# Formatting issues with J.D. Robb's "Promises in Death" - What should I do?



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

J.D. Robb's newest book "Promises in Death" arrived today as scheduled. However, I am not happy with the formatting. Basically, there are HUGE gaps between each paragraph (this issue isn't present on any of the other Robb books I have on Kindle). It makes reading through it a massive chore.

When I previously complained about formatting issues, Amazon pulled two of the books and never brought them back, and did nothing with two of the other books.

What should I do here?

I know I have seven days to request a refund, no questions asked, so that isn't my issue. But I want to actually *read* this book, and soon! And I want Amazon to actually *fix* this problem. I'm irritated paying $9.99 (or any price really) for formatting this unprofessional and shoddy. (Just for the record, this is no fault of the author and should not be held against her.)

BTW, Akw4572 said he experienced the same thing with a recent Clancy book (LINK). Does anyone know what ended up happening there? Did they correct the issue?

*UPDATES:*

1) To start with, I e-mailed Amazon customer service informing them of the issue. We'll see what they say.

2) Grrrr... They issued me a $10 credit (which has yet to appear), but it seems they didn't even read my e-mail. They apologized for the errors in "Silent in the Sanctuary" (What?!). I just fired up a follow-up e-mail. I was tempted to use the "call me back" option, but at this rate, I'm not in the mood to have to re-explain everything. If I get another canned form response though, I'll be calling.

3) Amazon CS has been AWFUL so far (which is surprising, considering their good track record).

This time, they said that Kindle books are electronic versions of paper books, and the paper book is the same way. Erm, no, it isn't. 

I e-mailed them again because they got back to me within minutes (which is good, at least), so I'm hoping they'll respond just as quickly now. Hopefully, they'll give me a proper response this time. If not, I'll definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY call.

4) So far, Amazon has ignored my latest e-mail. I guess I must've p*ssed them off by asking for a response from a real human being.  Then again, yesterday was the Kindle 2 launch date, so they were probably swamped. I'll cut them some slack for that, as they're usually excellent. They were beyond awful yesterday though, and they offered me a credit I've yet to receive. Not that I ever asked for it or wanted it in the first place (I'll probably just request a refund), but still.

I'm down sick today, so I'm not gonna waste my time/energy calling them. If anyone else is upset with the formatting of this book, please take up the mantle for me and contact customer service about getting this fixed.

As it stands right now, I don't think they've even put this on a to-do list to fix. First they identified the wrong book and then they claimed the horrible formatting of the Kindle version was identical to the paper book (erm, no). Obviously, I was just getting computerized form responses. Really lame.

*If anyone else is as unhappy with the shoddy formatting of "Promises in Death" as I am, please do something about it. *_

-- Quick update: I did get the promised credit (which I never asked for, but it was nice to receive anyway) and a refund._


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I just checked and there is quite a bit of space. Same thing happened with the last Mercy Thompson book. I just downloaded it again from Amazon and it doesn't appear they've made any changes. 

I'm with you. Not sure what to do.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

To start with, I e-mailed Amazon customer service informing them of the issue. We'll see what they say.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

It seems that fixed versions of a book file are not automatically available to owners of previous versions. When I last spoke to Amazon about it, they said the only way it could be done was to refund the original sale and buy the title again. That's a poor solution if the price of the book has gone up, and a whole lot of trouble.

[rant]I suppose they want to avoid the possibility of authors writing ongoing serials or creating alternate endings but I think they should address that in the contract with publishers rather than punishing readers.[/rant]


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Jeff said:


> It seems that fixed versions of a book file are not automatically available to owners of previous versions. When I last spoke to Amazon about it, they said the only way it could be done was to refund the original sale and buy the title again. That's a poor solution if the price of the book has gone up, and a whole lot of trouble.
> 
> [rant]I suppose they want to avoid the possibility of authors writing ongoing serials or creating alternate endings but I think they should address that in the contract with publishers rather than punishing readers.[/rant]


Yeah, it's pretty lame. Depending on what Amazon says, my next step will probably be to request a refund and just re-buy the book later. Hopefully it won't go up from its $9.99 price.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

*I would call them...you'd get a faster answer to your concerns.*


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll read it anyway and then delete it.  The formatting may be bad, but I want to read the book.  The question is will it look better on a K2?


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

chynared21 said:


> *I would call them...you'd get a faster answer to your concerns.*


E-mail is pretty fast too though. They usually get back to you within a matter of hours, and it sure beats waiting on the line, listening to canned elevator music, and having to struggle through a convo because the CSR might be overseas (not sure if that's the case with Amazon, but it's the case everywhere else).



Gables Girl said:


> I'll read it anyway and then delete it. The formatting may be bad, but I want to read the book. The question is will it look better on a K2?


Doubt it'll look any different/better on a K2. I don't see how. (I mean the formatting, which has nothing to do with the K2's improved e-reader screen.)


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

CS said:


> E-mail is pretty fast too though. They usually get back to you within a matter of hours, and it sure beats waiting on the line, listening to canned elevator music, and having to struggle through a convo because the CSR might be overseas (not sure if that's the case with Amazon, but it's the case everywhere else).


*LOL, I hate when calls are rerouted. Don't get me started on the 4 1/2 hour call to India over 2 days...but they solved the problem ))

The last time I called CS for a refund...it was pretty darn quick, less than a minute of wait time and definitely on the homefront )*


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

chynared21 said:


> *LOL, I hate when calls are rerouted. Don't get me started on the 4 1/2 hour call to India over 2 days...but they solved the problem ))
> 
> The last time I called CS for a refund...it was pretty darn quick, less than a minute of wait time and definitely on the homefront )*


I e-mailed CS because I figured it would be easier to explain the formatting problem in writing. I haven't requested a refund yet, but that's probably my next step. I'm well within my seven day window, so I'm not worried.

I am annoyed though. I was really looking forward to reading this, and there's no excuse for such shoddy formatting on a new book. I suppose I could just accept the imperfections and slog through the badly spaced paragraphs, but why should I settle for less when there's no reason I should have to?

People are too quick to accept laziness and mediocrity IMO.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

The last time I contacted Amazon CS, there was a line to have them call you back.  They said they would call me right back ... promise.  I clicked and my phone rang.  I almost fell off the chair.  It was Amazon CS ... really ... they kept their promise.  

As opposed to HP (not Harry Potter) CS who are now on my S*** List.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

gertiekindle said:


> As opposed to HP (not Harry Potter) CS who are now on my S*** List.


That's a list I try to avoid at all cost. 

My experience with Amazon customer support was almost identical to yours, Gertie. I, very skeptically, clicked the "Call Me" button and the phone rang before I navigated off the page. After about twenty seconds of a recorded message (which I expected to hear for an hour) a real human came on the line and called me by name. It can't get much better than that.


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## beachgrl (Nov 10, 2008)

I found formatting problems with Kate Jacobs' Comfort Food.  I emailed CS just to make them aware of the problems.  I did not even request a refund, but they did so anyway.  I was still reading the book, mess that it was and the next time I turned on Whispernet the book was removed from my Kindle.  I figured that it was done so that I could repurchase.  The book was gone from the kindle list.  Now I am awaiting it's return, halfway through reading it!  Paperback is supposed to be released this spring, so I am waiting, maybe Amazon will have the kindle edition for sale again.

So, if you love the book struggle through and don't turn on your Whispernet until you reached the end.
Good Luck!


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

While it *is* a bit annoying to have the extra space between paragraphs and yeah it'd be nice if it had "perfect" formatting, so far I've really only found it slightly annoying, resulting only in a little extra hitting of the next page button due to there being less text on a page. I can handle that, and I've seen worse-formatted books. *shrugs* As with most books, once I started reading it during lunch, I quickly got into the story and didn't even really notice the extra space or the extra button-hitting all that much. But I know others may be bothered by it more.

Too bad I had to stop reading and go back to work...


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Grrrr... They issued me a $10 credit (which has yet to appear), but it seems they didn't even read my e-mail. They apologized for the errors in "Silent in the Sanctuary" (What?!). I just fired up a follow-up e-mail. I was tempted to use the "call me back" option, but at this rate, I'm not in the mood to have to re-explain everything. If I get another canned form response though, I'll be calling.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

CS said:


> Grrrr... They issued me a $10 credit (which has yet to appear), but it seems they didn't even read my e-mail. They apologized for the errors in "Silent in the Sanctuary" (What?!). I just fired up a follow-up e-mail. I was tempted to use the "call me back" option, but at this rate, I'm not in the mood to have to re-explain everything. If I get another canned form response though, I'll be calling.


That's not good. I just downloaded a free copy of _Silent in the Sanctuary_ yesterday. Now it sounds like the formatting may be messed up. LOL

If it makes you feel any better, I sent an e-mail to CS last week asking about whether or not downloading screensavers/wallpaper will void the warranty. The response I got only told me what file formats the Kindle would read. I never asked about the formats for reading, so I don't know why that was the response I got. They never did answer my question. LOL


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## Brian (Nov 13, 2008)

Jeff said:


> It seems that fixed versions of a book file are not automatically available to owners of previous versions. When I last spoke to Amazon about it, they said the only way it could be done was to refund the original sale and buy the title again. That's a poor solution if the price of the book has gone up, and a whole lot of trouble.
> 
> [rant]I suppose they want to avoid the possibility of authors writing ongoing serials or creating alternate endings but I think they should address that in the contract with publishers rather than punishing readers.[/rant]


So does this mean they have multiple versions of the same book on their server. That seems like it could cause more problems down the road. What if you deleted it from your Kindle and re-downloaded it? Would that get you the updated version?


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I bought this book and was looking forward to reading it. I haven't seen it yet. Keep us informed if you hear from CS. I hope they don't pull the book and not reissue it. I'll have to wait until later tonight to see if I won't to keep it. Thanks for the update.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't remember having purchased a book for the Kindle from Amazon that didn't have some sort of formatting issues. These are the sort of errors that I have never/rarely seen in printed editions. I _could_ conclude from this that the publishers consider us to be second-class citizens in the book world and not worth of spending any proofing time on, and that we are so desperate for material to buy that we will accept anything and be grateful for it.

Oh, wait. That's what I _do_ conclude.

Never mind.

Baen books is one of the few that take proof-reading seriously. I don't remember every having found an error in a book I've gotten from them.

Mike
(not normally a cynic, but in this case. I'll make an exception)


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Brian said:


> So does this mean they have multiple versions of the same book on their server. That seems like it could cause more problems down the road. What if you deleted it from your Kindle and re-downloaded it? Would that get you the updated version?


My understanding is that there is a copy of every book you buy in your own "personal" library on the Amazon sever and then there's also a "master" library. When publishers update the book, the change is made to the master library, but not to individual personal libraries.

I've updated my own books several times fixing typos that readers have mentioned. As far as I know, no one who already owned a book has been able to get the latest edition. Coincidentally, I've just been through this again in the last few hours with an author who updated his book with new information and suggested that his readers download the new file. I deleted the existing version from my Kindle then downloaded a fresh copy of his book from Amazon. The book on my Kindle does not have the newly added information.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Amazon CS has been AWFUL so far (which is surprising, considering their good track record).

This time, they said that Kindle books are electronic versions of paper books, and the paper book is the same way. Erm, no, it isn't. 

I e-mailed them again because they got back to me within minutes (which is good, at least), so I'm hoping they'll respond just as quickly now. Hopefully, they'll give me a proper response this time. If not, I'll definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY call.


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## Brian (Nov 13, 2008)

Jeff said:


> My understanding is that there is a copy of every book you buy in your own "personal" library on the Amazon sever and then there's also a "master" library. When publishers update the book, the change is made to the master library, but not to individual personal libraries.


Jeff, thanks for that information. Even though these books are not huge in size, that seems like the most inefficient use of server space that they could come up with. I would have thought a master library would contain the books and then each individual account would contain a "pointer" to those books purchased. I know a lot (maybe most by now) of email software uses the master file approach. Think of sending a large electronic file to 100 of your coworkers. Instead of that file being in the email system 100 times, it is in there one time and each of the 100 emails has a pointer to that attachment. A much more efficient use of server space.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Brian said:


> I would have thought a master library would contain the books and then each individual account would contain a "pointer" to those books purchased.
> ...
> A much more efficient use of server space.


I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't do exactly what you suggested.

In addition, it might also be prudent to keep a backup of previous editions in case a newest version was badly flawed. But hundreds of thousand of duplicate files makes no sense to me.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I don't remember having purchased a book for the Kindle from Amazon that didn't have some sort of formatting issues. These are the sort of errors that I have never/rarely seen in printed editions. I _could_ conclude from this that the publishers consider us to be second-class citizens in the book world and not worth of spending any proofing time on, and that we are so desperate for material to buy that we will accept anything and be grateful for it.
> 
> Oh, wait. That's what I _do_ conclude.
> 
> Never mind.


Agreed. And it's really


Spoiler



f***ing


 annoying.

So far, Amazon has ignored my latest e-mail. I guess I must've p*ssed them off by asking for a response from a real human being.  Then again, yesterday was the Kindle 2 launch date, so they were probably swamped. I'll cut them some slack for that, as they're usually excellent. They were beyond awful yesterday though, and they offered me a credit I've yet to receive. Not that I ever asked for it or wanted it in the first place (I'll probably just request a refund), but still.

I'm down sick today, so I'm not gonna waste my time/energy calling them. If anyone else is upset with the formatting of this book, please take up the mantle for me and contact customer service about getting this fixed.

As it stands right now, I don't think they've even put this on a to-do list to fix. First they identified the wrong book and then they claimed the horrible formatting of the Kindle version was identical to the paper book (erm, no). Obviously, I was just getting computerized form responses. Really lame.

*If anyone else is as unhappy with the shoddy formatting of "Promises in Death" as I am, please do something about it. *


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

I reported it too and another book I have that is full of errors at the end of the book. Both emails ignored. I'm not happy.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I reported it as well over the phone. She refunded my purchase price and told me she put in a trouble ticket to have it looked at. Very nice. 

As much as I want to read it, that spaces were too much. I guess I know what I'm spending an Audible credit on. I'll buy the Kindle version when they fix it.


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

I powered through it, the story was worth the formatting problems.  Now I've deleted it and can move on to the next book.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah, it was a minor annoyance, but not so much that I couldn't finish the book in one day (lunch then evening). *shrugs*


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Gables Girl said:


> I powered through it, the story was worth the formatting problems. Now I've deleted it and can move on to the next book.





Steph H said:


> Yeah, it was a minor annoyance, but not so much that I couldn't finish the book in one day (lunch then evening). *shrugs*


With all due respect, attitudes like this are the reason why so many e-books have formatting issues and Kindle/e-reader customers are treated like second class citizens by the publishing world.

If you accept mediocrity, that's what you'll be given.

Me, I'm going to go ahead and ask for that refund.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

To each their own, CS. That minor of a formatting issue doesn't bother me and isn't worth wasting my time with.  If it bothers you, you're welcome to push it and ask for a refund. More serious formatting issues would bother me and I would do the same. Otherwise, I don't particularly feel like a second class citizen as every other book I've read has been formatted just fine (typos are another story, but I don't see that as a formatting issue). I don't really need a lecture on accepting mediocrity.

We all pick our own battles to fight with customer service/publishers/whomever. This one wasn't even worth a skirmish in my eyes. *shrugs*  On the other hand, I did have a go at Amazon customer service over the weekend due to a book that is linked wrong from a paper version, with the wrong description and reviews, it has the same name as another book by another author; the picture and author name are for the 2nd author and the book ended up being for the 2nd author, not the 1st author that I wanted. I wrote 'em from the "refund" link, and had a refund 30 minutes later -- on a Sunday.  The Kindle book is still listed wrong. *sigh*


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Steph H said:


> To each their own, CS. That minor of a formatting issue doesn't bother me and isn't worth wasting my time with. If it bothers you, you're welcome to push it and ask for a refund. More serious formatting issues would bother me and I would do the same. Otherwise, I don't particularly feel like a second class citizen as every other book I've read has been formatted just fine (typos are another story, but I don't see that as a formatting issue). I don't really need a lecture on accepting mediocrity.
> 
> We all pick our own battles to fight with customer service/publishers/whomever. This one wasn't even worth a skirmish in my eyes. *shrugs* On the other hand, I did have a go at Amazon customer service over the weekend due to a book that is linked wrong from a paper version, with the wrong description and reviews, it has the same name as another book by another author; the picture and author name are for the 2nd author and the book ended up being for the 2nd author, not the 1st author that I wanted. I wrote 'em from the "refund" link, and had a refund 30 minutes later -- on a Sunday. The Kindle book is still listed wrong. *sigh*


Steph, I apologize if it sounded like I was lecturing you. Not my intention at all.

If all of the Robb books were formatted this way, I could probably let it go and just accept it as "their style" on the Kindle, so to speak. But that's not the case. Every other Robb book (that I've seen anyway) is formatted perfectly, so why should I settle for such a lazy rush job? There's no excuse for it IMO.


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

CS said:


> With all due respect, attitudes like this are the reason why so many e-books have formatting issues and Kindle/e-reader customers are treated like second class citizens by the publishing world.
> 
> If you accept mediocrity, that's what you'll be given.
> 
> Me, I'm going to go ahead and ask for that refund.


You are welcome to ask for a refund. The formatting was not that bad that it was unreadable IMO, I've seen worse and complain about them. I even had a book that was missing the last chapters, I did complain and did get a refund on that. I chose to pick my battles for more important things then a little extra white space. As for being a second class citizen and accepting mediocrity that is your opinion not based on fact or any knowledge of me. I really didn't appreciate your lecture.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

CS said:


> If all of the Robb books were formatted this way, I could probably let it go and just accept it as "their style" on the Kindle, so to speak. But that's not the case. Every other Robb book (that I've seen anyway) is formatted perfectly, why should I settle for such a lazy rush job? There's no excuse for it IMO.


In the 200+ books I've ogtten from Amazon, only 3 have had formatting issues enough to bother me. I've always asked for and received a prompt refund. As for it being a lazy rush job, it could just be a mistake. I've bought print books poorly formatted and edited too..It happens.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

Gables Girl said:


> As for being a second class citizen and accepting mediocrity that is your opinion not based on fact or any knowledge of me. I really didn't appreciate your lecture.


CS already apologized.


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

Hey, I made 250 posts!  My status is now "Arthur Conan Doyle."  I love his books.  LOL


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

CS said:


> Steph, I apologize if it sounded like I was lecturing you. Not my intention at all.





mwvickers said:


> CS already apologized.


Not to me.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Just for the record, I've asked for a refund.  

I hope Amazon fixes this issue. 

Those who don't ask for a refund now, as Jeff pointed out earlier, are not going to be able to update their Kindle with the corrected version later on (assuming Amazon does correct it).


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Gables Girl said:


> Not to me.


Re-read what I wrote to Steph, squint at the screen, and pretend it says Gables Girl instead.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

CS said:


> Steph, I apologize if it sounded like I was lecturing you. Not my intention at all.
> 
> If all of the Robb books were formatted this way, I could probably let it go and just accept it as "their style" on the Kindle, so to speak. But that's not the case. Every other Robb book (that I've seen anyway) is formatted perfectly, so why should I settle for such a lazy rush job? There's no excuse for it IMO.


Funny thing is, I'm just the opposite. If all Robb books were formatted this way, I'd probably be more ticked off about it because I'll admit, it *would* get old if all the books I read were done that way. If it's a one-off, I can live with it as a case of "just this one time they formatted it slightly different".  And yeah, I have all the other ones on Kindle (went on an "In Death" re-reading spree from start to finish over a couple of weeks in October, just before the November release), and none of the others are done this way. Who knows what went wonky...

Heck, I was just tickled pink that this new one started at $9.99 instead of $20.xx and I could read it the day it was released!







I could put up with a little white space for that, I like the series enough.









No worries on the apology, and mine in return if I was snotty in my reply. Can't we all just get along?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Formatting problems can be frustrating....and we all have different levels of frustration. I don't think anybody should take CS's use of the pronoun "you" as personally directed at them; I certainly didn't. Let's move on to the actual problem--problems with book formatting, Promises in Death in particular.

CS or anyone else who has reported it to Amazon CS and gets a response, or anyone who purchases the book subsequently and find the problem has been corrected, let us know.

CS, thanks for letting us know about the problem, and for this discussion. We can all make our own informed choices now!

Betsy


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Formatting problems can be frustrating....and we all have different levels of frustration. I don't think anybody should take CS's use of the pronoun "you" as personally directed at them; I certainly didn't. Let's move on to the actual problem--problems with book formatting, Promises in Death in particular.


Not to beat a dead horse (I hate that phrase ), but since he quoted me and GG specifically in his post, I think maybe we both had a teeny case for thinking he was talking about us particularly. But I think we're okay now. 

Love the hat, dahling!


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Steph H said:


> And yeah, I have all the other ones on Kindle (went on an "In Death" re-reading spree from start to finish over a couple of weeks in October, just before the November release), and none of the others are done this way. Who knows what went wonky...


I have them all on my Kindle too...and the Audible version as well for my ipod. I'm an addict. I got rid of the paperbacks though.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

I haven't yet, though I'll be dumping several off on my mom when she comes to town next week, to complete her paperback collection.  Well, except for the last two that I only have on Kindle...


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

When someone quotes me I take to mean me.  That said I'm glad I got to read the book the day it was published, the formatting wasn't the greatest, but DTBs have problems too at times.  I've read it, I've deleted it and I usually don't reread books so I doubt I'll notice it in the future.  IMO it was worth what I paid for it.  Let's all just move on, I have moved on to another book.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Steph H said:


> Funny thing is, I'm just the opposite. If all Robb books were formatted this way, I'd probably be more ticked off about it because I'll admit, it *would* get old if all the books I read were done that way. If it's a one-off, I can live with it as a case of "just this one time they formatted it slightly different".  And yeah, I have all the other ones on Kindle (went on an "In Death" re-reading spree from start to finish over a couple of weeks in October, just before the November release), and none of the others are done this way. Who knows what went wonky...
> 
> Heck, I was just tickled pink that this new one started at $9.99 instead of $20.xx and I could read it the day it was released!
> 
> ...


LOL. I see what you mean too. I *would* be pretty ticked if they were ALL like that. 

Personally, if I were you, I'd request a refund anyway.

I know it feels dishonest because you've already read the book, but if (and hopefully when) they correct it, you won't be able to download that version if you still have the older one with the bad spacing.

Case in point: I wish I had gotten a refund for the awfully-formatted "Ring of Hell," but I never asked because I read the whole thing, and in my mind at the time, it felt dishonest to get my money back at that point. However, now, I realize I should have gotten a refund because the formatting was atrocious and nobody cared. Amazon never did anything about it, the publisher denied that there was a problem, and the author completely ignored my e-mail.

If Amazon actually allowed its users to access corrected versions of the books you've already bought, that would be one thing - but they don't. That's why the refund route is the best way to go IMO.



Betsy the Quilter said:


> Formatting problems can be frustrating....and we all have different levels of frustration. I don't think anybody should take CS's use of the pronoun "you" as personally directed at them; I certainly didn't. Let's move on to the actual problem--problems with book formatting, Promises in Death in particular.


Thank you, Betsy. No, my usage of the word "you" definitely wasn't directed at any individual posters in particular. I was just speaking in general terms.

*EDIT:* In all fairness, as Steph pointed out, I did quote her and Gables Girl, so I understand their point as well. 



> CS or anyone else who has reported it to Amazon CS and gets a response, or anyone who purchases the book subsequently and find the problem has been corrected, let us know.
> 
> CS, thanks for letting us know about the problem, and for this discussion. We can all make our own informed choices now!


Definitely. Just for the record, my refund just got processed. If/when they correct it, I'll be the first in line to re-buy it.



>


Not sure if that's you or just a representation of a mod hat. Either way, hubba, hubba, hubba, what a knockout!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks to everybody for a civil conversation.  Love Kindleboard!  And no, that's not me; that's one of my minions.  


Glad you got the refund, CS!

Betsy


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

How do you know if/when a book is corrected?


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

I e-mailed CS about formatting issues with a book.  I did not request a refund (it was only $0.95).  This is the response they sent:

"I've requested that this title be corrected as soon as possible. If you are interested in downloading a corrected copy, please visit the Manage Your Kindle page at a later time and see if a corrected version is available."

Apparently, there is a way to see if there is a corrected version of a book available from the Manage Your Kindle page of our accounts.  

Can anyone verify this?


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

mwvickers said:


> Apparently, there is a way to see if there is a corrected version of a book available from the Manage Your Kindle page of our accounts.
> 
> Can anyone verify this?


I've tried it a dozen times, as recently as today, with no success.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Jeff said:


> I've tried it a dozen times, as recently as today, with no success.


Same here (with another book - not this one, which I got a refund on). Luckily, in the case of the other book, the corrections made to it were very minor. Still, would be nice for Amazon to give us the option of getting the corrected version of any book. They obviously don't, despite their CS rep's claims to the contrary in mwvickers' case.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I can't speak for being able to tell if a corrected version is available, but I can attest that I was able to get corrected copies of half a dozen of John Stith's SF novels by merely redownloading. I notified him by email that all of his books had errors throughout the text, and he emailed me several weeks later that the problems had been corrected and the books resubmitted to Amazon, and that I should try to redownload them in a few days. I deleted the current incorrect ones, and several days later got the corrected ones by resending them to my Kindle.

Mike


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I can't speak for being able to tell if a corrected version is available, but I can attest that I was able to get corrected copies of half a dozen of John Stith's SF novels by merely redownloading. I notified him by email that all of his books had errors throughout the text, and he emailed me several weeks later that the problems had been corrected and the books resubmitted to Amazon, and that I should try to redownload them in a few days. I deleted the current incorrect ones, and several days later got the corrected ones by resending them to my Kindle.
> 
> Mike


How long ago was this?

I'm wondering if the problem is a recent Amazon bug.

Anyone know?


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

CS said:


> How long ago was this?
> 
> I'm wondering if the problem is a recent Amazon bug.
> 
> Anyone know?


June/July 2008.

Mike


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

About a month ago, when I spoke to Kindle support about this issue, they told me that the only way I could get updated copies was if they credited the sale and removed it from my library on their server. I should add however, that Mike is not the only person who has said that they were able to download updated versions. That's why I keep popping up on all the formatting threads. I’m hoping that somebody has a trick or method that I haven't tried.

If anybody wants to test the procedure and has an early edition of Gone For a Soldier on Amazon’s server, the latest edition has a thank you to Will Cushman and Diane Hill on the very top of copyright page:

"Special thanks to Will Cushman and Diane Kathleen Raby-Hill for their help in editing."


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Jeff said:


> About a month ago, when I spoke to Kindle support about this issue, they told me that the only way I could get updated copies was if they credited the sale and removed it from my library on their server. I should add however, that Mike is not the only person who has said that they were able to download updated versions. That's why I keep popping up on all the formatting threads. I'm hoping that somebody has a trick or method that I haven't tried.
> 
> If anybody wants to test the procedure and has an early edition of Gone For a Soldier on Amazon's server, the latest edition has a thank you to Will Cushman and Diane Hill on the very top of copyright page:
> 
> "Special thanks to Will Cushman and Diane Kathleen Raby-Hill for their help in editing."


Hmmm, I tried it last week and it didn't work. When you say "delete" do you mean go into the documents folder and delete it from there? Then go into "manage your kindle" and re-upload it from Amazon?


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

gertiekindle said:


> Hmmm, I tried it last week and it didn't work. When you say "delete" do you mean go into the documents folder and delete it from there? Then go into "manage your kindle" and re-upload it from Amazon?


Gertie,

I currently have six books on my Kindle that I know have been updated on Amazon's server and I updating tried all of them numerous times.

I've tried deleting both files via USB connection; deleting directly from the Kindle; downloading to the Kindle via Whispernet; downloading to the Kindle from "Manage Your Kindle" and downloading it to my computer from "Manage Your Kindle". I've also tried resetting the Kindle after the files have been deleted.

Nothing works for me.

Jeff


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## Kilgore Trout (Dec 28, 2008)

Please allow me to add a little perspective to this formatting question, a subject that is very important to me, not as a reader, but as an author. I jumped head first into the new POD publishing industry back in 2000, and I now have four books released with that methodology. I have also contributed significantly to two traditionally published, coffee-table books, but I have had little contact with traditional publishers otherwise. I am the editor of PODBRAM and the sole contributor to two other blogs. I have spent the last several months researching the Kindle phenomenon, particularly as it pertains to the future of self-publishing. Several members of these Boards are already significantly involved with PODBRAM, and two more members will have their books reviewed there soon.

First of all, you need to understand that some of the large, traditional publishers have a direct submissions line to Amazon for the Kindle format that lesser and self-publishers do not. The price of these books are set at $9.99 by Amazon. Everybody else submits their books directly and individually, and the prices are set at whatever these authors or smaller publishers decide.

The formatting instructions to upload books are adequate, but far from comprehensive or complete. I have been personally struggling today to set up my first book, which contains about forty small photographs, correctly into the Kindle format. One of your regular members, and my right hand man at PODBRAM, Dr. Al Past, informed me today that the photographs are missing from my first book. That book has not been uploaded for very long, and fortunately, I think only one person has purchased it, but I was sickened to learn this news. Although the pictures are not at all necessary to understand the text and enjoy the book, their absence, for even one reader, seriously bugs me. I think this happened because I was experimenting, trying to use the Mobipocket Creator to convert this book with a complex format and photos to the Kindle. At least for the moment, I am obviously incompetent at using Mobipocket Creator! I have already sent in the update using the old Word formatting, but Amazon states that it will be twelve hours before the new version is available. I apologize profusely to anyone who has already purchased this book with all the photos missing. Please wait a day before choosing to download Plastic Ozone Daydream.



There are a zillion inexperienced, self-published, POD authors out there in the ozone. There are so many that I have been discussing the subject with Al about not even mentioning anything about these Kindle Boards at PODBRAM! Our goal at PODBRAM has always been to sniff out those authors who have been rejected by the traditional publishers because the publishers or agents felt as if they could not sell a million copies the first week, not because the authors were unable to write proper English. When I founded PODBRAM, I set out to create the best POD review site on the web, and that is still the goal I try to attain.

At PODBRAM we see many books the authors did not bother to proofread correctly. We see a few in which the authors had no clue how to develop a plot, characters, dialog, or storyline. We try diligently to head those authors off at the pass. It's a difficult job and a few clowns manage to bypass the clown police and get through to our reviewers. With POD books, the lack of sufficient proofreading is usually the problem. Like I tell the readers of PODBRAM, you can cut the grass with the big riding mower, but if you don't whip out the Weedeater, you haven't completed the job.

In my humble opinion, it is more likely that if you are complaining about a traditionally published book from a major publisher, you are actually seeing the unpleasant side effects of the conversion from whatever original digital file the book happens to be in to the special Kindle format. If you are complaining about one of the smaller traditional publishers, you are seeing the same thing, except the problem stems from the direct upload of that particular book instead of the established, special system employed by the major publishers. If you are seeing misspelled words, words repeated or missing incorrectly, or the improper use of tense or words that sound alike, but are spelled differently for different meanings, then welcome to my world of POD reviews! When I am reading a book for review at PODBRAM, I call it a strip-search. Al calls it the dunking tank. Most self-published authors need to buy a Weedeater! As with the actual yard job, Weedeating is a lot more tedious and time consuming than composing. Thank you for reading my long post.


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