Should You Relaunch Your Self-Published Book?

In this week’s blog post, we will be looking at the possibility of relaunching a book you have already self-published. We will focus on the various reasons why you might relaunch, with a later blog post looking at how to relaunch it. You might think of relaunching as an uncommon option that doesn’t have a lot of uses, but it can actually be surprisingly helpful if your book is a suitable candidate for it. Hopefully, considering the reasons in this blog post will help you to decide if your book is suited to a relaunch. However, do bear in mind that it will take a lot of your time to get your book ready for a relaunch, so think about a schedule that works for you. In addition, relaunching can end up costing as much as or even more than the original release, so make sure you have some funds set aside.

Revise Your Book

One of the most common reasons for relaunching a book is to revise and update it. If you released your first book 5 years ago, and have since released others, there is a good chance that you will have learnt from experience and improved. Therefore, you can often revise your book to make it better, using your knowledge to improve everything from the content itself to the cover design. Exactly what you want to revise is up to you. It may be as simple as adding a professional edit that you couldn’t afford before, which will make sure your writing is at its best. Alternatively, you might want to go back and rewrite entire sections of your book, making sure the plot flows and it keeps readers interested. Try creating a “second draft” of your book with your new skills.

On the other hand, you might want to update some areas not directly related to your writing. These might be things that you couldn’t afford at the original launch, or maybe they simply need updating to meet contemporary standards. For example, your book might look better with a new cover design, drawing in a new audience. You could even change the title, although make sure you include a “previously published as” note – nobody wants to buy the same book twice! Alternatively, maybe you will redesign the interior of your book. This is less about attracting buyers and more about making sure your book looks professional inside and out.

Brand Relaunch

Another reason to relaunch your book is if you get new branding, either as an author or for your book. Author branding refers to how you sell yourself and what readers can expect from your books. This comes down to stylistic choices in your writing and what makes you different from all the other authors out there. If you revise your book to better fit this brand, a relaunch may be in order. Likewise, if this book is part of a series that you have since developed and created a particular brand for, a relaunch can help to keep the series uniform. For example, you might have a certain way that they are structured inside or a particular style for the cover design.

Designing a New Cover

You might simply want to relaunch your book with a new cover. This is a common way to refresh your book and appeal to a new audience that you missed the first time around. You might want a new cover if your old one is out-of-date and not really in line with the current trends in your genre. An updated cover should address these issues and look contemporary to get a new wave of readers. A new cover can also be helpful if your old one doesn’t fit very well with your genre, as you want your potential audience to know at a glance what sort of story they can expect. It also helps you by ensuring buyers are readers that are interested in your genre.

Better Promotion

A common reason for relaunching your book is to have the chance to do it with better promotion than you had the first time. This might be because you now have more experience of what does and doesn’t work and, in particular, what kind of marketing reaches and appeals to your audience. Alternatively, you might have better resources available to you now than several years ago, in terms of time or money. More time will give you chance to research types of marketing and develop your promotions. More money means that you can spend more on advertising and potentially hire someone to help you.

Current Events

One more reason why you might have a relaunch is to capitalise on current events. This is especially true with nonfiction books that cover a certain topic, such as photography. However, you will need to update your book to make sure it is correct and has all the latest research and knowledge. It is possible to relaunch a fiction book to tie in with events as well, for example, if a particular genre is making a comeback.

Wrapping Up

There are many reasons to relaunch your self-published book, so it is worth considering if you think it makes sense for you. In my next blog post, we will look at how to relaunch your book, so come back in two weeks for that!

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