An Update on Moving Books to KDP Print

So, Amazon appears to have finally worked things out. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had moved three of my print titles over to KDP Print from CreateSpace. I moved them one at a time, using the Create Paperback link on KDP, and I was able to keep the same ISBNs (I own the ISBNs for all my books; I purchased them from Bowker). The reason I could keep the ISBNs is that the interface asked me if they were published on CS and gave me a chance to enter the ISBN. Amazon has changed that protocol so that the KDP Create Paperback button didn't allow using an existing ISBN.

Amazon was working on a way to move all a writer/publisher's CS titles to KDP in a single step. They had a link for it on the KDP bookshelf weeks ago, but it didn't work! Apparently, they unplugged one way to move titles before making sure the new way worked. After a while, they took that link away, but it returned a couple of days ago, and I was able to use it successfully, if not seamlessly.

At the point in time I clicked the link, I had five titles in CS. One was in draft because I am having problems with that cover and I cannot fix them myself. One of the five I had approved for sale recently, even though the cover needs work because they are things I can fix, and I wasn't sure it would move to KDP if it was still in draft. The other three had all been for sale for sometime and were properly linked to their Kindle versions on their Amazon product pages.

So, once I clicked the "Move my titles" link on the KDP bookshelf, I got the page with the three buttons: validate my CS account, validate my KDP account, and move the books. This time all three buttons seemed to work!  When it was done, everything disappeared from CS. The account was still there, but there were NO books listed.

In KDP, results were less uniform. One of the titles moved over perfectly, and was already linked to the Kindle version. The other titles have moved over but had not linked automatically.  When a book exists in KDP in two formats, if they are properly linked, there is only one entry on the bookshelf, like this:

Each format has its own menu to edit content, details, etc., but they are one title.  If there is only one format, the entry on the bookshelf looks like this:

If the book is a Kindle book, the links are for creating or linking a paperback, and if it's a paperback, the links are for creating or linking a Kindle version. For four of the five books I moved over in one step, KDP created a second entry on the bookshelf instead of linking them. When I tried to link them myself, using the Link to Existing Paperback on the Kindle bookshelf entry, it did not work, but when I used the Link to Existing Kindle version on the newly-created paperback entries, it worked fine. I was very pleased that the draft CS title with the problematic cover came over just fine, as a draft entry in KDP. And for the one that's in better shape, but isn't really ready for prime time, I was able to pull it off sale by using the Unpublish option on the paperback menu.

My books are all now moved over. Goodbye, CreateSpace. It was nice knowing you,

Alien Vows has launched!

Alien Vows, the sequel to Alien Bonds, and Book 2 of the 3 book Wakanreo trilogy, is now for sale on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats.

It took more than nine months, but I still feel like a should offer you a cigar! 

UPDATE: Alien Vows already has its first review!  It's short, but very good. Five stars, in fact! 

Celebrating a 2-star review

The review of Alien Bonds above is interesting because it's actually an excellent review but the reviewer opted to give only 2 stars. This is certainly his or her prerogative. I have taken away stars in reviews for an ebook that was badly converted and full of typos (although never for a living author). And in this instance the reviewer made it clear the problem was not bad writing or a dull story, but simply the point of view from which the story was written. 

As someone who cannot read a present tense novel, I can empathize. Some writers like present tense because they think it's more immediate.  It's supposed to make the reader feel like the story is happening now. I can tolerate present tense when it's used intermittently, to show different timelines, for example; but after a while, present tense is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I just want it to be over. If the whole novel is present tense, I simply don't try to read it.

I will say that while the entire narrative of  Alien Bonds is certainly third person, I don't know that I would call it omniscient. I try to be sure every scene is in someone's point of view. There are at least three POV characters; I would have to read the book again to guarantee there aren't more. In the sequel. Alien Vows, there are five. I know some readers don't like "head hopping" from character to character, but the longer the Wakanro saga goes on, the more complicated it gets. I prefer to change the POV character and not have that person relate what happened later, in the main character's presence. To minimize the sense of head-hopping, I tend to write in a not-that-close third person, which may be why the reviewer saw it as omniscient. 

Anyway, kudos to Pygmy Amazon Reviews for sticking with my book! It's the best review I ever got from someone who didn't enjoy reading the book.