Showing posts with label Amazon fail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon fail. Show all posts

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Amazon's response regarding anthologies and contributor listings

Amazon's response to this issue:

"Hello Win,

I understand the frustration you've experienced in attempting to add your title's contributors to the author byline. Author bylines on detail pages will not include contributors to anthologies at this time. However, contributors to anthologies may include anthologies in their bibliographies. I took a moment to review the list of contributors in your message. I have added this title to bibliographies for those contributors with existing Author Pages, and have created new Author Pages for those without. These changes will appear on the website in 24-48 hours.

This information may also be included in the Product Description of your book. We are working to allow authors to submit updates to the Editorial Reviews section from within Author Central. Because this ability is not yet available to you, I have added the names of your title's contributors to the Product Description. This change will appear on the website in 24-48 hours.

We hope to see you again soon.

Did we answer your question?

Best regards,

Sarah B"

I am not completely satisfied, as it still makes no sense to not list anthology contributors' names as hyperlinks at the top of every book listing, and allow those names to be searched upon. Books listed on someone's Author Central page, therefore, don't necessarily come up on a search by that author's name. (For instance, The Avenger Chronicles
is on my Author Central page, but does not come up when you search in Books by my name. Likewise
Tales of the Shadowmen 6: Grand Guignol.)

It's inconsistent.

Adding the contributor names to the Editorial Description of Myths for the Modern Age was a nice touch, but they didn't list everyone. Any Myths contributors who want to be listed, I suggest you copy Sarah B's note above and attach to your own request to Amazon to be added to the Editorial Description (I can't tilt at all the windmills by myself. ;-)

I appreciate Amazon's response here... but they still have some work to do.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Amazon fails again--and contributors to anthologies get punished

In the past year, Amazon has eliminated listings for contributors to anthologies. Their first stated rationale was that anthology participants are not "authors" and thus they were all deleted. Amazon instructed that participants should be listed as "contributors."

Now, apparently, Amazon is refusing to list such participants as "contributors." Such a position devalues those of us who write for anthologies, but then devaluing the writer is nothing new with Amazon.

A few days ago I noticed that Amazon had eliminated the listings for all the contributors to my anthology Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe--despite the fact that when Amazon eliminated all the "author" listings a few months back, I dutifully went back into Amazon and re-entered them as "contributors."

Noticing the listings were once again gone, I re-entered the contributors... and received this pleasant missive this morning:

==== This is an automated response message - please do not reply ====

Thank you for using the Catalog Update Form to send suggestions for

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (ASIN 1932265147)


At this time we cannot accept the correction you have submitted for one of the following reasons:
- Could not verify
- Incorrectly formatted
- Provided URL did not confirm
- Some data on high-profile items is not editable

To help us make sure your submissions are correct, use proper case and correct punctuation and spelling, don't add comments or questions and include a valid URL from an authoritative source for verification.

Attribute: Author function
Current value: Win Scott Eckert | Editor
Your suggestion:
Win Scott Eckert
Editor
Philip Jose Farmer
Contributor
Matthew Baugh
Contributor
Christopher Paul Carey
Contributor
Peter M. Coogan
Contributor
Rick Lai
Contributor
Chuck Loridans
Contributor
Jess Nevins
Contributor
Dennis E. Power
Contributor
John A. Small
Contributor


Data accuracy is highly important to us. We appreciate the time you have taken to submit your updates to us.

Best regards,


Catalog Department
www.amazon.com


Amazon, enough is enough. I know who contributed to the anthology I edited. I submitted correct information, following your guidelines. I provided a URL listing the table of contents, and the contributors.

I've been playing ball with you, Amazon, entering, and re-entering, and re-entering correct information on both the anthology I edited, and other anthologies in which I've participated, only to have you constantly move the target.

Amazon's refusal to list
Philip José Farmer as a contributor to a book in which he has nine essays--Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe--is counter-intuitive at best and mean-spirited at worst. And it runs counter to Amazon's own self-interest by preventing readers from searching by authors, in order to locate anthologies to which their favorite authors have contributed.

I've tried Amazon's "customer service"... only to get the runaround and contradictory answers. Surprise.

Is it any wonder I do my damnedest to avoid purchasing from Amazon?

Please repost, re-tweet, re-fill-in-the-blank. Enough is enough.