Are you considering updating your 2nd edition book? Author Jan Torrisi Mokwa asked me for guidance and a “high-level process to follow,” prior to starting her project.
I told Jan I was available to update her book and assured her that I still have the original files, including covers, interiors, illustrations, photos, and fonts. I told her that I would retrieve all archived files from my backup while she finishes manuscript.
If you want to update your book to a 2nd edition, here are the steps you and your designer should take:
Author: Plan ahead.
Designer: Set-up a Dropbox folder to share the new files.
Designer: Update cover; show new color choice(s); add burst for “2nd edition.”; ask author if there will be any other changes such as price, blurbs, etc.
Author: Review updated cover layouts.
Author: Provide new manuscript, preferably, with each chapter (plus front and back matter) saved as single Microsoft Word docs, because it’s easier and faster to import into InDesign. Upload files to Dropbox. (Note: use only one space after periods, colons, exclamation points, question marks, quotation marks—any punctuation that separates two sentences.)
Designer: Replace old text with new text and tables in book layout. Use previous style sheets for heads, subheads, leading, etc.
Designer: When interior layout is completed, send PDF to author for review and edits.
Author: Approve front cover layout.
Designer: Create hi-res and low-res jpgs to send to author for marketing materials.
Author: Create buzz for your book immediately, from updating your website to announcing your new edition.
Designer: Correct edits to interior layout, and send updated PDF to author.
Author: Have layout proofread again by a professional other than the copyeditor.
Author: Purchase new ISBN for 2nd edition. (See notes below); assign title on Bowker; fill out your book description and author bio.
Note: I found this info on a Kindle (KDP) community forum about 2nd editions:
“BTW, If you did a second edition paperback with new ISBN, you will have a brand new sales page for that book with no reviews, BUT you can have Amazon link the pages. That way, all the versions are listed on both pages in the same way that you currently link your Kindle book to the paperback editions.
Some of the publishers I work for have it down to a percentage requirement, such as, 40 percent of this book must change in the second edition. That’s the highest percentage I’ve seen; the lowest was 20 percent.“
Author: if you will be updating your book description and author bio text, have the new copy proofread. Book description and author bio will be sent to Bowker, Lightning Source, Ingram Spark, and/or CreateSpace.
Bowker requires a maximum of 350 words for the book description; author (contributor) biography is also a maximum of 350 words.
CreateSpace allows book description to have up to 4,000 characters or about 760 words; author biography can have up to 2,500 characters, including spaces, which is about 475 words.
Lightning Source/Ingram Spark: Your short book description can have up to 250 characters (not words) and a full book description with a minimum of 200 characters to a maximum of 4,000 characters
Author: Investigate 2nd edition information at Library of Congress website.
Author: Approve all final files.
Designer: Make high-res PDFs; upload to Lightning Source (LS) or CreateSpace (CS) or both.
Author: order hard copy proof(s).
Author: Receive hard copy proof from LS or CS. Review and proofread again. Makes changes.
Designer: Revise and upload new files. Use the online proofer to make sure the file is correct, and/or order another new proof.
Author: Repeat if necessary. Review, and make any final changes.
Designer: Repeat if necessary. Upload files again. Check to make sure LS and/or CS have the correct file.
Author: Publish, and market your book.
Whether this is your first book or you’re doing a 2nd edition, the book-design process takes time. Be prepared.
Thanks for reading.
