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Authors: Common Questions

1. I'm an author. Can I participate in the Google Books Partner Program?
2. How do I know if my publisher has already submitted my books?
3. My book is out of print; can I still participate?
4. How much of each book can people view?
5. How do you protect my books?
6. What if I don't want my books scanned as part of the library project?
7. Can you link to my site on pages from my books?
8. What's an ISBN, and do I need one?
9. Can I view the traffic reports for my books?

1. I'm an author. Can I participate in the Google Books Partner Program?
   
   Absolutely. If you're self-published or the rights to your book have reverted back to you, you can join the program yourself. Just sign up here. Note that your books must have ISBNs in order to be included.
   
   If you're working with a publisher which currently controls the publication rights to your books, the best way to get them included is to encourage your publisher to join. You can direct them to the Partner Program to learn more about how this program can help increase your books' sales.
    
2. How do I know if my publisher has already submitted my books?
   
   Try a search on Google Books for your name or your book's title. You can use our Advanced Search to search specifically for your books. If they aren't there, ask your publisher whether they've submitted your books; they may still be in process, and will show up in the Google Books index soon.
    
3. My book is now out of print; can I still participate?
   
   Of course; helping users discover out-of-print books is one of our most important goals for Google Books.
   
   If you're self-published or the rights to your book have reverted back to you, you can join the program yourself. If you can't send us a copy of the book or upload a PDF, you can simply let us know what books you'd like added to your Google Books account if we scan them at a library. Note, however, that it's faster to just send us a copy or upload a PDF.
   
   Learn more about the Library Project here.
    
4. How much of each book can people view?
   
   Google Books is a book marketing program, not an online library, and as such a full page of your book won't be viewable online unless you expressly permit it; until you do, people who find your book will only be able to see the Snippet View which, like a card catalog, shows information about the book plus a few sentences of your search term in context. We aim to help our users discover books, not read them. If you don't want a Snippet View of your book showing up in Google Books, you just need to let us know that you want it excluded.
   
   You can learn more about how to make sure your book is not included here or more about the Library Project here.
    
5. How do you protect my books?
   
   We've taken great pains to make sure all your content is secure in Google Books. Google hosts all the material on our secure servers, and users can see only the Snippet View which, like a card catalog, shows information about the book plus a few snippets - a few sentences of your search term in context. If the publisher or author has given us permission, users can see the Sample Pages View which shows a limited number of pages from the book. In addition, copy, save and print functions are disabled. And you can remove any of your books from Google Books at any time.
    
6. What if I don't want my book scanned as a part of the Library Project?
   
   If you've signed up with the Partner Program you can simply upload a list of the books you don't want in Google Books. That tells us which books to avoid when scanning.
   
   If you're not a Google Books partner and want us to avoid your books, you'll need to provide us with a small amount of information about yourself as well as a list of the books you don't want in Google Books. We'll use your information only to verify that you are indeed the owner of that particular book. Please see our privacy policy for more details. To begin this process, please start here to identify yourself as the owner.
   
   If you're having trouble coming up with your list or have questions or just need help, please contact us. We'd be happy to help you.
    
7. Can you link to my site on pages from my books?
   
   Currently we don't offer the ability to link to an author's website from a Google Books page. However, if you hold the copyright to your book and you sign up for the Partner Program, we do offer links back to your website if you sell the book directly in addition to the links to online bookstores.
    
8. What's an ISBN, and do I need one?
   
   An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a number that uniquely identifies published books worldwide. Valid ISBNs consist of 10 to 13 digits preceded by the letters 'ISBN', and all books submitted through the Partner Program must have a valid ISBN. For more information on how to obtain one for your book, please visit www.isbn.org.
    
9. Can I view the traffic reports for my books?
   
   Whoever has signed up for the Partner Program will be able to view detailed reports, including information on page views, ad clicks, as well as 'Buy the Book' clicks. If your publisher has submitted your book for you, you might want to ask whether they'll share this data with you.