# Startover - republish same book under different title/author



## KaiW (Mar 11, 2014)

Is it possible to 'double-publish' a book on kdp under a different title and author so as to 'trial' which works best? I'm wondering about one of my existing slow titles if I could republish under a different title and using a male pseudonym to see if it sells better, while still leaving the existing one up? No plagiarism issues as I'm still the author obvs so would amazon prevent? No fear of people buying the same book twice either as there haven't been many sales to begin with


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## Taking my troll a$$ outta here (Apr 8, 2013)

Not sure how much Amazon checks for plagiarism, (God knows we've been seeing plenty of that lately with all the paraphrased stolen books!) but I'm curious why you would think it might make a difference as far as sales? Perhaps a pen name with initials, which can be a little more ambiguous. 

It is tough to build a fan base, so I am worrying a bit over that for you.

Amazon is...interesting as far as what they intervene with. This past week I had to verify my KDP identity because Amazon was concerned I did not have the rights to publish E.B. Brown's work. I had to jump through some hoops to verify that indeed, I am myself, and it is the same pen name I have been publishing under since I started this gig.  It was a wee bit scary because they advised me they would pull my books and ban my account if I did not prove my identity/rights immediately.


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## Rick Gualtieri (Oct 31, 2011)

Quite frankly it doesn't strike me as a particularly wise idea, not the least of which is that its potentially double-dipping with customers.


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## seela connor (Apr 11, 2011)

Unless you really think it qualifies as such a substantial rewrite that it's a 'new' book, don't republish it!

You can change the title and the author in KDP on an existing book and provide a new file/cover.

This will allow your existing readers to update the book to the latest version without re-purchasing it.

It will prevent accidental double-buys and the potential of plagiarism flags in the system (if any).

I recommend putting something at the front of the book that mentions is was previously published under the name X.Y.Z, just in case readers are confused.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2014)

M.R. Greer said:


> Unless you really think it qualifies as such a substantial rewrite that it's a 'new' book, don't republish it!
> 
> You can change the title and the author in KDP on an existing book and provide a new file/cover.
> 
> ...


Yes, Yes, YES!

It isn't that the concept of repacking media is new. The problem is that if you do not explicitly state that the book was previously published as X by Y, you risk all sorts of very bad reactions from readers, not the least of which being fraud and plagiarism since the consumer won't know the two authors are the same person.

And logistically, this really makes no sense to have two versions of the same book out under different names/authors available because now you have to do TWICE THE WORK to sell the book. Not to mention the fact that reviews on version one will not carry over to version two and that you are splitting your sales rank.

This is just a horrible idea all around.


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## KaiW (Mar 11, 2014)

Thanks for advice, FWIW I hadn't planned on leaving both versions up indefinitely, just until I could see if my new strategy was getting any traction. My question was really if this was allowed by amazon and if there were any pitfalls other than double-purchasing which is extremely unlikely.

I think I may have misbranded and miscategorised the book in question as it doesn't quite fit with my existing catalogue which may be the reason for the slow sales.


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## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

M.R. Greer said:


> You can change the title and the author in KDP on an existing book and provide a new file/cover.
> 
> This will allow your existing readers to update the book to the latest version without re-purchasing it.


Sadly, this isn't as easy as one would expect. Previous Kindle customers don't automatically get new versions of your eBook file, even if they delete the old file from their Kindle or Kindle app and redownload the eBook.

The KDP publisher must upload the new file and cover, and then request that Amazon notify previous purchasers. Expect the process to take about six weeks, unless it's the holiday season, which can take longer. If Amazon approves the request, Amazon will notify previous customers, who must accept the updated version before they get the new file on their Kindles. Amazon won't approve the request unless the changes are substantial. Fixing typos and embarrassments won't cut it.


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## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

KaiW said:


> I hadn't planned on leaving both versions up indefinitely, just until I could see if my new strategy was getting any traction. My question was really if this was allowed by amazon and if there were any pitfalls other than double-purchasing which is extremely unlikely.


According to Amazon's rules for content, the eBooks must be substantially different. They can't have identical content, even if they have a different cover, title, and author.

When the new version is ready to be published, unpublish the old version and publish the new one. You have nothing to lose, since the old version wasn't selling anyway, was it?


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2014)

Quote:
"The problem is that if you do not explicitly state that the book was previously published . . ."

Years ago the paperback industry, especially the porn genre, issued reprints with different titles and author names to keep replenishing a hungry market.
Finally a consumer protection law was passed that required the phrase "previously published as . . ."
That law might still be in force.


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