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This is a visitor publish from my buddy Lindsey Nubern, creator of 501 Questions: A Travel Game.
Earlier this 12 months, I requested Heath, “Should I update my book?” It’s just a few years outdated and there have been just a few old-fashioned sections that I knew I may get up to date in a few days. But I wasn’t positive if it might be price it. Would it increase gross sales? Would I’ve to publish an entire new guide, or may I simply replace the file?
Little did I do know, Lindsey was working by means of these identical questions as she up to date her guide. I’ve requested her to put in writing a visitor weblog on learn how to know should you can or ought to replace your guide.
Enjoy!
Congratulations!
You revealed your guide some time in the past and now you’ve had time to see the response. You’ve seen your guide achieve traction; nevertheless, critiques and destructive opinions hold you up at evening and also you’ve been conserving observe of a listing of updates you need to make in your telephone. With one other winter of COVID forward of us, you’ve thought of taking the time to replace your guide, however you haven’t taken the plunge but.
Here are 5 issues to consider should you ought to tackle this mission and if now’s the proper time to go for it.
In February 2020, I used to be in your footwear. My recreation 501 Questions: A Travel Game had been out for 12 months, the sport simply had a profitable vacation season, and it had acquired many nice opinions and some critiques that had been bothering me.
Also, for a 12 months, I had been flirting with the thought to vary the inside from colour to black and white. Just a few months after publishing the unique recreation, I spotted I may decrease the sport’s printing prices and make double the royalty for every sale by merely altering the inside from colour to black and white. In January 2020, I used to be making an attempt to determine if making a second version was a worthwhile funding of my time and assets.
Here are 5 issues I thought of earlier than deciding to begin the second version. I need to share these ideas with you to consider if now’s the proper time so that you can replace your guide.
1. Are there gadgets in your guide that must be up to date?
First, because you’ve revealed your guide, are there gadgets inside your guide that you recognize must be up to date? Have any ideas or steps modified? Or, perhaps that you must do one other learn by means of with contemporary eyes to verify every little thing remains to be up-to-date.
For instance, my recreation 501 Questions: A Travel Game contains 180 journey trivia questions that I knew I wanted to double-check if the solutions had been nonetheless right. As I began going by means of the sport’s questions, I discovered a number of trivia solutions that wanted updating.
One thrilling change was the query: “Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?” The unique recreation was revealed in 2018. Back then the reply was Jupiter with 79 moons. However, in 2019 scientists discovered 20 extra moons round Saturn. With that discovery, we now know Saturn has essentially the most moons with 82 moons! I positively wanted to replace that query.
2. Have you acquired suggestions you possibly can enhance on?
Have you acquired options from readers or have some destructive opinions been conserving you up at evening? We’ve all acquired destructive opinions on our books and regardless of what number of nice and sort opinions we obtain, the destructive ones have their maintain in our minds. I’ve acquired 66 opinions as of scripting this, however the two destructive opinions I’ve acquired have caught with me:
“Underwhelmed: This book is cute and will be entertaining, but the word “book” is admittedly deceptive right here. It’s virtually a pamphlet. The guide could be very small, flimsy, and virtually the dimensions of one thing you’d discover in a cereal field. For $5, this wouldn’t have been a difficulty and I’d have given this an awesome evaluate. For almost $15, this seems like a little bit of a rip-off/ripoff. The guide shall be enjoyable however at any time when we use it I’ll be pondering, ‘I paid $15 for this thing!?’ “
Ouch!
“Not for journey trivia followers: Overall dissatisfied with this. Bought it after listening to about it on a journey podcast however solely one in all 4 sections is journey questions. The different subject areas are common dialogue questions like ‘would you rather’ ‘tell me about’ or ‘if you could’. The solutions journey trivia questions then don’t give quite a lot of element for instance for reply to ‘which is the largest continent?’ It simply says ‘Australia’ versus ‘Australia which is xyz acres’
Ouch once more.
These opinions have harm.
However, by updating my guide, I may make these enhancements. I may add extra questions and bulk up the sport so it’s not as “small and flimsy” but in addition hold it minimal to pack on journeys (conserving it small and minimal was intentional).
And, I may present extra enjoyable info within the trivia solutions so we are able to study extra of the why behind the solutions. I additionally thought, if these two individuals felt this manner and took the time to share their critiques, perhaps others felt dissatisfied once they acquired the sport, too, and that’s not the sensation I wished clients to have!
Now, after launching the second version of my recreation 501 Questions: A Travel Game, I acquired this evaluate:
“This book leaves my entire family begging for “one more question” each time! We love all of them, however our favourite class is difficult journey trivia. We are studying a lot! We have laughed collectively extra as we reply and focus on questions than ever earlier than. We have completed questions on the dinner desk, within the automobile, and with family and friends. It’s an awesome useful resource and there are such a lot of questions, it’ll be a really very long time earlier than we get by means of all of them!”
While destructive opinions are part of promoting any product, this can be a nice probability to handle them and enhance your guide.
3. Can you lower your expenses on printing or earn extra royalty with a brand new model?
Is there a means it can save you cash on printing prices so you possibly can have extra flexibility within the value of your guide? Or, is there a means you may make extra royalty on every sale? Maybe you possibly can change your web page depend or change your inside from colour to black and white.
After publishing the primary version of my recreation that was printed in colour, I spotted I may decrease the printing value by half if the sport was printed in black and white. With this alteration, I may have extra flexibility with the value of the guide just like the destructive evaluate recommended above. Or, with the guide on the identical value, I may make double the royalty with every guide sale.
Also, since I revealed my guide, I grew to become a mother and my perspective modified. I envisioned each further greenback I earned going towards my little boy’s school fund and I had a brand new motivation to be extra strategic.
You might imagine the printing value between colour and black and white would have been apparent to me whereas I used to be creating the primary version, however I used to be so centered on the “fun user experience” with the sport that I believed the inside colour was essential and I used to be keen to have a better print value.
However, after publishing the sport and as I used to be contemplating altering the inside to black and white, I requested family and friends in the event that they thought the colour was essential. All of their responses had been they both couldn’t bear in mind it was in colour although they’d performed the sport or all of them thought the worth of the sport was within the questions, not within the inside colour. I took their suggestions and thought with the proper graphic designer, I may make the inside enjoyable even with black and white.
Is there a means so that you can lower your expenses on printing or improve your royalty on every sale? To see should you may save on printing prices or earn extra royalty, you possibly can entry KDP’s print value and royalty calculator right here.
4. What does updating your guide appear to be? Update vs. 2nd Edition vs. Volume II
As you’ve gone by means of these ideas to contemplate, you might be prepared to begin updating your guide. However, KDP’s updating requirements might decide which path you’re taking: a easy replace to your present guide’s file, an enormous replace needing a brand new version of your guide, or an entire new quantity of your guide!
If you’ve self-published with KDP, you possibly can see learn how to replace your guide right here. This might provide you with readability on what path you’re replace will take.
For my scenario, I spotted with KDP altering the inside from colour to black and white wasn’t a easy repair of importing a brand new model of the guide’s file. With that kind of change, I’d should make a brand new guide as a second version with its personal Amazon itemizing.
This meant I used to be ranging from scratch with my itemizing and opinions. That felt like an enormous enterprise, however with my new perspective, I believed it was price it and I made a decision I might slowly work on it throughout my son’s naps every day.
So, since I knew I used to be creating an entire new second version and itemizing on Amazon, I made a decision it was my alternative to vary so much and enhance the sport primarily based on the critiques the guide acquired. I modified the duvet, the inside from colour to black and white, the inside design, the trivia solutions, and I added 250 inquiries to the sport. Now that the second version is revealed, I can see myself making a Volume II sooner or later with an entire new set of questions for individuals who like the unique model.
Do you might have readability on how updating your guide will look? Is it updating your present file, making a second version, or quantity two? You can see KDP’s updating requirements right here and you may at all times join with Customer Service.
5. Do you might have the capability for it proper now?
We’re developing on our second winter with COVID, and I’m already feeling a change in my schedule and assembly up much less and fewer with different individuals outdoors. Is this a season you will have an additional thirty minutes or hour daily to replace your guide and work on it? Could you get up 45 minutes early, keep up 45 minutes later, or spend an hour on Saturday morning devoted to it? This season of life might already be an excessive amount of and updating your guide may have to attend—that’s okay.
Like I shared earlier, I had trivia that wanted updating, I had destructive opinions regarding points I may reply and enhance on with the second version, and I additionally knew if I modified the inside I may earn extra with every sale. This meant I might be making an entire new Amazon itemizing. It’d be an enormous endeavor, however I had a sense it might be price it.
Do you’re feeling like you possibly can commit a small chunk of time daily or week to you updating your guide or creating a brand new version?
If you want steering and accountability, I like to recommend studying Chandler Bolt’s guide Published. He guarantees to information you in writing a guide and launching a greatest vendor in 90 days. I’ve used this on my journey to launching each my first version and second version of 501 Questions: A Travel Game. The guide’s given me the steps to take to have the motivation and encouragement to go for it. I additionally join each Monday with an accountability companion who’s additionally engaged on a guide, so we are able to hold one another accountable to creating progress, encourage each other, and problem-solving collectively.
I began engaged on the second version designs with my designer Margo from High Mountain Creative in March and I launched the second version in November. It was a protracted and gradual nine-month journey. With a little bit time devoted daily or week (relying on the week) and with the assist of my editor, my accountability companions, and launch group, the second version is now on this planet! We did it!
I want you the very best in your journey of updating or creating your subsequent guide whether or not you’re beginning now or sooner or later!
In the meantime, should you’re searching for enjoyable, laughter, and good dialog in your highway journeys, across the campfire, or zooming with household and pals, get our new recreation 501 Questions: A Travel Game Second Edition! You’ll get 750 questions and trivia to unplug, get to know your journey friends higher, and make the time fly!
Like Lindsey, I finally determined to take a few days to learn by means of and replace my guide. I discovered typos, mounted issues that had been now not correct, and as a substitute of itemizing a very new guide, I simply up to date the guide file and canopy. I had over 500 opinions I didn’t need to lose!
As far as gross sales go, I launched the brand new up to date model of the guide early in March:
This gave a significant increase in gross sales (this chart additionally reveals an awesome COVID dip in April) and gross sales saved coming in all year long. Is it as a result of I up to date the guide or as a result of everybody purchased an RV this 12 months? That I can’t reply. But I’m sure updating the guide solely helped!
For extra on learn how to publish your personal guide, try the programs in our RV Entrepreneur School.