Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Hope I'm in the right place for this. There are three books I wrote in the GR library and for each, both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble buttons don't work (they don't take me to the websites) -- but the "online stores" links work fine.

I've searched for how to solve this but I haven't found the answer. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but I could use some help. Thanks so much.

That's because only the Smashwords ISBN has been entered into the database. If you provide the ASIN from Amazon, and the BNID from B&N, which starts with 294, we can add those editions and the links will work.

So this is something you could help me with? If so, I'd be very grateful.

For BROTHERS AND BONES: the ASIN is B009XGD2DY, and the BNID is 2940015886696

For DRAWN: ASIN is B009XGIHES and the BNID is 2940015886849

For JACK OF SPADES: ASIN is B009XGD6LM and the BNID is 2940015886856

Please tell me what is next. Thank you very much.

OK, I will add these now. Just a heads up: The Amazon link will only work for the edition with the ASIN, the B&N with the BNID, etc.

As long as each button will works for each title. Thank you very much, Lafon.

Here are all the editions of your books.

Drawn: http://www.goodreads.com/work/edition...

Jack of Spades: http://www.goodreads.com/work/edition...

Brothers and Bones: http://www.goodreads.com/work/edition...

Thank you very much. Seems strange to me that GR would have all three buttons (Amazon, B&N, and "Online stores") for each edition, if only one of the buttons will work. I would have thought there would be a way to have all three buttons work from the same page, without switching from edition to edition (again, the presence of all three buttons on each edition's page led me to believe that), but if this is the way it works, then so be it.

Thank you again VERY much.

The links are user controlled, each person can have their own links to the bookstores/Libraries they want to buy from. You are seeing the defaults

Since readers want to shelve the edition they bought there has to be an edition per number

Thanks, Paula. So even though my books are on 7 different sites, if I'm most interested in directly people to Amazon, I should have ONLY the Amazon button on that page?

In theory, you cannot really direct people anywhere using those links - people set their own links - there is no requirement for them to have a amazon link or a smashwords link in their set up and nothing you do changes that.

There a a couple of buttons that are there by default - KOBO for some countries (i.e. the UK and Australia) and BN (US)for other countries.

Paula, thanks for your reply and please forgive me if I'm a little slow on the uptake (and thank you for your patience). With Lafon's help, I currently have on GR three editions of each of my three books -- a Kindle edition, a B&N edition, and an Online Sites edition. If I understand correctly, I could delete all editions on GR EXCEPT for the Kindle one, and that would limit people to buying it through Amazon (unless they sought it out from their favorite booksellers on their own). Alternatively, I could leave all three editions of each book on the site and allow readers to choose. Am I correct?

Again, thank you for your patience.

Not really. You aren't allowed to delete books here. And even if you did, or never added the other versions in the first place, someone else would create them. Users add books on their own all the time, or they post here and ask librarians to add them. Which versions of a book are added isn't up to the authors or publishers. So while there may be a single version that only leads to Amazon for a little while, that wouldn't last very long.

I think I finally understand. I thank you all for your help and patient explanations.

While it's true you cannot delete a published book or published editions of a book (in some cases a duplicate added by members making a typo or some such exception), goodreads has book data pages and no author/book product pages — it would not matter to the green buttons next to "get a copy."

The leftmost green button is an ad, a sponsored link for whichever bookselling site pays for that space.

The middle is commercial sites selling the book.

The last for non-commercial sites (local libraries, worldcat, etc.).

Until users customize, the defaults for the non-sponsored buttons are chosen based on their location.

If you want to customize your own buttons, that's the "book links" tab when editing your profile.

I'll check that out. Thank you very much.

Hi, I am opting for KDP Select program on Amazon, so please remove the Lulu link to my book Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back for Love? and add the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7EFKV8
ASIN: B00A7EFKV8

Link removed since it should be there in the first place

Kindle edition of book added - we do not add links in the URL field that go to book sellers.

The fact you are in KDP is irrrelevant to this site as a book cataloging site and not a sales site