When Is the Best Moment to Publish Your Book?

Never is a good time.

Whether or not to publish your book is a tough decision. 

We can help.

An edition may cause problems for many authors, primarily because it can be difficult to decide when the right time is appropriate. To begin, let’s discuss what it is.

In this moment a book should be released as a paper edition if readers who already own the eBook edition would benefit from owning the other one.

To unpack that, start by imagining your reader. If a reader owns the eBook of your book, will it be worthwhile for them to purchase an updated paperback edition? In the case of a textbook, for example, where information can change rapidly, the answer is… yes, absolutely!

On the other hand, in the case of fiction, if an author has made minor corrections to typos and perhaps incorporated a few developmental edits, a reader is unlikely to reread the novel, and that’s not so good.

Mistakes Authors Make

Determining whether to do a paperback edition can be tricky. Here are a couple mistakes authors often make.

Mistake 1: Re-edit a book in a second edition and providing a new ISBN when only minor changes have been made and yet it has not really been proven that the eBook or the first edition has been to the liking of the readers.. Since second editions will appear in distribution listings as a new title, and having multiple distribution listings can be confusing (and therefore not ideal), it’s best to avoid this if at all possible.

Mistake 2: Making significant changes to a book, but not releasing it as a second edition. In this scenario, inventory will mix, so customers who order the book will potentially receive an outdated copy.

What to Keep in Mind with Paperback Editions

While textbooks or some other texts are better suited to second editions, in some cases, it makes sense for a novel, too, if, for example, you’re uncomfortable mixing inventory due to the number of changes (e.g., an entirely new ending).

There are often significant costs involved (e.g., new ISBN, new distribution contract), so you should be well-informed about the process before publishing a second edition. In that case we recommend you to use our services or directly those of Amazon that would lower your expenses incredibly! If you’re unsure whether your updates should be treated as a second edition, give us a call. We can help! The decision may also come down to how much remaining inventory you have for your first edition.

In all cases, we wish you every success with your projects.