’t happened. But it seems to me any system that blocks an author out has a serious flaw. But I bet you and I have learned some important lessons here, for sure. Life…it’s always teaching us something new, even if it’s “what not to do!” 😀
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When it goes live (assuming it does), to cover the gap you can always add a line to the top of the book description explaining what happened and asking purchasers to come back in a day or two. You can do that on your author page and the change will show up (usually) within a couple of hours.
Of course you will have to change it back again as soon as things get sorted, but it might be worth it?
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I just checked and Swamp Ghosts IS publishing now. I doubt I’ll be able to tell from the book page if the interior files are Finding Hunter or not, since the “preview” page always seems to lag a day or two behind. But it’s looking like I’ll be able to upload the original file some time today, and what I think I’ll do is post a note that says something like “If you’ve downloaded an incorrect version of Swamp Ghosts, please “return” for a refund, and try again in 2 days.” That way, only those who got a bad version need to worry about it. And I can take the note down as soon as I have the corrected file up again.
Sales are very slow this weekend, so it may not be an issue at all. (This is the first time I ever remember thinking, “Hope no one buys Swamp Ghosts today!” 😀 ) What an experience this has been, and ALL because I wanted to add a better hint of what’s coming next at the end of Finding Hunter. Sometimes striving for perfection can screw you up! 😉 Thanks for commiserating with me, Deb, and for offering suggestions. I keep telling myself that this, too, shall pass. Next week, I’ll be laughing about it. Maybe. 😀
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Same thing happened to me. I sent Create Space the original manuscript of “Miyuki, Harvard Girl.” I then had them edit for me and they printed the original manuscript instead of edited one. Then they wanted me to pay for the changes and they were quite firm. Enter Anna, Create’s super star. She sorted things out for me.
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Sorry I missed this earlier, Eldon. Glad your problem worked out, though I fully understand how frustrating it can be, hassling with folks via emails and phone calls. Let us know when Miyuki is available.
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I know that awful feeling, like it’s been one long grueling day. For me the whole summer felt that way. Amazon can be so frustrating. I’ve never taken down a book that was already downloaded, but if it’s our right to download and offload as we deem fit, why couldn’t you just take down the wrong file you downloaded? If you chose to take it off, or cancel the download, why would Amazon proceed downloading it? That’s scary! 😦
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So sorry I missed your comment, D.G. Blame it on stress, old-age, bad eyesight, or all of the above! 🙂 I’m also sorry you’ve had a bad summer. I’ve had better, myself, but hey…we’re heading into fall now, so we’re due for a sea change, right? 🙂
I wasn’t actually taking down a book. I was trying to STOP an incorrect upload. (I uploaded my edited contents from one book to ANOTHER one, in error.) Turns out you simply can’t stop it. You have to wait until the book goes live (with a totally different book inside its cover!) and then REUPLOAD the book that really ought to be there. The one you never meant to swap out to begin with. So woe be unto any readers who download the messed up book during the interim, before Amazon gets it swapped back again. *sigh*
First time since I started writing that I was glad 12 hours went by with no one purchasing Swamp Ghosts. 😀 Everything is good now, though, and I hope you’re having a better run of luck now, as well. Nice hearing from you.
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Thanks Marcia. Oh, thanks for explaining that, and glad it’s sorted itself out now. So beware before downloading, lol. Seriously, that’s annoying that you have to go through the whole download process before taking it off. 😦
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Yes, the upload was already in progress, with the incorrect material going from me to them (totally my mistake), and they said they couldn’t stop it. I can’t imagine they can’t cancel something like that, but they said not. So I had to sit by as the wrong file went merrily to amazon and inserted itself between the covers of a different book, entirely. Then, after it went LIVE, and an unsuspecting reader could have bought it, I was able to upload the original file. GAH. I almost had a breakdown, waiting for it to be done with, so I could fix my mistake. Imagine how you’d feel if you bought a book, opened it on your Kindle, and found a completely DIFFERENT book inside?
But it’s all fixed now, and all my books have the proper content within them again. (And Hunter Painter has been ordered to keep his story within his own book cover, and out of Gunnar Wolfe & Maggie’s book. So…lesson learned. BE VERY, VERY careful before you click that UPLOAD button. There’s no stopping the process if you send the wrong thing.
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Well thanks for sharing this IMPORTANT lesson Marcia. I could only imagine the anxiety you went through. Sheesh, we have enough stuff to contend with! 🙂
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I know. It’s the downside of self-publishing, I guess. There are still a few things we can’t control. Do you have any excerpts you’d like to share with us this week? Would love to have you join in the event, if you have time. And thanks for following. 🙂 So nice to have you here.
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Thanks again Marcia. What would you need from me besides the excerpt? I could get something together on the weekend, as I’m publishing tomorrow and away all day Friday. 🙂
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Anything you want shared that would help new readers find you. Buy Links, if you have them yet, and a cover image, for sure, if available. If you don’t have those things, you can add them later, or do another post. Email me at mmeara@cfl.rr.com, and I’ll send you an invitation to be a contributor, and that way, you can start a new post here, without having to go through me. And all my contributors are encouraged to post news or questions any time they want. This is a blog that works a bit like a bulletin board, so we can share more easily. Would love to have you on board.
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Oh that sounds wonderful Marcia. I’ll email you so I don’t have to take up your blog space here now. 🙂
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