Many writers have written books and e-books, but aren’t sure when, why, or how to write a second or revised edition. I’ve written two mainstream trade paperback books and 2 of my own e-books, and between them I’ve done both new editions and revised editions. So let’s examine…
4 Reasons to Write A Second/Revised Edition of Your Book/E-Book
1. The New Book Edition Will Contain Important New Information
This is usually the best reason to release a new edition of any book. For example, I recently released a third edition of my first e-book, Writing College Textbook Supplements: Developing Test Questions, Quiz Questions, Instructor Manuals, Lecture Outlines, and Other Curriculum Components, which details how to succeed in my main freelance writing niche.
The first edition came out in 2009. However, ways in which freelance writers can market themselves to textbook publishers changed in following two years, plus I’d learned a few new tricks. Here’s what I added or expanded in the 2011 second edition and the 2018 third edition:
- An extensive directory of education project management companies
- An expanded list college textbook publishers that hire freelance curriculum developers
- Best ways to find jobs on the Internet
- Using LinkedIn as a way to connect with editors
- Working for other companies and nonprofits besides textbook publishing companies
- The pros and cons of having your own website, and what to include if you do decide to have your own website
- Increased information on how to please editors and increase the likelihood you’ll be hired again
- More tips on how to get the actual work done well and quickly
- Discussion of Bloom’s taxonomy for test questions, along with an extensive list of resources
- More Internet resources, along with updated URLs
Overall the e-book expanded from 107 8.5″ x 11″ pages to 146 8.5″ x 11″ pages from the first edition to the third edition; that’s a lot of new info.
2. The New Book Edition Will Correct Outdated Information
My mainstream trade paperback 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California (The Mountaineers Books) first came out in 1994 and is now in its fourth edition (2018) because my publisher and I agreed that we needed to update much of the information about the trails covered: some trails had new regulations about permits; a couple had been affected by wildfires; and we had to change some of the website addresses.
3. You Can Sell More Copies of the New Book Edition
It’s much easier to market and sell a new edition of book, especially a book that is a how-to or contains important information that can go out of date. I’ve had a substantial increase in overall sales of Writing College Textbook Supplements: Developing Test Questions, Quiz Questions, Instructor Manuals, Lecture Outlines, and Other Curriculum Components and I’ve had a higher conversion rate for the sales page.
The sales page now states that:
- The entire e-book is updated
- I’ve added important new info that helps freelance writers do better in this niche
- The copyright is 2018, which reinforces that the e-book is up to date
And, of course, I put “Third Edition” on the book cover. (See the cover in the right-hand column.)
(Note: I promise all purchasers of my e-books a free copy of new editions and I made good on that promise. It took some time, but it definitely created good will (I got many thank-you emails), and some of those people may have then gone on to recommend the new edition to other writers.)
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4. The New Book Edition Will Make You Feel Better
I always want my published work to be of the highest quality. It’s easy for me to update my blog posts, and it’s relatively easy to add information to my e-books. Something that’s in print, like my paperbacks, requires a lot more effort, along with the cooperation of my publisher.
However, I just feel better knowing that I’m putting forth my best efforts.
The Difference Between a New Edition and a Revised Edition
Whether to say “second edition” or “revised edition” for a book or e-book is subjective. For me it depends on how much new information is included, and also whether or not repagination was necessary.
For example, my above-mentioned 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California fourth edition in 2018 contained a lot of new information, including 13 new hikes, and many new photos. It was entirely reformatted and it has a new cover shot.
By contrast, my 75 Hikes in California’s Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park Regions came out in a revised edition in 2006. The difference? Although we added the few necessary corrections and updates as needed, repagination was not done, although there was a new cover picture.
Your Take?
When would you consider a second edition of one of your books or e-books? What’s been your experience with new editions of books, either your own or those by other writers?
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Hi John,
I’ve written 4 ebooks, and keep wondering when I should update them! The point that resonated with me is to edit/revise your ebook to make you feel better. I, too, want my best work to show…and perhaps one of my ebooks isn’t as good as it should be. Or could be!
Thanks for this 🙂
Laurie
I think it’s important to follow the feeling in your gut about whether or not to do a new edition. For me, if I really feel the e-book can be substantially improved, I’ll want to revise it.
However, it’s also important to look at the time and expense involved versus the actual importance of the changes.
Hi John,
Though I haven’t still ventured into the book writing field, I had been thinking about doing so. Your post surely motivates and encourages one to do so- of course, and keep updating it as well!
Thanks for sharing!
Glad this helped Harleena. Two points to think about:
1. It’s a good idea to do a great job on the first edition.
2. You can make changes and add info in a second edition.
John, excellent advice and good guidelines. I also receive this question a lot, so thanks for spelling it out.
Thanks for the praise Joel. I appreciate it.
John, love this question. I have a small slew of ebooks and recently updated most of them – mostly to please me. I was surprised at both how good the originals were and how easy it was to improve them.
E-books are very easy to update and then upload to whatever server/service you use.
Did you make them new editions or revised editions, and did you mention it in the sales pages?
John, wasn’t smart enough to do editions… not sure why… old thinking probably, but hence forth I will, and mentioning that they are revised/updated in copy is a great idea.
Good idea John! I plan to do a revision in the upcoming e-version of my CONFESSIONS OF A WAVE WARRIOR book. I may get a hold of you for help and suggestions. My goal is to get the buyers of my original print version to buy the e-version, plus grab a whole new market segment. I’m crossing my fingers.
Sounds interesting Eric. I think you’ll need a substantial amount of new material to entice buyers of the previous print edition, and I’d label it a second edition.
I recently pulled my ebooks off Payloadz, because they kept changing the links/terms/etc. I’m re-vising them substantially, putting three of them in a “combo pack” along with new information, and then doing it through Amazon and Smashwords. I’m making it clear in the blurbs what’s been changed, so people don’t think they’re paying for the same thing again. I think the new format will be easier and better value for readers, and less frustrating for me.
That sounds like a good plan Devon. I suggest you put “second edition,” “thoroughly revised and updated,” “expanded,” or other appropriate terms on the cover and in the sales material.
I use e-junkie and Paypal to sell my e-books and have had few significant problems.
That’s a great idea, John. Thank you! I’ll have to check out e-junkie; not familiar with them.
E-junkie is used by a lot of people who sell e-books and other information products, including some people who sell large quantities, like Darren Rowse of Problogger.
I need to do a new edition of BPE, but it won’t be this year most likely. It’s a labor of love in many respects, which isn’t something the bottom line can afford at the moment.
There has to be adequate justification for a new edition, and having the time to do it and getting significant financial return are key considerations.
I didn’t write a book, but I bought several books from bloggers/writers I admire.
And unfortunately, one of these (e)books is in serious need of a new edition. The book gives invaluable advice about writing, and all the the tips are still applicable and relevant. However the resources section, a huge list, is filled with sites that stopped publishing content, disappeared from the web altogether, etc…
I wish the writer would publish a second addition with a renewed resources list. It would make me feel better too:)
Outdated information is one of the top reasons books and e-books need revising. It’s quite easy to fix in an e-book: update the relevant info, convert to PDF, load to server. It’s far more difficult and expensive with a print book, of course.
I guess the writer didn’t want to spend more time researching her topic. I can understand the time constraints, but I wish she’d make the time to make her book even more useful. And as you pointed in your post, she really would make more money.
And I agree that giving the new edition for free to a buyer of the old edition is a great way to gain permanent customers and supporters.
John, an event that gets me thinking about a new edition is when I am about to run out of books. I self-publish a popular non-fiction book that I have offset printed, thousands of copies at a time. When stock runs low I ask myself if it is time for a reprint or a revised edition.
If all I am doing is correcting a couple of typos and updating some links, I do not mark it as a revised edition. That is just a reprint. I update the print date on the back of the title page but keep the cover, ISBN and everything else the same. A new edition involves substantial rewriting.
Although a new edition is a lot of work, when it is warranted it can lead to a lot of sales, as even previous customers want to own the new version.
Cathy, that’s the same set of rules that Mountaineers Books, the publisher of my hiking guidebooks, uses. We actually just did a reprint of the third edition of 100 Classic Hikes in California, but all we did was change a few sentences, thus no “revised edition.”
New editions really can lead to a big boost in sales, not only from previous customers, but also from those who want a book with current information.
I recently pulled my ebooks off Payloadz, because they kept changing the links/terms/etc. John, love this question. I self-publish a popular non-fiction book that I have offset printed, thousands of copies at a time.
Thanks for this post! I’m going to update my book with a second edition and your information has been very useful. My 2nd edition will be a substantial amount of new information for a 2009 self-published book that has sold very well.
Glad the info helped Christina. Best of luck with the new edition.
What about naming the book 2.0?
That’s definitely an option, as long as it’s clear to prospective buyers that it’s a second edition.
I want to revise a book..but am not sure whether to call it a second edition. It will be like very similar to the first book, but with corrections and some updates. Some chapters would be rewritten. Am thinking to put revised edition with corrections perhaps?
If you’re rewriting several chapters, I would definitely call it a second edition.
Hi John
Had my book published last year but there were many spelling and content errors that were not caught. So I sold maybe 50 books before I had them stop selling books.
We agreed to read edit but the book but before the publisher was able to read the
Rest edit he was killed in car accident. Where do I go from here.
Matt s.
I’m very sorry to hear about your publisher, Matt.
I suggest you have your book professionally edited, and then publish it on CreateSpace and Kindle via Amazon.
Hi John, provocative question, and I have been giving it some thought 🙂 I have a kindle book on amazon, and CreateSpace. It is a novelised version of an autobiography about building and sailing a boat around the world. I am toying with the revision idea, but can one revise a book like this? It is not a “how to” book in any manner, but I suppose there there could be some additions and editing, but really is it a style one can revise??
In your case, if you decide to update it, I would call it a “revised edition.”
How rename it. “my ebook 2.0”? Thanks for the content!
Most people go with “Book Title, second edition.”
Hi John,
I wrote a niche book in 2010 on Grandparents rights. This is an evolving field and the time has come to step up. I plan to change the entire trajectory of the book and add a lot of new stuff. I plan to change the cover. My question is whether there is more power in “2nd Edition’ as apposed to “New Edition”.
In response to the writer who needed to update some resources I find that I list some resources that I doubt will change, ie. AARP and then direct them to our web site for additional resources that might need changing now and then.
Thanks for your thoughtful idea sharing site. Your followers are like minded folks with astute contributions.
Grandpa NEIL
Neil, I would go with “second edition.” Also consider using “completely revised” on the cover and in descriptions of the book. Best of luck with it!
Hi John,
Your input on editions is much appreciated. I wrote a book that’s been in print and digital since 2011, and is getting updated with 2 new chapters, enhanced front and back matter and, most importantly, a new cover, a new title and a new author name. Createspace requires a new ISBN if you change title and author name. Amazon will not communicate clearly on this matter, but I’m going to assume the same for Kindle.
My questions are:
1) How do I handle the copyright page for this new version, e.g., the name of the edition, the date of copyright, do I mention the name and date of original edition on copyright page?
2) What should I put on the Amazon sales page?
3) Do I need to register the book again with the Register of Copyrights?
4) How do I prevent people who bought the original book on Amazon from buying again thinking it’s a new book, then possibly getting annoyed and leaving a poor review?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
Jon
Hi John,
I really appreciate your inputs on writing a new edition or revised edition. I hope you will be able to help me with my issue.
I published a fiction, “the elimination alternative” through a publisher in 2010. It can be found on amazone.com and on many other online book outlets. But it was never published in my country or even marketed in any way. I never got any royalties whatsoever from the book. At the same time, the book was not well edited and has many typos and grammatical errors. The publishing firm that I used has since gone under and the proprietor is not responding to my calls…he has probably changed his number.
Now I am working on a revised edition of the same. I am correcting the typos and grammatical errors as well as sweetening the story, enriching sentences, adding paragraphs, e.t.c. I intend to approach local publishers and see if it can be published locally. If not, I will again try kindle or createspace. My questions: Do I need authority from the previous publisher? Do I need to consult the current online outlets? What happens if I cant contact the former publisher?
This is a complicated question Peter, and I can’t give a definitive answer. You should have a contract from the former publisher. Check to see what it says, and also check laws in your country about the legality of publishing your book again.
Good luck!