When we started publishing books via our Endpapers Press imprints, we had to hit the ground running in a lot of different directions.\u00a0 From ISBNs to LCCNs, it’s all been quite the adventure.<\/p>\n
One of the things it has really highlighted for me is how much “junk” there is on Amazon.\u00a0 Amazon has an amazing database and it pulls data from other systems and also allows original entries.\u00a0 And some of these entries are just junk.<\/p>\n
Take Distant Valor,<\/em> for instance.\u00a0 For a while, I noticed an entry for ISBN 0788166239, but by “G. X. Moreau” and published by Diane Publishing.\u00a0 I wrote to Diane Publishing and asked them to provide me a copy of the license for the work.\u00a0 They wrote back that they didn’t have one and that they had purchased about twenty copies used and that an intern had made an error in assigning the ISBN to it.\u00a0 But the entry lives on.\u00a0 I’ve written to Bookwire (part of Bowker) and to Amazon and asked that it be removed.\u00a0 We’ll see . . .<\/p>\n In another case, several titles that we reissued have entries that are just<\/em> ASINs and aren’t tied to any ISBN.\u00a0 These are, in fact, used books and in one case the UK edition that shouldn’t be for sale in the US (but since it’s a used book, I’d guess one can’t stop it).\u00a0 What’s happening is that third-party sellers of used and even new books create these entries but don’t use the appropriate links.\u00a0 There is a “Have one to sell?” link on pretty much every book.\u00a0 If you click that, it allows you to create a new entry that links to the existing entry for the book.\u00a0 And I like that.\u00a0 If used books must be sold right next to the new one, let’s keep it all tidy, eh?<\/p>\n Now, I don’t know if these non-linked ASINs are actually erroneous entries or if the people using them are just trying to game the system somehow.\u00a0 Perhaps used-book sellers don’t want links to the new editions or Kindle edition?\u00a0 I don’t know.\u00a0 But I wrote to Amazon about a bunch of them and I’ll be curious to see if anything gets cleaned up, e.g., do all of those used editions under some random ASIN suddenly show up under the right ISBN (paperback or hardcover) for the book.<\/p>\n Regardless of what the result is, though, I do suggest that authors do their own spring cleaning.\u00a0 Get on Amazon, Bookwire, BN, Audible, etc., and look up your books.\u00a0 Perhaps include Amazon UK, CA, DE, JP, etc., and see what editions are yours there.\u00a0 See an edition you don’t remember authorizing?\u00a0 Ask your agent or publisher if they licensed the rights.\u00a0 If you can’t figure it out, then have your agent or publisher (or do it yourself if rights have reverted and you have no agent) write to the publisher listed or seller listed and see if you can figure it out.\u00a0 There’s a chance that there’s foreign rights income due you or that you have found a pirate.\u00a0 If you really can’t get to the bottom of it, write to the Amazon site itself and explain the situation.\u00a0 If there’s actual copyright infringement going on, I’d expect the title to be pulled.<\/p>\n Next, pull out all of your contracts for rights, e.g., translation, audio, etc. and review the reversion clauses.\u00a0 Many contracts are for a set number of years and others can be cancelled if sales don’t exceed a certain number.\u00a0 Books that are under contract but not selling are lost money.\u00a0 Many translation rights contracts say nothing about eBooks.\u00a0 Talk to your agent about getting rights back and licensing again to another foreign publisher who will also produce eBooks.<\/p>\n Too many authors let things slide, I find.\u00a0 Sure, if you have an agent, the agent has an incentive to stay on top of reversions, but the process of checking all of your titles on Amazon and inquiring about suspicious listings is a time-consuming one that will forever be a low priority.\u00a0 So take a couple of hours and do that yourself.\u00a0 In the end, it may help not only make your listing on Amazon and other booksellers look better, but to also sell more books!<\/p>\n Z<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When we started publishing books via our Endpapers Press imprints, we had to hit the ground running in a lot of different directions.\u00a0 From ISBNs to LCCNs, it’s all been quite the adventure. One of the things it has really … Continue reading