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Post by Nathaniel Phillips on Aug 6, 2012 10:22:12 GMT -8
When I go to my "Channel Manager" page and view the "Premium Catalog status summary" which shows how many of my book have shipped to the various vendors, the information there does not seem to match reality.
For example, my books were approved for the Premium Catalog on July 27. According to the summary, they shipped to Apple July 31, yet they there we in the iBookstore several days BEFORE that ship date. My wife found both of my books on the iBookstore on Monday July 30.
The next shipment was on August 3 to Kobo and B&N. This was one week after they were approved for the Premium Catalog, even though it says that Kobo ships daily.
All of the other channels show as not yet shipped, even though the first normal ship date after premium catalog approval for the other channels has passed.
Is the information in the status summary "real time", or is it updated manually when someone "has time"? By now all of my book should have been shipped to all channels if they were sent on the "every Thursday or Friday" shipment.
I have been checking for my books to appear in all of the channels, and so far Apple's iBookstore is the only channel actually selling my books. (I understand that if they shipped on Thursday/Friday, they will not be for sale on the other channel yet).
I'm not complaining about the speed of distribution. I just want to know how to interpret the available information on the Channel Manager page.
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Post by Ted on Aug 7, 2012 7:24:07 GMT -8
The Channel Manager displays when works have been distributed to retailers and when you may expect a retailer to offer a work for sale. The actual day a retailer offers a work for sale is their decision.
From the Channel Manager page, "Once a shipment goes to the retailer, listings and metadata updates are subject to processing by the retailer, so please expect anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks for the update or new shipment to reflect. If your book or metadata update doesn't appear within three weeks of the shipment date listed below in your Channel Manager, please click "Comments/questions" at the top of the page and let us know.
If it's a metadata update that hasn't reflected, be sure to include a hyperlink to your book's listing at the retailer."
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Post by Nathaniel Phillips on Aug 7, 2012 9:32:49 GMT -8
Well, my two books turned up in the Apple ibookstore the day BEFORE they were listed as shipped in the Channel Manager page.
And now, almost 2 weeks after my books were approved for the Premium Catalog, they are still showing as NOT shipped to several of the channels (and I am opted in to all channels). I don't know if that is because they really have not shipped, or if they have shipped but the info on the Channel Manager page simply hasn't been updated.
Is the data on shipped books in the Channel Manager page realtime, or do books ship and then a real live person updates the Channel Manager data by hand "sometime later"?
It isn't really terribly important - I know that my books will get to the resellers sooner or later. I'm just a bit confused about my books not shipping (or not being LISTED as having shipped) days after the normal Thursday/Friday ship date.
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Post by Ted on Aug 7, 2012 17:54:10 GMT -8
As far as I know the Channel Manager page is updated when Smashwords distributes to retailers. This would all be done by computer, including updating Channel Manager data.
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