When I first self-published The Complete Article Writer: How To Write And Sell Magazine Articles, most editors still wanted freelance material submitted by post. Who remembers enclosing a stamped addressed envelope for the editor to return your manuscript if it wasn’t accepted? And if I could offer an editor some photos to accompany my article, I’d send them some 35mm colour slides, or save some digital images onto a CD-ROM and pop that in the post, too.
If I wanted to research a magazine’s readership or look for potential freelance-written slots in a magazine, I had to traipse to my local newsagent, hope they had a copy of the publication in stock, buy it, and then traipse back home to analyse it.
But within a couple of years, pitching and submitting to editors by email became the norm, and Netflix-style magazine apps like Readly (gb.readly.com) and PocketMags (pocketmags.com) meant I could research magazines from anywhere in the world without having to leave the comfort of my desk.
Like many non-fiction books, The Complete Article Writer was going out of date. I had two choices: leave it and risk getting poor reviews because the material was out-of-date, or update it. As a book that sold steadily, investing some time to update it would be time well spent.
I called my updated version a revised edition, rather than a second edition, because the book did not need a substantial rewrite. It wasn’t necessary to cut any chapters or add completely new ones. Instead, I spent a month rewriting key sections in each chapter to reflect the modern process of writing and selling magazine articles.
Karen Williams (librotas.com) has written several non-fiction books, including Your Book Is The Hook and Book Marketing Made Simple, both of which she’s updated.
‘I originally wrote Book Marketing Made Simple in 2017 because I saw many non-fiction authors struggle with the marketing side of their book. They’d put so much energy into writing, only to fall flat at the launch because they hadn’t planned their marketing early enough or built momentum. In addition, many were focused solely on book sales and didn’t know how to use their book as a broader business-building tool.’
‘I found myself repeating the same advice again and again, which is one of the reasons why many people write a non-fiction book in the first place,’ she explains. ‘So I wanted to create a practical, easy-to-follow guide that pulled all the key strategies into one place.’
But like me, Karen soon realised that changes in the marketing world meant her book was beginning to date.
‘Marketing moves fast—especially online,’ she continues. ‘Between 2017 and 2023, the tools and tactics available to authors evolved significantly, from the growing popularity of audio and video content, to increased use of AI and new digital platforms. We’ve also seen the emergence of new platforms like Substack, as well as the disappearance or decline of others that were once essential. These changes have had a big impact on how authors connect with readers and build visibility.’
Altered Author
Karen also makes another important point for non-fiction authors. It’s not just the world that has changed. So had she.
‘My own learning evolved, too. I’d worked with many more clients, seen what really worked in practice, and refined many of my own ideas. It felt important to bring the book up to date with both the latest strategies and real-world examples that reflected how nonfiction authors are marketing books now.’
Rewriting a book is not necessarily easier than writing the original book. A lot depends upon how much has changed in the subject area the book explores. So for my The Complete Article Writer, I was only rewriting a few sections in each chapter and updating website links. The revised manuscript was only a thousand words longer than the first edition.
But for Karen, things worked out a little differently.
‘I thought it would be a relatively quick update,’ she says. ‘I took myself to a cottage in Dorset for a week to focus, as I always work best when I can step away from day-to-day distractions. But once I got started, I realised just how much had changed. It turned into a much bigger job than expected and ended up being a full rewrite.’
Sometimes, creating a second edition can be as much work as writing the first version.
‘The overall structure of the book stayed largely the same, but the content was completely refreshed. I added a couple of new chapters, rewrote others more significantly, and updated every chapter with current examples, tools, and strategies. From that initial retreat to publication, the process took around eight months. I’d underestimated how much time and energy it would take.’
Karen also put into practice some of the new skills she’d learned since she’d published the first edition, and also updated parts of the book that needed help from other people.
‘I decided to walk my talk and create more marketing content around the book, including launching my own podcast—Business Book Bites—and recording a weekly video blog. That was exciting, but took a lot of extra time and focus alongside writing and running my business.’
‘Alongside this, I wanted to update the expert tips and case studies in the book. I reached out to contributors from the first edition to ask if they’d like to revise their input and had other people whose expertise I valued, which led to additional input. I also wanted to review and update client case studies. That part took time, but it really enriched the book. There’s an added bonus in doing this, because when other people contribute to your book, they’re more likely to share and promote it, which is great for visibility.’
Points to Ponder
Creating a second or subsequent edition isn’t just about revising the book’s content. There are other implications to consider.
The International ISBN Agency requires revised or subsequent edition books to have a new ISBN. This is to differentiate them from the original and any previous versions. This also means that a new ISBN will be required for every format we release the updated edition in, such as paperback, eBook, hardback, large print, and audiobook.
Publishing a book with a new ISBN also means self-published authors have a legal requirement to supply a copy of the updated version to the British Library and the other five deposit libraries, too.
Something else to consider is what might happen to the reviews our first edition has collected since it was first published. They won’t automatically transfer across to the new edition, because a new edition is a new book.
It’s possible that we might not want our old reviews carried across, especially if our updated edition fixes issues readers complained about. A new edition can be like starting afresh.
If the reviews are relevant, it’s sometimes possible to do this, but it requires working on a platform by platform basis.
On Amazon, authors can submit a request for their first edition reviews to be transferred across to the new edition. This requires an exact match of the book’s title, subtitle, and author name on both editions, and the metadata’s edition field must accurately reflect the book’s version. Ultimately, this is at Amazon’s discretion and isn’t guaranteed.
Kobo will also consider this, but you will need to reach out to them and give them the title, author name, and both the old and new ISBNs. However, they can only do this if you self-publish directly with Kobo. Authors using a distributor, such as Draft2Digital, can’t do this.
Not all platforms are as flexible, so expect to lose some reviews, if not all.
Rights Reversion
Another opportunity for updating a book is when an author receives the rights back from a traditional publisher.
Compass Books published my Photography for Writers in 2014, but in 2020 I acquired the rights and self-published an updated version. Originally, I wanted to include photographs in the book, but the traditional publisher didn’t want to do this. I knew I could rectify this as a self-publisher!
It wasn’t possible to transfer reviews across because each edition had a different publisher. However, Amazon agreed to set up a notification banner for me on the first edition’s book page. This notified potential buyers of the updated second edition and included a link to it. Although readers couldn’t buy the first edition, because the traditional publisher had removed it from sale as they no longer had the rights to it, readers could still read the first edition reviews and then click through to the updated version.
If you’re unsure of what is possible, reach out to the platforms directly and ask how they might help.
A revised or second edition is often an excellent opportunity to update the book’s cover. It’s not necessary to create a new cover, although a revised cover is a great way to distinguish between two editions of the same book. Include the words Revised Edition or Second Edition prominently on the new cover to minimise any potential reader confusion.
In the world of non-fiction, few books are truly evergreen. However, it’s much easier for self-published authors to update their books.
That doesn’t mean the process will be simple, but as Karen has pointed out, a new edition is a fantastic marketing opportunity to boost sales again. And her updated book might just help you make the most of that opportunity, too.
Business Directory – Karen Williams’ Top Tip
‘Be realistic. It is likely to be more work than you think! Start by researching what really needs to change. There’s something slightly trickier about revisiting your own work. It’s a balancing act between honouring what worked in the first edition and not being afraid to make bold updates. In all honesty, writing a brand new book might feel easier than creating a second edition. But if the book still has value, it’s absolutely worth doing.’