Can I Edit A Book After It'S Published On Amazon?

Question

Publishing a novel online left me with a few typos in the final version. How difficult is updating a KDP title once it's live, and does it affect reader reviews?

Edwin Firdaus · Answer

You can edit a currently-sold Amazon KDP ebook. To do so, upload a revised manuscript file for the book (as well as revised versions of the book’s description and cover). The revised ebook should appear within 72 hours of the new file being uploaded. Major revisions, however, will be a puzzle to readers of your previously-published work, and so may not be suitable for books about revision and new beginnings. I just finished reading The Rewritten Love: A Second Beginning, a romantic novel in which the main character is given the chance to revise the biggest mistake of her life. The idea of a second draft is thus given a deeply moving and very personal spin.

Joanna · Answer

Yes, editing after publication is possible. After a manuscript has been published by Amazon through KDP, the author can go back into the KDP dashboard and upload new revised versions of the manuscript. Typically within 72 hours or so, the new changes will reflect on the book’s store page.

One thing to note is that big changes to your book may cause problems with your current Kindle Unlimited enrollment. Also, while readers who’ve purchased your ebook can opt to receive updated versions of your book, you cannot force current copies of your book to be updated. This is why minor fixes to typos and such are easy to do, but big changes to your book could confuse readers who left reviews of the original version of your book. To avoid this all together, it’s best to get your book beta read and proofread before publishing it, and make any minor fixes necessary after the fact.

Charlotte · Answer

As someone who frequently buys books on Amazon and has recently been exploring the world of publishing, I can confirm that authors do in fact update their books. From my experience with Kindle books, I have seen on numerous occasions that after downloading a book, I will receive a notification advising that there is an ‘updated version available’. This is very similar to how apps are updated. However, an author is unable to update a book on devices where the book is currently offline. Recently, I contacted an author of one of my books regarding a typing error, and he had fixed it by the end of the following day. It’s also worth noting that if you have purchased the Kindle edition of a book, you are normally able to download the updated version for free. However, updated print editions only apply to new copies of the book, and only those copies ordered after the author has made the changes, and you can check when a book was last updated by looking for the ‘last updated’ date on the product page. In short, I always check the ‘last updated’ date now before buying a print book.

Tessa · Answer

I’ve assisted several authors with the process of editing a published book on Amazon. As it turns out, yes, you can edit a book after it has been published, but there are several limits. Cover, title and author name changes are all able to be made easily. ISBN number changes, however, require that you first unpublish your book and then republish it with the new number. To change the interior of a book, you simply upload the new manuscript file. The one catch with this is that printed books (paperbacks/hardcovers) require a new proof copy to be approved before the changes will go live. E-books, however, update in a matter of days at most. Note, however, that existing customers will not automatically receive the updated version of your book – they must download it again manually. To keep track of the changes you have made to your book, it is recommended that you keep a changelog for your book. The reason for this is that Amazon does not keep versions of your file.

Zane · Answer

Amazon allows authors to update their book(s) at any time. You upload new versions of the book file(s) and Amazon updates them within a few days. Updates do not affect book reviews or rankings. For eBooks, updated editions automatically become available to previous buyers when they re-download the book. (As with new paperback versions, authors order new proof copies before new hardcover versions appear on the site. The process is pretty straightforward and I have updated both editions on many occasions.)

Māku · Answer

This is another reason to be extremely careful when checking your final proof for your paperback. All of your author copies and books on extended distribution have the old content. You can’t update printed copies of your book that have been distributed. So, while your ebook may have the correct content, printed copies of your paperback will always be wrong if you find a critical error.

lhee najnob · Answer

Correcting objective errors to make objective changes is what tracked changes is designed for. Not to search for some subjective notion of perfection. I know of authors who have updated their book fifteen times in the last year, changing one word and then re-revisioning the same sentence over and over. All that could have been spent writing another book. Your first book will never be perfect. Fix the big errors, and then leave the rest of the small errors for now. Keep writing your next book.

Cagas John rose paul · Answer

Updated instructions for how to update a manuscript/cover point to upload in “Edit eBook Details” or “Edit Paperback Details” (3 dots in upper right corner of book detail page). Typically updated ebook purchased within a day or so. Future printed paperbacks use new manuscript/cover files uploaded. Old ISBNs are not changed unless entirely new edition of book is being published. Strategically, updating a manuscript/cover frequently can be very annoying to early readers and negatively affect book’s overall review average.

Ryian Berces · Answer

Support for readers: In the past, customers complained of errors that were subsequently fixed. In order for Amazon’s customer service to obtain the updated version of a book, they had to contact the publisher. This is helpful to know in the case of a review that notes a very obvious error. Even though it won’t automatically update the review, you can try to fix the error and then, politely, ask the reviewer to update their review. They do from time to time.

Bebs Jovero · Answer

Indie publishing is mostly a pro, but this allows for mistakes to be fixed in hours, not days. And the con is that many people publish before their work is complete, because they can always fix it later. But that’s not how it works. The edit button is a privilege. It must be used responsibly to keep up the highest standards of quality. The work of a professional editor and/or proofreader must not be substituted with the edit button.

Nerie Mendoza · Answer

So the ability to edit does exist but it is the meta-level of interest to me. For example, does knowing one can fix it later make one a sloppier writer? Or does it take the pressure off and thus allow for more creativity? I am not a writer but this is interesting to me as to the psychology of writers.

Can I Edit A Book After It'S Published On Amazon?

11 Answers

Related Books

My Possessive Alpha Wants Me Back

My Billionaire Ex-Husband's Regret

He Divorced Me, I Marry A Bigger Billionaire!

GoodNovel Author's Guidebook

Fall in love inside a novel!

Rewritten by fate

Topic

Related Questions

How to edit metadata after you upload books on Kindle?

What editions of Wuthering Heights are sold on Amazon?

Can Amazon remove books from my Kindle library?

Best tools to create ebook for Amazon Kindle publishing?

How do I fix formatting errors after uploading books to Kindle?

Are there any books like Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book Three?

How to transfer books between Amazon Kindle accounts?

Is Grammarly good enough to edit a book manuscript?

How to fix common Kindle book formatting errors?

Do you have to pay for books on Kindle if you have Amazon Prime?