Edit book after Published

[Cyberseeker]

Hi,

I published my book on Kobo last month. On reading it, I realise that there were mistakes that need to be fixed. (quite a few) How do I make a changes after its already been published?

Can re-upload and get a brand new start? Or do they let me in the back door to do each edit one by one?

(Mod. please move if in wrong forum)

[Dr. Drib]

Here's their website on self-publishing.

https://www.kobo.com/writinglife

Why don't you PM them if the answer is not there?

[E.M.DuBois]

Don't worry, I'm in the same boat, myself. I self-published on Smashwords after reading my novel four times for mistakes. There were still plenty. Luckily, I received some good advice here as far as self-editing tips, and found more on the web. And Smashwords allows an author to upload updated versions of the novel, even after initial publication, which is nice.

[HarryT]

It's shockingly unprofessional to publish an unproofed book. You say "On reading it, I realise that there were mistakes that need to be fixed. (quite a few)". I'm sorry, but why didn't you read it before you published it?

[gmw]

Kobo do have a user guide - I saved a copy of the PDF here (back in 2014, so not certain it is still current) but don't have a copy of the link (though I seem to remember it being hard to find).

Under the heading of "Editing your content" it says

After your eBook has been successfully published to the Kobo eBookstore, you
can edit its information at any time. All published eBooks can be found in the
“eBooks” tab, under the On sale category.

Select the eBook you wish to edit in the eBooks tab. From the dropdown menu
that appears, you can choose to edit the following:
[...]
Change eBook content
Selecting this link will allow you to edit the content inside your eBook.
[...]
We can apply your changes within 12 – 24 hours. For our partner retailer
stores, it generally takes an additional 24 - 48 hours before your changes come into effect.

I do publish on Kobo but I've never used that feature so can't help you more. As Dr. Drib suggested, an email to the site may give you a more detailed response.

[HarryT]

What about the people who've bought the flawed version, though. Are they stuck with it?

[gmw]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What about the people who've bought the flawed version, though. Are they stuck with it?

No mention is made of that in the user guide. My assumption is that people that have already downloaded will keep what they have unless they re-download it - in which case I would assume that they get an updated copy.

I've never tried it to see what actually happens, maybe Cyberseeker can tell us after they have been through the process.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by gmw

No mention is made of that in the user guide. My assumption is that people that have already downloaded will keep what they have unless they re-download it - in which case I would assume that they get an updated copy.

I've never tried it to see what actually happens, maybe Cyberseeker can tell us after they have been through the process.

At least Amazon tell you there's a new version available.

I really do want to stress, though, how wrong it is to treat your initial purchasers as your "beta readers". A book shouldn't be published until it's been properly and fully proof-read, and not by its author!

[gmw]

I stopped being lazy and did a search, the link for the User Guide in PDF form can be found here: KWL-User-Guide

The previously noted section now reads as:

To edit your published eBook’s information:
1.Sign in to your Kobo Writing Life Account.
2.Click eBooks.
3.Click your eBook, underpublished.
4.Choose what you’d like to edit:
[...]
Change your book content:
Selecting this link will allow you to edit the content inside your eBook.
[...]
We can apply your changes within 24 hours. For our partner retailer stores, it takes longer before your changes come into effect.

The new guide speaks of the author getting emails when updates to their books go live, not sure if that means purchasers will get them too.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Cyberseeker

Hi,

I published my book on Kobo last month. On reading it, I realise that there were mistakes that need to be fixed. (quite a few) How do I make a changes after its already been published?

Can re-upload and get a brand new start? Or do they let me in the back door to do each edit one by one?

(Mod. please move if in wrong forum)

What kind of mistakes? Grammar, spelling or now inaccurate data.
If it is grammar and spelling errors, in my opinion you should just take the book down and wait until you have the money to hire a professional to go over your book.
I can pretty much guarantee you won't find all the mistakes.

Little secret, first impressions are lasting.
People will not buy your second book if the first has a ton of errors.

Oh and if people start playing the how many errors will I find on this page game, or in some cases paragraph, not only have they lost the story but the author has lost a reader.
The author could also potentially gain a well earned 1 star review.

*I don't care what your day job is, get a second set of eyes on your work. Preferably someone with a good grasp of English.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What about the people who've bought the flawed version, though. Are they stuck with it?

In some cases yes, even on Amazon.
Also, what if these people have already read the flawed version. I would almost bet they won't read the updated version. I know I wouldn't. I probably wouldn't even bother getting the "fixed" version.
Only exception is backlist cookbooks and that is usually because the publisher has found some introduced errors or fixed some formatting. Note: I am talking the big 5.

For indie fiction not going to waste my time. (Since I more than likely got it free, if I see an updated edition and if I haven't read the original I sometimes just delete without reading.)
That to me says very unprofessional, hobby writer, not worth my time or money.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What about the people who've bought the flawed version, though. Are they stuck with it?

My experience with Kobo (not super recent) has been that I needed to know an updated version had been published by the author/publisher and had to bug CS to get the new version pushed to my account.

Originally Posted by HarryT

At least Amazon tell you there's a new version available.

From my understanding this isn't always true anymore.

[Cyberseeker]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's shockingly unprofessional to publish an unproofed book. You say "On reading it, I realise that there were mistakes that need to be fixed. (quite a few)". I'm sorry, but why didn't you read it before you published it?

My book is already published as a paper book, so spelling and grammar are thoroughly edited. The book is complicated with images that could only be imagined in an epub environment. The visual outcome could only be guessed at in Sigils window so I uploaded it and purchased a copy before anyone else did.

Im learning fast, and, if you haven't already noticed, Im on this forum so that I can get help rectifying it.

[Cyberseeker]

Originally Posted by gmw

I stopped being lazy and did a search, the link for the User Guide in PDF form can be found here: KWL-User-Guide

The previously noted section now reads as:


The new guide speaks of the author getting emails when updates to their books go live, not sure if that means purchasers will get them too.

Thanks.

Looking into this now, and will report back with my progress.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Cyberseeker

My book is already published as a paper book, so spelling and grammar are thoroughly edited. The book is complicated with images that could only be imagined in an epub environment. The visual outcome could only be guessed at in Sigils window so I uploaded it and purchased a copy before anyone else did.

Im learning fast, and, if you haven't already noticed, Im on this forum so that I can get help rectifying it.

If it is images well hmmm. I wouldn't try to fix them because it might appear that you are doing what I have seen many times.
Images just do not render well on e-ink screens.
You do have the advantage that your book can be opened both on a computer and an ereader.
I have had to do that a few times with e-books. Read on a device or two and go to the computer for images. (In one instance old letters that had been photographed.