5 Tips for Indie-Publishing a Second Edition (guest post by Kate Willis!)

Today you get a fantastic guest post by Kate Willis, whose debut novel Kiera is getting a second edition!! To discover her tips for indie-publishing a second edition (…and escape from me repeating what you already can see from the title :P), read on and enjoy this helpful and entertaining post! 😀

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Been there, done that, and doing it all over again! 

That’s exactly what publishing a second edition of Kiera has felt like, except scarier because it’s completely new territory for me. Plus I decided to publish it in hardcover, so double new territory. *stares into the void with Frodo-wide eyes*

Today I’d love to share with you five tips I learned from publishing a second edition as an indie author…

1. Define your new goals for this book. Is this going to be an anniversary edition? Are you catering to a new audience? Are you fixing typos/formatting/the hero’s inconsistent hair color?

My goals for Kiera 2.0 were to fix some problems with the story and give it a more genre-appropriate cover and synopsis to hopefully bring in new readers. I wanted to do these things with excellence and make my book the very best I can at this point in time. 

Knowing these goals helped me as I moved forward with the nitty-gritty details. Such as…

2. Decide how much needs to change based on your goals. Does it just need a new cover? Do you have a list of evil typos you’re going in to attack? Does it need a complete story overhaul?

This has varied for me. Before Kiera, I did new editions for two of my stories, but they were really only a typo list/new cover type of situation. With Kiera it ended up a bit more complicated than that…

I highly recommend reading back through your book (with grace for yourself and respect for your already existing fans!) to make an honest evaluation. I had already planned to fix some scenes that I felt like needed rewording or removal, but when I read all the way through again, I found some more subtle, small changes that were important to me as well. 

3. And stick to your decision. Be really careful not to get tied up by your inner critic and go crazy trying to “fix” everything. You’re here on a mission. *salutes*

If you make big changes to the narrative, be sure to have it re-edited/proofread, and if it’s just a couple small things, I say Grammarly should be good enough. 

4. Treat yourself (and your readers)! I really mean it. Whether that’s a small piece of character art, a new format (*laughs evilly in hardcover love*), or something else, do it!

For me, this was the scrumptious new cover, new formatting, and bonus content for the hardcover edition. It hit my goals of excellence and hopefully bringing in new readers, but I also wanted to bring something new to my existing readers.

5. Market according to your goals. Take a look at your goals again. Is this an anniversary edition for your superfans? Let them know about it on all the places they find you (and give them a discount code if you can because they are precious humans). 

Is this for brand new readers? Or significantly different enough from the first edition that people may want to re-read it? Market like it’s a new book—cover reveal, blog tour, adorable quote graphics, Instagram screeching, the works. 

I hope these tips are helpful for you as you decide whether or not a second edition is something you’d like to do. ❤️

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For more posts about what it was like getting this edition ready, read Kate’s other posts New Worlds, Old Friends and Looking Back, Reading On!

About the Author

Kate (Willis) Hoppman is a follower of Jesus and lover of words. She enjoys quiet afternoons reading or watching movies with her nerdy husband, baking tall cakes, and hanging out with her family.

In her author time, she writes contemporary and fantasy, and sneaks in Doctor Who references and deep themes whenever possible.

Check out her other books Sincerely, Jem, The Treasure Hunt, and The Twin Arrows series.

Connect with her at her blog, Instagram, and Goodreads!

Kiera Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, May 9th

https://vanessahallauthor.wordpress.com/

https://neaththehackberryreadingclub.wordpress.com

Tuesday, May 10th

https://reviewsfromthestacks.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, May 11th (RELEASE DAY!)

https://kristinahallauthor.wordpress.com/blog/

https://ibelieveevenwhen.wordpress.com/

https://sarainawhitney.wordpress.com/

Thursday, May 12th

https://lilliankeithauthor.wordpress.com/blog/

Friday, May 13th 

www.evaschon.wordpress.com

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Are you considering a second edition of your book? What are looking to include in it, if so? What’s your favorite thing about new editions? (I LOVE when they include bonus content… that’s literally the best thing ever! :D) Have you read Kiera?