THE Group for Authors! discussion

I have posted three books to Goodreads. I've been busy writing a fourth, and when I looked at Goodreads this evening, I saw there were two versions of each book. I read that Goodreads won't let you delete your books, Is this the case?
I will soon want to upload slightly revised versions of the three books. Does this mean I will have nine books visible?
Alternative. Can I delete all my books and just re-upload the latest versions? My email address is [email protected].

Many thanks Stan Arnold

You can't delete a book once it is published, it is a GR rule that they stay on the database.

I'm not sure what you mean by having 2 different versions? If you mean paperback/e-book etc then you can combine the versions so they appear under the main book title. You can do that from your author dashboard.

If you are revising/changing the original book, and assuming it will also result in a new ISBN then yes, it would be a new edition on GR.

Goodreads does not delete out-of-print books or editions. Please see http://www.goodreads.com/help/show/22... and http://www.goodreads.com/help/show/32...

As A.W. said, different editions of a book should be combined. Once that is done, as the author you have the ability to choose which edition of the book is the default, which will come up in searches by title and show on your author profile. Here's how: https://www.goodreads.com/help/show/3...

A.W. wrote: "You can't delete a book once it is published, it is a GR rule that they stay on the database.

I'm not sure what you mean by having 2 different versions? If you mean paperback/e-book etc then you c..."

And that's why I haven't, and won't, publish a book here. A publisher can do this sort of thing, but they pay for the rights first.
On all the Indie publishers I've offered my books through, I have the option to 'unpublish'. For that matter, so long as I don't go the Kindle Select route, I can also offer my own work via my blog or a commercial website should I establish one.
I've seen other authors express their opinion that they won't provide content here, other than reviews.

Jack wrote: And that's why I haven't, and won't, publish a book here. "

Goodreads is NOT a publisher and you do not publish a book here. Not sure where you get that idea from?

Goodreads is a social media site and provides a database of books for readers to discuss books, find books similar to other books they have enjoyed and to keep abreast of what their favourite authors are writing (amongst many other reasons why this site has millions of users).

Jack wrote: "A.W. wrote: "You can't delete a book once it is published, it is a GR rule that they stay on the database.

I'm not sure what you mean by having 2 different versions? If you mean paperback/e-book e..."

As A.W. said, you don't actually publish here. (Usually, anyway. There is an option to make an e-book available, and you can also post writing samples, but I'm pretty sure you can unpublish them.)

If you have published a book elsewhere, and it has been catalogued on this site, you will be able to see the entry forever. Even if the book has been out of print for 20 years, it is still possible to see that it exists, even if there are no outlets to purchase or download it.

My mistake, then; as I said, I've heard from others that whatever you publish here, comments, reviews, whatever, no longer belongs to you.
So what I write here is 'throwaway'; I understand that I relinquish all rights to it.

Jack wrote: "My mistake, then; as I said, I've heard from others that whatever you publish here, comments, reviews, whatever, no longer belongs to you. "

That's true of any social media site - Facebook, G+, Twitter. You don't own the content, except if it's on your own website.

I think as an author it would be very short sighted to turn your back on so many social media sites because you want to own all your content. How on earth would you ever interact and engage with readers?

Jack wrote: "My mistake, then; as I said, I've heard from others that whatever you publish here, comments, reviews, whatever, no longer belongs to you.
So what I write here is 'throwaway'; I understand that I ..."

Having waded through all of the hairy legal language in the terms of service, I am happy to report that this is not true. (I don't think your just having said so constitutes legal grounds for GR to hold you to that.)

The terms are actually pretty much as I had thought. You own your content. By posting most user content (comments, reviews, etc.) you are granting GR a perpetual license. The terms for writer content are similar; the chief differences being that the license is revocable, and if you are charging for the ebooks (which may currently be disabled, since they keep tinkering with the whole thing) they have to pay you.