How do authors manage print and ebook editions?
- Print and ebook are separate products: separate ISBNs, files, and listings.
- Both should derive from one master manuscript to stay in sync.
- Print needs a trim size, interior PDF, and wraparound cover; ebook needs an EPUB and front cover.
- A correction must be applied to the master and re-exported to both editions.
- Hardcover, large print, and audiobook each add another edition to manage.
Authors manage print and ebook editions by treating each as a separate product — its own ISBN, files, metadata, and retailer listing — while deriving all of them from a single master manuscript. Keeping one source of truth means a typo fix or a title change is made once and re-exported to every edition, instead of drifting out of sync. Each additional format (hardcover, large print, audio) is another edition under the same master.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Editions drift. A correction made to the ebook but not the paperback produces two versions of the "same" book that disagree — a problem readers and reviewers notice. Managing editions from one master with a clear list of which files each retailer holds is what keeps a multi-format release coherent instead of a pile of mismatched uploads.
Chapter ii·What to include
- One master manuscript as the single source of truth.
- A per-edition record: ISBN, files, retailer, price, status.
- Separate cover files sized for ebook and for each print format.
- A correction workflow: fix the master, re-export, re-upload everywhere.
- A version log so you know which file each store currently holds.
- A checklist for adding new editions (hardcover, large print, audio).
Chapter iii·Example
An author catches a factual error in chapter nine after launch. Because every edition derives from one master, she fixes it once, re-exports the EPUB and the 6x9 print PDF, and re-uploads to KDP and IngramSpark the same afternoon. Her edition log confirms both stores now hold the corrected files, and the paperback and ebook stay identical.
WriteLoom keeps one master manuscript with a record per edition, so corrections propagate to print and ebook from a single source instead of drifting apart.
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