by Penny Sansevieri
Maybe you’re ready to do something bold to reignite your title sales, or maybe you hate the idea of rereleasing your book, but your curiosity got the best of you.
First and foremost, let me explain what my definition of a rerelease is, and what it isn’t. In some cases, a rerelease is the redo of the entire book, or large sections of it.
In other cases, a rerelease is adding a chapter or two, and for some, it’s just an updated cover.
No matter where you are in your process when you start reading this, don’t overthink the definition of rerelease, because it doesn’t always mean you have a ton of work to do.
My new book will help you determine the best rerelease strategy for your book—so you’re working smart, not working overtime—the steps for getting your book back on Amazon, and then some key promotional tips for making the most of your publishing efforts!
Reasons to Rerelease Your Book
We all need a reboot from time to time, and our books are no different. Even popular television shows have seen a reboot. Will and Grace, The Gilmore Girls, X-Files, and Murphy Brown to name just a few. Let’s face it, the reboot is all the rage these days.
Book relaunches can take a variety of forms. If done right, relaunches can really enhance your overall brand as well as your book sales.
Before we dig into the hows and whys of this, let’s first look at some of the reasons you may want to republish your book.
Having specific goals is key. Wanting to sell more books is understandable, but it can’t be the only driver—it’s too broad.
Revise and Rerelease
Last year I met an author at a writers’ conference who published a science fiction book about five years ago. The book was long, 400 pages, and he said nothing really happened with it. He told me, “If I’d known then what I know now, my book could’ve done so much better.”
And I said, “Why not rerelease your book?”
In his case, I recommended that he do an e-book only. I also recommended that he chop his 400-page book into approximately 100-page segments (like a serial, ending each “episode” at a suspenseful point), create new covers for all four, and then collect all four parts into a book bundle. This is also a great strategy to help you “own the virtual shelf” on Amazon, too. Plus having more books means you’re likely to come up higher in searches.
Getting Your Rights Back
In another instance, an author told me she’d just gotten the rights back to several of her books. The publisher didn’t seem to think they had legs anymore, but she did.
So I suggested she republish them. which she could do in print, e-book, or both.
Re-publishing them means she’s going to need a new cover, and probably redo the interior design (because the publisher may own both of these), but they’re easy and inexpensive enough to do.
Re-publishing books once you get the rights back is a really solid way to help build your library!
Your Book Needs a New Cover
Another example of a good time to update a book is if the cover needs refreshing.
Covers get dated, or maybe the cover wasn’t exactly what you needed the first time around. A cover refresh is a bit of a different animal. If you have outdated covers, it’s a great idea to rebrand and reinvigorate a book!
My books tend to be outdated pretty quickly, as often happens with nonfiction.
When I do update my nonfictions, I usually redo all or a portion of the content, and in that case either republish with a whole new cover or just update the book file and upload it.
Updating the book file without republishing the book doesn’t constitute a republish per se, mostly because you’re still dealing with a book with an older publication date.
Relaunch of a Brand
We worked with an author who published a fiction series six years ago. When she first published, she planned to do only one book. But readers kept asking for more. The branding of the book evolved, and by books four and five she had a real mishmash of cover designs and storylines.
She’s redoing the books and relaunching the entire series with fresh covers and enhanced story lines.
Sometimes brands grow faster and in unexpected ways, and this is really a good way to hit the reboot button and create a look that’s more in line with what gets the attention of your target audiences.
Poor or No Promotion the First Time
Not having time to promote your book when it’s first published is another good reason to reissue.
Sometimes life happens—a family member or close friend gets sick and you need to help out, or some other personal emergency comes up—and your wonderful new book sits there, neglected and gathering dust.
This happens more often than you might think, but let’s be clear: Ignoring your published book doesn’t mean you get to treat it like new when you do have time to dedicate to the book. In almost every instance, you’ll need to rerelease it, and start fresh with a new publication date and even a new cover to help it stand out.
Editing and Current Events
Other reasons for rerelease include editing (if it needs another round of edits—and your reviewers will tell you if it does!), adding content (such as chapters that didn’t make it into the original version), or changing some of the content to suit industry changes or even to update pop culture references.
Finally, there’s also the news angle
For example, what if you released a book years ago, and suddenly the topic is becoming new again or it’s in the news for whatever reason?
Wouldn’t a refresh of the book make it more interesting to newly aware buyers? Plus rereleasing can open doors to media coverage, which, I guarantee you, you won’t get with a publication date that’s more than 12 months old.
As you can see, the redo of a book can take a lot of different forms, and your first step is to figure out which one works best for you based on the needs of your book, the preferences of your genre or market, and your goals.
Ready to take the plunge but want more info? My book, How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book: Simple and Smart Strategies to Sell More Books is now available in print as well as e-book.
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and an adjunct professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.