May 2, 2025 • 38 mins
Your older books aren't outdated—they're untapped potential. In this episode, we explore how a strategic refresh can breathe new life into your backlist and help you recapture reader interest. From updating covers and content to rethinking your positioning and marketing assets, we’ll show you how to treat every previously published title as a fresh opportunity.
Whether you’ve got one backlist title or a dozen, this episode reveals how to apply what you’ve learned since those books launched and make them work harder for your author brand. You'll get practical ideas, easy wins, and creative inspiration to turn yesterday’s releases into today’s bestsellers.
Buy Penny's book The Amazon Author Formula
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevierie andAmy Cornell and I, so I'm really
excited about this show.
We've been looking forward toit.
I know in a show that we did Ithink it was last Friday we
alluded to, we alluded to this,this, this topic.
(00:22):
I also want to make anannouncement.
I got my final interior prooffor the Amazon Author Formula
workbook.
It looks really cool and whatwe're going to do with this
workbook is that.
So there's a whole lot offill-in stuff, right, because by
nature it's a workbook.
There's a whole lot of fill-instuff and the designer is going
(00:45):
to create a PDF file that is anexact replica of the book right,
but where you can go in and youcan fill out stuff.
So you don't have to worryabout making, even if you buy a
print book.
You don't have to worry aboutwriting all over the book.
(01:05):
You can just access this PDFand fill it out to your heart's
content, because there's a tonof like worksheets and all kinds
of stuff to kind of get you towhere you really understand all
this.
You know the Amazon stuff andthe mystery and all the kinds of
things that we do here atAuthor Marketing Experts, and I
(01:30):
like the idea of the PDF becauseit it, when it lines up with
the book, it's much easier tofollow right.
Yes, because otherwise you haveall these worksheets and you're
like, oh, I have to go, becauseinitially I had designed all
those worksheets and so I'm very, I'm very excited about that
and I think it's going to be.
(01:51):
It's probably going to be out,I would say, in the next, I
don't know, maybe even 90 days.
I can't believe it.
It's amazing when an idea and Ispeak to everybody who's
listening right now it's amazingwhen you have this idea.
Speak to everybody who'slistening right now.
It's amazing when you have thisidea.
This is something that literallystarted just with some people,
not even connected necessarilyto the publishing industry, and
(02:12):
I was sort of talking about thebook and I really liked the book
and somebody just piped up andsaid you should do a workbook.
I thought, oh, I should do aworkbook and then a year later,
here we are.
So it's interesting when youkind of get that idea in your
head and then not all ideas areworth putting on paper.
We know that, we've talkedabout that, but I think this one
(02:34):
is going to do really well,segues in nicely to what we're
talking about today, which isbreathing new life into older
titles, your backlist, becausewe have authors in both camps.
(02:56):
We have authors who come to us.
Either they come to us with onebook that maybe came out a year
ago and they something happened.
They didn't do anything with it, life happens, work happens,
whatever, and now they're at aplace where they can spend focus
, put some attention on it, butnow this book is a year old and
what do they do?
So we're going to talk aboutthat.
(03:17):
We're also going to talk aboutif you have an old like you may
have one older title in it and anew one that just released.
Can you do something with thatolder title?
And you may have multiple oldertitles, which in publishing is
referred to as a backlist, andhow can you revive those?
Because your shelf the shelfthat you know all of your books,
(03:41):
however many you have, everybook can help to promote every
other book and I think Amy, I'dlove to get your take on this
too I think a lot of authorsreally overlook that right.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh yeah, I mean it's an amazing.
It's amazing what you can andwe talk about this a lot Sorry,
now I'm like all the things, butwe talk about this a lot too is
that, as you're listening tothe show, as you're doing more
research, as you're learning,you know, if you treat your
backlist not as this or a titlethat languished like, not as
(04:16):
something that you screwed up on, but as a new opportunity to do
things right, you know what Imean.
I think that's one of the bestmindsets you can get in, versus
getting dragged down by whatdidn't happen.
Or you know what I mean Likewe're going to go through some
checks and balances to make surethat everything you know a
little bit of housekeeping interms of before you start
spending money on marketing orputting time and energy in the
(04:38):
marketing.
You know we always have yourback.
We want to talk about what, thepotential roadblocks or what
could potentially be holding youback.
That's very fixable.
But then treating this like abrand new opportunity and
honestly, penny, it's kind of agreat way to build your
marketing muscles too right Withthe, with the title or with
something that languished alittle bit, because it's a great
(05:01):
way to get better at marketingtoo, because it's always scary
to think that you're stumblingaround for a new release,
whether it's your first one oryour fifth one.
But putting some time andenergy into figuring out some of
these great marketingstrategies and some of these
tweaks that you can do, you'regoing to learn so much, and the
(05:22):
pressure is not quite as high asit is for a new release, you
know.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah, that's absolutely true.
So why don't you lead us off?
Because I know you and I have.
Sometimes you actually havethese conversations with new
authors that come to us just inemail, just giving them some
guidance.
So do you want to kick us off?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah about okay.
So let's evaluate what needsupdating right, because, yes,
you are right, when authors cometo us, if they have a book out,
if they have a website, ifthey're using social, I try to
look at all the things becauseit all matters.
Like we always talk about itall matters and especially if
it's already out there, that'syour image to potential readers,
(06:03):
potential buyers, and so, good,bad or otherwise, we want to
see what potential buyers areseeing, because that's the best
way for us to give yourecommendations, step in,
potentially, things like that.
So we talk about it all thetime, but you got to look at
your book the way a reader does.
How is your cover Right?
(06:24):
And I know y'all probably tiredof us talking about covers.
But if everybody's cover wasjust beautiful and amazing and
made us fall out of our chairs,we'll shut up about it.
But the reality is there arestill, and it's not always, and
I don't want to say likesometimes it's the author's
fault, like I don't want to sayit like that, but truly
sometimes authors get steered inthe wrong direction by other
(06:45):
third parties and other peoplein the industry.
I think, penny, you know liketough love is sometimes so much
better than just saying like,yeah, it's fine, or yes, we'll
do it, or we've talked withy'all about pushing back if
you're using a publishingservice or even if you hired a
cover designer.
If it's not, do your ownresearch and know what's working
(07:08):
in the industry.
Don't completely trust anybodyabout anything.
I think that's really importantand I think that's what leads
to a lot of mismatched or not sogreat covers is that authors
trust that whoever's doing it istracking and knows all the
things.
But that's not always the case.
So you have to be your own bestadvocate for your cover and
really know what's working outthere.
(07:29):
You know what looks good.
I mean, everybody listening,I'm sure you've seen a cover
where you've gone.
Damn, that's an amazing cover,you know.
Yeah, like that's the reactionyou want.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
You know, and if I can just interject here, because
I talked to an author last weekor this week actually, and I
was already texting Amy like Icould do an entire show on how
infuriating this author'sexperience was to me, and long
story, very long, story short.
(08:03):
And long story, very long,story short.
I mean, the cover is terrible,the book description is terrible
, like all the things like this,literally this, this, whatever
this publisher did, did not givethis book a leg up at all, and
and now this book is older andso this is a really good, this
would be a really goodopportunity for this author to,
(08:24):
you know, basically just revampall you know, revamp all the
things and kind of pretend thatall never happened Right, I mean
because sometimes we just,sometimes books just have a
rough start.
I mean there's no other way tosay it really.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Sometimes books just have a rough start.
I mean there's no other way tosay it really Right, and we've
talked about we have clientsthat go through this too that
sometimes a book gets releasedin just a really tough time.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Oh, that too yes.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
You know everything else going on in the world and
you'd like to think that youryou know your thriller novel
that is complete escapism is notcompeting with what's going on
in the world.
But sadly it can be, becausethe people that are on the
receiving end on the reading end, the buying end they are
experiencing what's going on inthe world too, and there's no a
(09:15):
perfect time to release a book.
So we never recommend thatauthors hold off for the perfect
time to release a book, becausethat really doesn't exist.
Obviously, you could beunprepared or prepared that's a
thing.
But you can't controleverything else going on in the
world.
So don't rely on that to tellyou when to release a book.
But the reality is sometimesit's just unfortunate timing and
(09:38):
you didn't have any control.
There's nothing you could havedone differently.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true, and sometimes
you just don't have any controlover it, and I think that you
know, um, covers become outdated, right?
Even titles become outdatedsometimes.
I think a lot of times, authorswill decide to revive a book,
(10:09):
even just simply by updating thecover, which definitely matters
I mean covers can't.
You know, like the guy that Italked about, even just changing
the cover on that book, I thinkwould really, because the book
is quite good, would really helpto boost the sales on it.
You know what I mean for like,for nonfiction and for my books,
(10:34):
and it's one of the reasonsactually that I stopped writing
my social media book, becauseeverything changed all the time
and it was very difficult tokeep up with it.
Okay, but in some cases, withparticular to nonfiction like,
you may just have like I don'tknow, mentioning MySpace or
(10:55):
something Like.
If your book still mentionsMySpace, it's probably like
super, super old and needs to,you know.
But sometimes it's just amatter of like.
Maybe the cover's great and thebook did really well, but it's
time to, you know, update it toget rid of old terminology that
makes the book seem very dated.
(11:15):
Yes, because unless you'vewritten historical or historical
fiction.
It's really hard to get awaywith, like it's really hard to
sound like an authority if youhave a chapter on MySpace.
I mean.
I realize that's kind of anextreme, but you know what I
mean.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, we talk about that a lottoo with it.
That's what's challenging aboutnonfiction and obviously Penny
knows this, trying to keep upwith Amazon that things change
all the time and instead ofpretending it's not happening,
it's better to just work with itthe best you can.
You know, and that's anotherreason why and this is an
entirely separate show and we'vedone shows on this before too
but that's another reason whyand this is an entirely separate
(11:56):
show and we've done shows onthis before too but that's
another reason we push so hard,especially for nonfiction
authors to be an authorityelsewhere other than just your
book.
You know, your book is a greatway to open the door.
It's a great way to show thatyou were in it for the long haul
.
But getting your voice, youropinion, your unique point of
view out there in other ways isa great way to kind of combat
(12:17):
the fact that your book does endup being a time capsule of
sorts.
You know, yes.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yeah, yeah, it absolutely does end up being a
time capsule.
And then, you know, I alludedto the cover.
I think, in many situations,even just updating the cover or
the covers if you have multipletitles is a great way to
revitalize.
Because the other thing, though, too, is that Amazon I know
(12:44):
this is a really weird nerdything to tell y'all, but Amazon
does pay attention to new covers.
So something as simple as a newbook cover can really help to
boost the visibility of yourbook, because it appeases the
Amazon algorithm.
And I always say, when I teachthe Amazon optimization classes,
(13:05):
I always talk about how theAmazon algorithm mirrors Google,
and we know that Google is veryimage, you know.
I mean it's very video driven,but it's also very image driven.
So Amazon's much the same way,and you used to be able to add
images to your retail page, andthat's unfortunately gone away.
(13:27):
Obviously, I'm still talkingabout it, so I'm still a lot
over it, but the new cover it's.
I know I'm going to say it'ssimple.
I know it doesn't feel simpleto design a new cover, but a new
cover can really change.
And, amy, we talk about this alot with authors who have a
series of books where they don'tlook like they're all part of
(13:50):
the same series, right, andthat's a really good example of.
Here's an opportunity to makethem all look uniform.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yes, I know whoever I email when I say something like
that and I mentioned it inpassing and I always make sure
that authors know that for themost part I mean Penny we don't
have a ton of complete dealbreak deal breakers by any means
, you know, but I let peopleknow.
I always try to ensure authorsthat this is what we would
recommend because we want you toget the most out of your
(14:18):
marketing investment.
You know and we know what worksfor readers and for book
discovery and things like that,and I let authors know.
This doesn't mean we aren'tgoing to help you, but this
would help you whether you workwith us or not.
And the covers the mismatchedcover concepts across the series
is a huge one because itmatters.
(14:38):
You know.
Again, like we said, there areevery one of us talking,
listening right now, has seen acover that they've been really
impressed by, and the same thinghappens for a series.
You know there's something verypowerful about having a really
well tied together series andcover imagery and things like
that, and it just skyrocketsyour level of professionalism as
(15:00):
perceived by a potential buyerfor sure.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah, it does.
It definitely, it definitelydoes.
And this is one of the reasonswhy, when I talk to an author
who knows that they're going towrite a series, a lot of times
I'll tell them have a designer,at least mock up all of the
(15:29):
books in a series, Because it'samazing when you start to look
at and I've actually seen thiswith my own books.
So we completely rebranded.
When we changed the name fromthe how to Sell Books by the
Truckload, I almost forgot theold name already.
I was like tooth and nail right.
Getting rid of that name wasreally hard for me to do, and
now I can't even think of it.
But when we rebranded thosebooks, I kind of had sort of the
(15:54):
same.
I had the same revelation,right that I painted myself into
a corner.
The restylizing the new coverwas not an easy process, but I'm
very, very glad that I did.
When I look back through someof my older you know some of my
(16:15):
older titles I'm like, oh mygosh, part of me wants to redo
those covers, but the content isalso older.
So that's another decision thatyou kind of have to make, right
?
Yes, exactly, so the olderbooks don't matter as much, and
that's part of.
Earlier on in this podcast wetalked about the deciding factor
(16:38):
.
That's the other decidingfactor, Because I'm not going to
go back and update, for example, my Pinterest book, because I
don't even know if we're onPinterest anymore and literally
with everything out there, withTikTok and all this other stuff,
nobody even talks aboutPinterest anymore.
So that's a business decision.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely, oh my gosh.
Everybody's probably like oh myGod.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I have to take notes, I know there's just there's so
much to consider.
But again, the new cover canreally help too.
And you know what I started tosay and then I got sidetracked.
I know how shocking that Iactually got sidetracked on.
Something is the reason fordesigning multiple covers.
And again, you don't have tonecessarily do complete designs
if you're doing a series, butjust have them mock up what the
(17:26):
series might look like.
Because I'm telling you rightnow, when you look at books,
when you have to mimic like youmay fall in love with the book
cover and then you get to booktwo and you're like, oh my gosh,
I'm stumped, I don't know whatto do, whereas if you had left
yourself a little bit offlexibility with book one, book
two would be.
It would be easier to createsomething that looked like it
(17:48):
belonged in the same family.
Does that make sense, amy?
Am I even?
You can just shut me up,because obviously I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
No, it absolutely makes sense.
I mean, we are all consumers.
Everybody listening here.
You know what I mean.
If you actually and I think wedon't mention this enough, penny
is that if you actually thinkof your own buyer behavior, like
what you notice when you aredeciding whether or not to buy
something, especially from abrand you're unfamiliar with and
if you think about it that wayas an author, you know, unless
(18:18):
you're selling to a prettyhealthy size of return buyers,
you're a new brand.
Yeah, you know, they don't knowyou from the next author.
And so really put yourself inthe consumer's shoes and think
about all the things that youconsider and what impress you
and things that maybe don'timpress you.
You know, when you're makingbuying decisions not just book
(18:39):
buying decisions, but buyingdecisions in general and use
that to fuel what you can dobetter with your own brand, with
your own retail.
You know presence and thingslike that, and it really will
probably make a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah, yeah, I, I, I, I completely agree with that.
Um, yeah, yeah, I completelyagree with that.
All right, next step.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You want to take the next one?
Yes, oh, my gosh yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Should we, should we?
This is going to be a long show.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I know right, I was just thinking about this.
I'm like, oh my gosh, Okay,content, let's.
Should we talk about content?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Because this is a big one.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's talk about updating
content.
Yeah, I mean, we've kind of wetouched on it a little bit, so
there were some sneak peeks intowhat was coming up next.
But another big aspect ofrefreshing a book Cause you know
, we talked about this with thenonfiction sometimes things just
have to be changed and youcan't get around it.
You know, penny, I hate to keepusing you as an example, but
(19:39):
the Amazon stuff, your Amazonbooks, you could not ignore for
two years, realistically, andthen go back and try to pretend
like everything's brand newbecause you have time to market
it.
That's just not the reality ofthe topic.
So there's definitely you haveto think about one.
Am I really in a position whereI need to update content in
order to put the best version ofwhat I have to offer people out
(20:01):
there?
Yeah, and Penny, you know muchmore about the technical
requirements in terms of Amazon,so I won't go there.
But I know that and this issomething also too that anybody
listening that really needs toconsider this.
I would suggest doing aconsulting session or something
like that, just to really makesure you have your ducks in a
(20:21):
row and T's crossed.
I's dotted Because there'sdifferent ways to go about it.
I know in terms of refreshing,updating, whether you get into
new ISBN territory and thingslike that, right, so there's
really so many differentvariations, yes, and it doesn't
always have to be super extreme,but you should know what you're
getting into, as you know whatI mean at the start of this,
(20:44):
like what's really requiredversus what can you get away
with with some refreshing.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, because I wrote a book on um how to revise and
re-release your book and and and.
In it I talked about um.
Updating content, I think,especially for nonfiction
authors, is really important.
If you update less than 20%,amazon will, and you upload the
(21:11):
book again to KDP or whereveryou you know.
However you did it, amazon willkeep your existing retail page,
which means that, let's say,you have 500 reviews or
something.
You're not gonna lose thosereviews.
But just like you know, likepeople always say, well, check
with your own counsel before youdecide to do this.
(21:31):
I would definitely call Amazonand just make sure that, because
Amazon changes, because we'vedone a ton of shows on Amazon,
so you know Amazon changes allthe time.
So because if I were going togo in right now and as my
workbook is releasing, and go inand update the Amazon author
formula, I would be hesitant todo that unless I called them and
(21:53):
just said hey, so what's the?
You know where's the line inthe sand here?
Because otherwise you basicallyhave to have a whole new retail
page for your book and in somecases that's going to be fine,
right, that's going to be fine,right.
So I might sit with this for awhile and say you know what the
(22:15):
Amazon author formula just needsa whole new refresh, needs a
lot of work.
I'm just going to get a wholenew page and re-release that
book, great right.
But you kind of have to makethat determination.
Now for fiction.
Obviously, this is different.
So we have fiction authors whohave older books that are, that
have references to like old popculture things.
(22:36):
You know what I mean Like, butnot old enough to be cool, yeah
Right.
And again, if you're writinghistorical or historical fiction
, that's fine.
But if your book is supposed tobe set present day and you're
referring to Oprah Winfreyhaving her talk show, that's a
problem.
You know what I mean, becauseshe had that talk show and
whatever.
So I think that it's.
(23:00):
You know, we did the bookbundle show and I want to say
that it landed last Friday, butit may have landed the week
before, I don't know.
But if you missed that, go backand take a look at that,
because the book bundling isanother way to update your
content, to update your, yourlibrary, to pay some attention,
give some love to your backlist,that kind of thing.
Yes, absolutely.
(23:23):
Um, did I miss anything on onthat?
Because, again.
I know we have this is a longshow, but we also have a ton of
notes, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
No, I think this is, but also did you mention, sorry,
the pacing and things like that?
This is a good time tore-evaluate your writing.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Why don't you take that one?
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Because I did not Good catch, I know, and I
realized that also may makepeople want to turn us off right
now.
They're like, nope, now they'regoing.
I already finished the book.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
I'm not too far down the rabbit hole.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Yes, exactly, but truly actually this happened and
so this is a positive story.
We've got very much a positiveexample of this.
We have a client that we justwrapped up their initial
campaign with us.
She is lovely and she, based onsome reviewer feedback, was
actually you know, she couldhave just been devastated, but
(24:16):
she said you know what she'slike, I was excited to get this
book out there.
It was my first book and shehad, I think, two more books
ready to roll.
You know what I mean.
So she was really ready to getout there and this was her first
one and, based on some reviewerfeedback, she kept a good
attitude and she said you know,they're probably right.
(24:37):
You know what I mean.
She's like it was my first one.
I think the two that I haveready to go now are even better
than that one.
And she said I think I am goingto go back through it and just
do another read through, getback in touch with my editor and
just do that, because she'slike I love.
She loved the story, shebelieves in her story.
The reviews were actually prettypositive, other than some
(24:58):
technical stuff.
You know what I mean Like theylove the concept, but there were
some technical things to fix.
And this is a really great timeto ensure, if you're going to
give your book a second chanceor if you want to revive some
interest in it, like everythingelse we've mentioned, just make
sure it's really the bestversion that you're putting out
there.
(25:19):
And this is a great time to say, okay, I was ready to go with
or I put this book out.
I was ready to go.
It was out a year ago and Ididn't do anything with it.
And I'm ready to do somethingwith it.
But why not?
Before you start drawing a tonof attention to it and investing
in marketing, just do a doublecheck.
That is absolutely the bestversion of that content or that
(25:41):
story that you're ready to putout there.
Again, once you start tellingpeople it's there, you can't
unring that bell.
They're going to see it,they're going to read it,
they're going to review it.
You know what I mean and thisis not a cross your fingers
moment, you know.
So sometimes this might be thesilver lining of a book not
taking off right away or gettingready to dig back into your
(26:03):
backlist and see how you canrevive interest in those is a
chance to do things better, youknow, and this in your content
is another one, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
And then I think you know, once you've made that
determination, update, updateyour marketing materials right,
change it, make sure to changeup your website.
And this is actually, I meanhonestly once you go through the
exercise of do I need to update?
Am I going to update you knowand all and making all those
decisions?
This is really the exercise ofdo I need to update?
Am I going to update you knowand all and making all those
decisions.
This is really the fun part, inmy opinion.
(26:33):
So, create, you know, adding,make sure that your Author
Central reflects not just thefact that you uploaded this new
book, but make sure that yourbio on Author Central reflects
the book you know new book titleif you changed it.
Whatever your social banners,your website, all your you know
(26:58):
your social media channels Ithink I said that already, but
those kinds of things are reallyfun, they don't take a lot of
time.
But I think once you get tothat point, you're like, oh yeah
, and it you know, and then youcan.
You can plan your you know,plan your launch, you know, plan
your launch, your relaunch andand I think you'd be really
(27:19):
surprised at how well the bookthat, the book or books that you
wanted to give up on areactually doing, once you, you
know, kind of breathe new lifeinto them.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
I love that you mentioned you know all the other
things that support your booktoo, penny, because again, if
you're in the mindset of betterthis time, you should apply that
across the board.
You know, like you said, checkin on social, check in on your
website.
You know a website so oftenends up being the last one to
(27:52):
get attention.
You know because it's there,it's created and it's you know
what I mean.
It's plugging along, but it'samazing how often authors forget
to update their website.
And that's another one kind oflike covers.
You know what I mean.
The bar does get higher aspeople get more tech savvy, you
know, as more is done online.
So a website that was created,you know, five years ago, but
(28:16):
definitely 10 years ago, couldprobably use a little bit of the
makeover or some housekeeping,just because there's.
It's amazing how simple it is,especially if you work with
somebody that knows how to getin or do that stuff.
I realized if you made your ownwebsite the first time, you're
thinking I don't want to do thatagain, don't Hire someone, let
them come in.
But it's amazing how easily,with a few tweaks, you can take
(28:37):
a website that looks maybe alittle dated or unloved and get
it looking really sharp, andit's not about making it more
complicated, it's just aboutkeeping it up to date and modern
in terms of what the marketexpects to see, if that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, it does.
No, I think that's.
I mean that's definitely a,that's, that's definitely worth
it.
I mean, I think if you're goingto go, if you're going to go
out and you're you know, ifyou're going to re-release these
, if you're going to do, ifyou're going to go through all
this work, then make sure, andyou know, if you're going to
re-release these, if you'regoing to do, um, if you're going
to go through all this work,then make sure, and you know,
update all these collateralpieces, and I think that you'll
(29:15):
be really glad you did.
Uh, just, let's, just let'sbreeze through, cause I know
we've been talking for a whileand and I um, I know I hope
hopefully everybody's seekingcopious notes, creative add-ons
for extra buzz.
I love this.
We'll just take them one at atime.
Companion workbook I'll takethe first one.
Sorry, amy.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'm like no, I'll take the first one I adore
workbooks.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
If you've listened to this show for any length of
time, you know I love workbooks,I love journals, I love all
those things.
So a companion workbook and Italk to nonfiction authors about
this a lot and they're alwayssurprised when I mention like oh
, I hadn't really thought ofthat.
I am telling you right now, ifsomebody loves your book,
they're going to love yourworkbook.
And especially if you have atopic, that where you can create
(30:07):
some deep dive experience ofthat experiences for them, the
workbook is a great idea.
The workbook that I created andthis is not an advertisement for
my book, cause it's not even upfor sale yet but the workbook
that I created was specificallycreated not just to be a
companion book but also to beits own.
It can potentially like if youdon't want to buy the first book
, that's fine.
It's a standalone book thataddresses not just the stuff
(30:32):
that I, you know in the Amazonauthor formula, but then dives
deeper into other elements,right, and I think that's really
what a workbook should be.
So workbook should to somedegree mirror as a companion
book, but then it should also beits own like.
It should have its own kind ofoomph to it, and that's that's
where I think these theworkbooks can do really well.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Yeah.
And then also and we've talkedabout this before take up space.
You know, excuse me, yourvirtual bookshelf.
Yes, the more product you canget out there, the better,
typically, as long as it's donewell, obviously.
But you know, anytime you go toan author's author central page
just to see what they've putout there, it always you are
(31:15):
going to generate more interestif you show that you've been
around a while or that you'rethere to stay and that you're a
sure thing.
So this is not to make debutauthors stressed at all, you'll
get there, but it really doesmatter.
So when you think like, oh, doI really need to make debut
authors stressed at all?
You'll get there, but it reallydoes matter.
So when you think like, oh, do Ireally need to make you know a
print edition if it was ebookonly, or vice versa, maybe you
(31:37):
thought initially no, peopletypically like print.
If you know my market likesprint, why not make an ebook?
You know it's not expensive?
Like, just do it.
And then large print is anotherone.
There are a lot of demographicswhere large print is very much
welcome and people seek it out.
So do your research, see ifthat's another option for you.
(32:01):
But what's great about theseextras that we're talking about
is that it's a new release.
New release, you know, yes,you're refreshing your old one,
but you're going to have a brandnew.
You know publishing date If youhave, if you haven't released a
print edition or an ebookpreviously, or a large print
edition yeah, that's what'sreally fabulous.
(32:21):
So you kind of get a twoferyou're.
You're breathing new life,you're fixing things, you're
making things better for yourbacklist or for a title that
languished, but then you alsohave an opportunity to release a
different edition of that.
Then you're kind of coming atit from both angles, with both a
version with a new release anda version that's better than the
first version that went outpreviously.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Yeah, exactly, and I think you know sometimes authors
say, well, my audience doesn'treally read eBooks Like, are you
sure I mean?
You know what I mean.
And we've actually had authorswho will create, who I encourage
to create, additional editionsof their book in order for the
simple purpose to own moreAmazon real estate, right?
(33:06):
And an example of this is likea coffee table book which you're
like oh my gosh, penny, you'renot going to do a coffee table
book in an ebook.
That's silly, I get it.
But owning more Amazon realestate is only going to benefit
you and your reader may not wantthe ebook, they may like, but
(33:28):
they could stumble on it.
And you have a lot of we havedone shows on this, so I'm not
going to belabor this, but youhave lots of opportunities to
promote an e-book that don'tnecessarily support promoting a
print book, like doing e-bookdeals and things like that.
So just some that's kind offood for thought, something to
think about.
Audiobook is the next thing,right?
(33:48):
So in terms of just creativeadd-ons, I realize audiobook is
sort of an expensive creativeadd-on, but you know you could
also just refresh the intro orchange the narrator.
We did a whole podcast on,because I'm such an audiobook
nut we did a whole podcast onyou know bad narrators and
(34:10):
sometimes things happen and youmaybe you you know couldn't
afford, or the guy, the personthat you wanted wasn't available
and now is maybe a chance torevise that.
Or, like I said, you can justrefresh the intro.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
And the next one.
Oh, I love this book clubedition with discussion
questions.
I mean we could I think we'vedone shows on this.
If not, we should double checkPenny.
But I mean just creativeadd-ons, even if you don't do a
special edition.
But I mean, I think that's verybeautiful, like if you write in
a genre that is very popularwith book clubs, that is such a
cool concept to have an actualbook club edition where you have
(34:47):
a lot of extras built into theactual structure of the book.
But you know again, doing morefor your potential readers and
having more to offer them isalways going to be appealing,
(35:10):
would like, or that it fits inwith what book clubs typically
gravitate toward.
Then make sure you've had somereally great discussion
questions created, whether it'son your website, something you
share on social media, somethingyou share in your newsletter.
There's so many great ways todo it.
But doing that little bit extrathat shows you're invested in
the reader's experience willalways benefit you.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Yeah, I completely agree with that and I think the
final is a special anniversaryedition or a collector's cover.
And I actually talked to a lotof authors who really like the
collector's cover really appealsto them.
They want to create like acollector's edition of the book,
like maybe, let's say, you havea series and the series is
finished and now you want torelease the final one and you
(35:51):
want to have a specialcollector's edition.
I think that's a great.
I think it's a great idea.
Special anniversary edition isprobably more applicable to the
majority of the folks who listento us, because we've all
probably been writing for a longtime and so maybe a book that
you wrote 10 years ago you'regoing to re-release it.
Right, you're going tore-release, you're going to
update it, you're going to redoall the things that we talked
about and then maybe create aspecial anniversary edition from
(36:15):
it, which I think which I thinkis a really fun idea too yeah,
very cool.
I just think that you knowyou're sitting your backlist,
even if it's just one book.
Like backlist oftentimes,oftentimes implies like multiple
titles, but even if it's justone book, these are all hidden
(36:35):
assets.
They are goldmine for you.
Maybe, you know, don't a lot oftimes, authors that I talk to
get really like oh, I didn'treally do that good on my first
book, and you know, it's one ofthose things where we learn as
we go because there's also somuch information.
And sometimes I'll talk toauthors like, oh, I wish I had
known this.
X, y, z, whatever, you know,now's the time to implement that
(36:56):
and release these books, and wereally hope that this show has
been helpful to you.
The other thing I wanted tomention is be sure to subscribe
to the show.
If you just stumbled upon us,welcome.
We're so glad you're here.
Yes, all of our shows are amishmash of Amy and I just going
back and forth, talking aboutall the things we used to do
(37:16):
them like in year one, I think,and maybe even in year two.
We used to do them veryscripted, but I don't know.
This just feels this wholefree-flowing back and forth just
feels a lot more authentic andI think you get a lot more
information out of it.
So if you're a new listener,welcome.
Be sure to hit the subscribebutton.
That way you'll get notifiedevery time we release a show.
(37:38):
We love reviews wherever youlisten to podcasts.
If you can't you know?
If this system is giving you ahard time to upload it, we
understand that.
Then you're welcome to email usthe review.
We will put you up on ourpodcast website and thank you
all so much for listening.
We will see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Hello and welcome back to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevierie andAmy Cornell and I, so I'm really
excited about this show.
We've been looking forward toit.
I know in a show that we did Ithink it was last Friday we
alluded to, we alluded to this,this, this topic.
(00:22):
I also want to make anannouncement.
I got my final interior prooffor the Amazon Author Formula
workbook.
It looks really cool and whatwe're going to do with this
workbook is that.
So there's a whole lot offill-in stuff, right, because by
nature it's a workbook.
There's a whole lot of fill-instuff and the designer is going
(00:45):
to create a PDF file that is anexact replica of the book right,
but where you can go in and youcan fill out stuff.
So you don't have to worryabout making, even if you buy a
print book.
You don't have to worry aboutwriting all over the book.
(01:05):
You can just access this PDFand fill it out to your heart's
content, because there's a tonof like worksheets and all kinds
of stuff to kind of get you towhere you really understand all
this.
You know the Amazon stuff andthe mystery and all the kinds of
things that we do here atAuthor Marketing Experts, and I
(01:30):
like the idea of the PDF becauseit it, when it lines up with
the book, it's much easier tofollow right.
Yes, because otherwise you haveall these worksheets and you're
like, oh, I have to go, becauseinitially I had designed all
those worksheets and so I'm very, I'm very excited about that
and I think it's going to be.
(01:51):
It's probably going to be out,I would say, in the next, I
don't know, maybe even 90 days.
I can't believe it.
It's amazing when an idea and Ispeak to everybody who's
listening right now it's amazingwhen you have this idea.
Speak to everybody who'slistening right now.
It's amazing when you have thisidea.
This is something that literallystarted just with some people,
not even connected necessarilyto the publishing industry, and
(02:12):
I was sort of talking about thebook and I really liked the book
and somebody just piped up andsaid you should do a workbook.
I thought, oh, I should do aworkbook and then a year later,
here we are.
So it's interesting when youkind of get that idea in your
head and then not all ideas areworth putting on paper.
We know that, we've talkedabout that, but I think this one
(02:34):
is going to do really well,segues in nicely to what we're
talking about today, which isbreathing new life into older
titles, your backlist, becausewe have authors in both camps.
(02:56):
We have authors who come to us.
Either they come to us with onebook that maybe came out a year
ago and they something happened.
They didn't do anything with it, life happens, work happens,
whatever, and now they're at aplace where they can spend focus
, put some attention on it, butnow this book is a year old and
what do they do?
So we're going to talk aboutthat.
(03:17):
We're also going to talk aboutif you have an old like you may
have one older title in it and anew one that just released.
Can you do something with thatolder title?
And you may have multiple oldertitles, which in publishing is
referred to as a backlist, andhow can you revive those?
Because your shelf the shelfthat you know all of your books,
(03:41):
however many you have, everybook can help to promote every
other book and I think Amy, I'dlove to get your take on this
too I think a lot of authorsreally overlook that right.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh yeah, I mean it's an amazing.
It's amazing what you can andwe talk about this a lot Sorry,
now I'm like all the things, butwe talk about this a lot too is
that, as you're listening tothe show, as you're doing more
research, as you're learning,you know, if you treat your
backlist not as this or a titlethat languished like, not as
(04:16):
something that you screwed up on, but as a new opportunity to do
things right, you know what Imean.
I think that's one of the bestmindsets you can get in, versus
getting dragged down by whatdidn't happen.
Or you know what I mean Likewe're going to go through some
checks and balances to make surethat everything you know a
little bit of housekeeping interms of before you start
spending money on marketing orputting time and energy in the
(04:38):
marketing.
You know we always have yourback.
We want to talk about what, thepotential roadblocks or what
could potentially be holding youback.
That's very fixable.
But then treating this like abrand new opportunity and
honestly, penny, it's kind of agreat way to build your
marketing muscles too right Withthe, with the title or with
something that languished alittle bit, because it's a great
(05:01):
way to get better at marketingtoo, because it's always scary
to think that you're stumblingaround for a new release,
whether it's your first one oryour fifth one.
But putting some time andenergy into figuring out some of
these great marketingstrategies and some of these
tweaks that you can do, you'regoing to learn so much, and the
(05:22):
pressure is not quite as high asit is for a new release, you
know.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah, that's absolutely true.
So why don't you lead us off?
Because I know you and I have.
Sometimes you actually havethese conversations with new
authors that come to us just inemail, just giving them some
guidance.
So do you want to kick us off?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah about okay.
So let's evaluate what needsupdating right, because, yes,
you are right, when authors cometo us, if they have a book out,
if they have a website, ifthey're using social, I try to
look at all the things becauseit all matters.
Like we always talk about itall matters and especially if
it's already out there, that'syour image to potential readers,
(06:03):
potential buyers, and so, good,bad or otherwise, we want to
see what potential buyers areseeing, because that's the best
way for us to give yourecommendations, step in,
potentially, things like that.
So we talk about it all thetime, but you got to look at
your book the way a reader does.
How is your cover Right?
(06:24):
And I know y'all probably tiredof us talking about covers.
But if everybody's cover wasjust beautiful and amazing and
made us fall out of our chairs,we'll shut up about it.
But the reality is there arestill, and it's not always, and
I don't want to say likesometimes it's the author's
fault, like I don't want to sayit like that, but truly
sometimes authors get steered inthe wrong direction by other
(06:45):
third parties and other peoplein the industry.
I think, penny, you know liketough love is sometimes so much
better than just saying like,yeah, it's fine, or yes, we'll
do it, or we've talked withy'all about pushing back if
you're using a publishingservice or even if you hired a
cover designer.
If it's not, do your ownresearch and know what's working
(07:08):
in the industry.
Don't completely trust anybodyabout anything.
I think that's really importantand I think that's what leads
to a lot of mismatched or not sogreat covers is that authors
trust that whoever's doing it istracking and knows all the
things.
But that's not always the case.
So you have to be your own bestadvocate for your cover and
really know what's working outthere.
(07:29):
You know what looks good.
I mean, everybody listening,I'm sure you've seen a cover
where you've gone.
Damn, that's an amazing cover,you know.
Yeah, like that's the reactionyou want.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
You know, and if I can just interject here, because
I talked to an author last weekor this week actually, and I
was already texting Amy like Icould do an entire show on how
infuriating this author'sexperience was to me, and long
story, very long, story short.
(08:03):
And long story, very long,story short.
I mean, the cover is terrible,the book description is terrible
, like all the things like this,literally this, this, whatever
this publisher did, did not givethis book a leg up at all, and
and now this book is older andso this is a really good, this
would be a really goodopportunity for this author to,
(08:24):
you know, basically just revampall you know, revamp all the
things and kind of pretend thatall never happened Right, I mean
because sometimes we just,sometimes books just have a
rough start.
I mean there's no other way tosay it really.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Sometimes books just have a rough start.
I mean there's no other way tosay it really Right, and we've
talked about we have clientsthat go through this too that
sometimes a book gets releasedin just a really tough time.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Oh, that too yes.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
You know everything else going on in the world and
you'd like to think that youryou know your thriller novel
that is complete escapism is notcompeting with what's going on
in the world.
But sadly it can be, becausethe people that are on the
receiving end on the reading end, the buying end they are
experiencing what's going on inthe world too, and there's no a
(09:15):
perfect time to release a book.
So we never recommend thatauthors hold off for the perfect
time to release a book, becausethat really doesn't exist.
Obviously, you could beunprepared or prepared that's a
thing.
But you can't controleverything else going on in the
world.
So don't rely on that to tellyou when to release a book.
But the reality is sometimesit's just unfortunate timing and
(09:38):
you didn't have any control.
There's nothing you could havedone differently.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true, and sometimes
you just don't have any controlover it, and I think that you
know, um, covers become outdated, right?
Even titles become outdatedsometimes.
I think a lot of times, authorswill decide to revive a book,
(10:09):
even just simply by updating thecover, which definitely matters
I mean covers can't.
You know, like the guy that Italked about, even just changing
the cover on that book, I thinkwould really, because the book
is quite good, would really helpto boost the sales on it.
You know what I mean for like,for nonfiction and for my books,
(10:34):
and it's one of the reasonsactually that I stopped writing
my social media book, becauseeverything changed all the time
and it was very difficult tokeep up with it.
Okay, but in some cases, withparticular to nonfiction like,
you may just have like I don'tknow, mentioning MySpace or
(10:55):
something Like.
If your book still mentionsMySpace, it's probably like
super, super old and needs to,you know.
But sometimes it's just amatter of like.
Maybe the cover's great and thebook did really well, but it's
time to, you know, update it toget rid of old terminology that
makes the book seem very dated.
(11:15):
Yes, because unless you'vewritten historical or historical
fiction.
It's really hard to get awaywith, like it's really hard to
sound like an authority if youhave a chapter on MySpace.
I mean.
I realize that's kind of anextreme, but you know what I
mean.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, we talk about that a lottoo with it.
That's what's challenging aboutnonfiction and obviously Penny
knows this, trying to keep upwith Amazon that things change
all the time and instead ofpretending it's not happening,
it's better to just work with itthe best you can.
You know, and that's anotherreason why and this is an
entirely separate show and we'vedone shows on this before too
but that's another reason whyand this is an entirely separate
(11:56):
show and we've done shows onthis before too but that's
another reason we push so hard,especially for nonfiction
authors to be an authorityelsewhere other than just your
book.
You know, your book is a greatway to open the door.
It's a great way to show thatyou were in it for the long haul
.
But getting your voice, youropinion, your unique point of
view out there in other ways isa great way to kind of combat
(12:17):
the fact that your book does endup being a time capsule of
sorts.
You know, yes.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yeah, yeah, it absolutely does end up being a
time capsule.
And then, you know, I alludedto the cover.
I think, in many situations,even just updating the cover or
the covers if you have multipletitles is a great way to
revitalize.
Because the other thing, though, too, is that Amazon I know
(12:44):
this is a really weird nerdything to tell y'all, but Amazon
does pay attention to new covers.
So something as simple as a newbook cover can really help to
boost the visibility of yourbook, because it appeases the
Amazon algorithm.
And I always say, when I teachthe Amazon optimization classes,
(13:05):
I always talk about how theAmazon algorithm mirrors Google,
and we know that Google is veryimage, you know.
I mean it's very video driven,but it's also very image driven.
So Amazon's much the same way,and you used to be able to add
images to your retail page, andthat's unfortunately gone away.
(13:27):
Obviously, I'm still talkingabout it, so I'm still a lot
over it, but the new cover it's.
I know I'm going to say it'ssimple.
I know it doesn't feel simpleto design a new cover, but a new
cover can really change.
And, amy, we talk about this alot with authors who have a
series of books where they don'tlook like they're all part of
(13:50):
the same series, right, andthat's a really good example of.
Here's an opportunity to makethem all look uniform.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yes, I know whoever I email when I say something like
that and I mentioned it inpassing and I always make sure
that authors know that for themost part I mean Penny we don't
have a ton of complete dealbreak deal breakers by any means
, you know, but I let peopleknow.
I always try to ensure authorsthat this is what we would
recommend because we want you toget the most out of your
(14:18):
marketing investment.
You know and we know what worksfor readers and for book
discovery and things like that,and I let authors know.
This doesn't mean we aren'tgoing to help you, but this
would help you whether you workwith us or not.
And the covers the mismatchedcover concepts across the series
is a huge one because itmatters.
(14:38):
You know.
Again, like we said, there areevery one of us talking,
listening right now, has seen acover that they've been really
impressed by, and the same thinghappens for a series.
You know there's something verypowerful about having a really
well tied together series andcover imagery and things like
that, and it just skyrocketsyour level of professionalism as
(15:00):
perceived by a potential buyerfor sure.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah, it does.
It definitely, it definitelydoes.
And this is one of the reasonswhy, when I talk to an author
who knows that they're going towrite a series, a lot of times
I'll tell them have a designer,at least mock up all of the
(15:29):
books in a series, Because it'samazing when you start to look
at and I've actually seen thiswith my own books.
So we completely rebranded.
When we changed the name fromthe how to Sell Books by the
Truckload, I almost forgot theold name already.
I was like tooth and nail right.
Getting rid of that name wasreally hard for me to do, and
now I can't even think of it.
But when we rebranded thosebooks, I kind of had sort of the
(15:54):
same.
I had the same revelation,right that I painted myself into
a corner.
The restylizing the new coverwas not an easy process, but I'm
very, very glad that I did.
When I look back through someof my older you know some of my
(16:15):
older titles I'm like, oh mygosh, part of me wants to redo
those covers, but the content isalso older.
So that's another decision thatyou kind of have to make, right
?
Yes, exactly, so the olderbooks don't matter as much, and
that's part of.
Earlier on in this podcast wetalked about the deciding factor
(16:38):
.
That's the other decidingfactor, Because I'm not going to
go back and update, for example, my Pinterest book, because I
don't even know if we're onPinterest anymore and literally
with everything out there, withTikTok and all this other stuff,
nobody even talks aboutPinterest anymore.
So that's a business decision.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely, oh my gosh.
Everybody's probably like oh myGod.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I have to take notes, I know there's just there's so
much to consider.
But again, the new cover canreally help too.
And you know what I started tosay and then I got sidetracked.
I know how shocking that Iactually got sidetracked on.
Something is the reason fordesigning multiple covers.
And again, you don't have tonecessarily do complete designs
if you're doing a series, butjust have them mock up what the
(17:26):
series might look like.
Because I'm telling you rightnow, when you look at books,
when you have to mimic like youmay fall in love with the book
cover and then you get to booktwo and you're like, oh my gosh,
I'm stumped, I don't know whatto do, whereas if you had left
yourself a little bit offlexibility with book one, book
two would be.
It would be easier to createsomething that looked like it
(17:48):
belonged in the same family.
Does that make sense, amy?
Am I even?
You can just shut me up,because obviously I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
No, it absolutely makes sense.
I mean, we are all consumers.
Everybody listening here.
You know what I mean.
If you actually and I think wedon't mention this enough, penny
is that if you actually thinkof your own buyer behavior, like
what you notice when you aredeciding whether or not to buy
something, especially from abrand you're unfamiliar with and
if you think about it that wayas an author, you know, unless
(18:18):
you're selling to a prettyhealthy size of return buyers,
you're a new brand.
Yeah, you know, they don't knowyou from the next author.
And so really put yourself inthe consumer's shoes and think
about all the things that youconsider and what impress you
and things that maybe don'timpress you.
You know, when you're makingbuying decisions not just book
(18:39):
buying decisions, but buyingdecisions in general and use
that to fuel what you can dobetter with your own brand, with
your own retail.
You know presence and thingslike that, and it really will
probably make a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah, yeah, I, I, I, I completely agree with that.
Um, yeah, yeah, I completelyagree with that.
All right, next step.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You want to take the next one?
Yes, oh, my gosh yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Should we, should we?
This is going to be a long show.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I know right, I was just thinking about this.
I'm like, oh my gosh, Okay,content, let's.
Should we talk about content?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Because this is a big one.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's talk about updating
content.
Yeah, I mean, we've kind of wetouched on it a little bit, so
there were some sneak peeks intowhat was coming up next.
But another big aspect ofrefreshing a book Cause you know
, we talked about this with thenonfiction sometimes things just
have to be changed and youcan't get around it.
You know, penny, I hate to keepusing you as an example, but
(19:39):
the Amazon stuff, your Amazonbooks, you could not ignore for
two years, realistically, andthen go back and try to pretend
like everything's brand newbecause you have time to market
it.
That's just not the reality ofthe topic.
So there's definitely you haveto think about one.
Am I really in a position whereI need to update content in
order to put the best version ofwhat I have to offer people out
(20:01):
there?
Yeah, and Penny, you know muchmore about the technical
requirements in terms of Amazon,so I won't go there.
But I know that and this issomething also too that anybody
listening that really needs toconsider this.
I would suggest doing aconsulting session or something
like that, just to really makesure you have your ducks in a
(20:21):
row and T's crossed.
I's dotted Because there'sdifferent ways to go about it.
I know in terms of refreshing,updating, whether you get into
new ISBN territory and thingslike that, right, so there's
really so many differentvariations, yes, and it doesn't
always have to be super extreme,but you should know what you're
getting into, as you know whatI mean at the start of this,
(20:44):
like what's really requiredversus what can you get away
with with some refreshing.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, because I wrote a book on um how to revise and
re-release your book and and and.
In it I talked about um.
Updating content, I think,especially for nonfiction
authors, is really important.
If you update less than 20%,amazon will, and you upload the
(21:11):
book again to KDP or whereveryou you know.
However you did it, amazon willkeep your existing retail page,
which means that, let's say,you have 500 reviews or
something.
You're not gonna lose thosereviews.
But just like you know, likepeople always say, well, check
with your own counsel before youdecide to do this.
(21:31):
I would definitely call Amazonand just make sure that, because
Amazon changes, because we'vedone a ton of shows on Amazon,
so you know Amazon changes allthe time.
So because if I were going togo in right now and as my
workbook is releasing, and go inand update the Amazon author
formula, I would be hesitant todo that unless I called them and
(21:53):
just said hey, so what's the?
You know where's the line inthe sand here?
Because otherwise you basicallyhave to have a whole new retail
page for your book and in somecases that's going to be fine,
right, that's going to be fine,right.
So I might sit with this for awhile and say you know what the
(22:15):
Amazon author formula just needsa whole new refresh, needs a
lot of work.
I'm just going to get a wholenew page and re-release that
book, great right.
But you kind of have to makethat determination.
Now for fiction.
Obviously, this is different.
So we have fiction authors whohave older books that are, that
have references to like old popculture things.
(22:36):
You know what I mean Like, butnot old enough to be cool, yeah
Right.
And again, if you're writinghistorical or historical fiction
, that's fine.
But if your book is supposed tobe set present day and you're
referring to Oprah Winfreyhaving her talk show, that's a
problem.
You know what I mean, becauseshe had that talk show and
whatever.
So I think that it's.
(23:00):
You know, we did the bookbundle show and I want to say
that it landed last Friday, butit may have landed the week
before, I don't know.
But if you missed that, go backand take a look at that,
because the book bundling isanother way to update your
content, to update your, yourlibrary, to pay some attention,
give some love to your backlist,that kind of thing.
Yes, absolutely.
(23:23):
Um, did I miss anything on onthat?
Because, again.
I know we have this is a longshow, but we also have a ton of
notes, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
No, I think this is, but also did you mention, sorry,
the pacing and things like that?
This is a good time tore-evaluate your writing.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Why don't you take that one?
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Because I did not Good catch, I know, and I
realized that also may makepeople want to turn us off right
now.
They're like, nope, now they'regoing.
I already finished the book.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
I'm not too far down the rabbit hole.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Yes, exactly, but truly actually this happened and
so this is a positive story.
We've got very much a positiveexample of this.
We have a client that we justwrapped up their initial
campaign with us.
She is lovely and she, based onsome reviewer feedback, was
actually you know, she couldhave just been devastated, but
(24:16):
she said you know what she'slike, I was excited to get this
book out there.
It was my first book and shehad, I think, two more books
ready to roll.
You know what I mean.
So she was really ready to getout there and this was her first
one and, based on some reviewerfeedback, she kept a good
attitude and she said you know,they're probably right.
(24:37):
You know what I mean.
She's like it was my first one.
I think the two that I haveready to go now are even better
than that one.
And she said I think I am goingto go back through it and just
do another read through, getback in touch with my editor and
just do that, because she'slike I love.
She loved the story, shebelieves in her story.
The reviews were actually prettypositive, other than some
(24:58):
technical stuff.
You know what I mean Like theylove the concept, but there were
some technical things to fix.
And this is a really great timeto ensure, if you're going to
give your book a second chanceor if you want to revive some
interest in it, like everythingelse we've mentioned, just make
sure it's really the bestversion that you're putting out
there.
(25:19):
And this is a great time to say, okay, I was ready to go with
or I put this book out.
I was ready to go.
It was out a year ago and Ididn't do anything with it.
And I'm ready to do somethingwith it.
But why not?
Before you start drawing a tonof attention to it and investing
in marketing, just do a doublecheck.
That is absolutely the bestversion of that content or that
(25:41):
story that you're ready to putout there.
Again, once you start tellingpeople it's there, you can't
unring that bell.
They're going to see it,they're going to read it,
they're going to review it.
You know what I mean and thisis not a cross your fingers
moment, you know.
So sometimes this might be thesilver lining of a book not
taking off right away or gettingready to dig back into your
(26:03):
backlist and see how you canrevive interest in those is a
chance to do things better, youknow, and this in your content
is another one, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
And then I think you know, once you've made that
determination, update, updateyour marketing materials right,
change it, make sure to changeup your website.
And this is actually, I meanhonestly once you go through the
exercise of do I need to update?
Am I going to update you knowand all and making all those
decisions?
This is really the exercise ofdo I need to update?
Am I going to update you knowand all and making all those
decisions.
This is really the fun part, inmy opinion.
(26:33):
So, create, you know, adding,make sure that your Author
Central reflects not just thefact that you uploaded this new
book, but make sure that yourbio on Author Central reflects
the book you know new book titleif you changed it.
Whatever your social banners,your website, all your you know
(26:58):
your social media channels Ithink I said that already, but
those kinds of things are reallyfun, they don't take a lot of
time.
But I think once you get tothat point, you're like, oh yeah
, and it you know, and then youcan.
You can plan your you know,plan your launch, you know, plan
your launch, your relaunch andand I think you'd be really
(27:19):
surprised at how well the bookthat, the book or books that you
wanted to give up on areactually doing, once you, you
know, kind of breathe new lifeinto them.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
I love that you mentioned you know all the other
things that support your booktoo, penny, because again, if
you're in the mindset of betterthis time, you should apply that
across the board.
You know, like you said, checkin on social, check in on your
website.
You know a website so oftenends up being the last one to
(27:52):
get attention.
You know because it's there,it's created and it's you know
what I mean.
It's plugging along, but it'samazing how often authors forget
to update their website.
And that's another one kind oflike covers.
You know what I mean.
The bar does get higher aspeople get more tech savvy, you
know, as more is done online.
So a website that was created,you know, five years ago, but
(28:16):
definitely 10 years ago, couldprobably use a little bit of the
makeover or some housekeeping,just because there's.
It's amazing how simple it is,especially if you work with
somebody that knows how to getin or do that stuff.
I realized if you made your ownwebsite the first time, you're
thinking I don't want to do thatagain, don't Hire someone, let
them come in.
But it's amazing how easily,with a few tweaks, you can take
(28:37):
a website that looks maybe alittle dated or unloved and get
it looking really sharp, andit's not about making it more
complicated, it's just aboutkeeping it up to date and modern
in terms of what the marketexpects to see, if that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, it does.
No, I think that's.
I mean that's definitely a,that's, that's definitely worth
it.
I mean, I think if you're goingto go, if you're going to go
out and you're you know, ifyou're going to re-release these
, if you're going to do, ifyou're going to go through all
this work, then make sure, andyou know, if you're going to
re-release these, if you'regoing to do, um, if you're going
to go through all this work,then make sure, and you know,
update all these collateralpieces, and I think that you'll
(29:15):
be really glad you did.
Uh, just, let's, just let'sbreeze through, cause I know
we've been talking for a whileand and I um, I know I hope
hopefully everybody's seekingcopious notes, creative add-ons
for extra buzz.
I love this.
We'll just take them one at atime.
Companion workbook I'll takethe first one.
Sorry, amy.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'm like no, I'll take the first one I adore
workbooks.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
If you've listened to this show for any length of
time, you know I love workbooks,I love journals, I love all
those things.
So a companion workbook and Italk to nonfiction authors about
this a lot and they're alwayssurprised when I mention like oh
, I hadn't really thought ofthat.
I am telling you right now, ifsomebody loves your book,
they're going to love yourworkbook.
And especially if you have atopic, that where you can create
(30:07):
some deep dive experience ofthat experiences for them, the
workbook is a great idea.
The workbook that I created andthis is not an advertisement for
my book, cause it's not even upfor sale yet but the workbook
that I created was specificallycreated not just to be a
companion book but also to beits own.
It can potentially like if youdon't want to buy the first book
, that's fine.
It's a standalone book thataddresses not just the stuff
(30:32):
that I, you know in the Amazonauthor formula, but then dives
deeper into other elements,right, and I think that's really
what a workbook should be.
So workbook should to somedegree mirror as a companion
book, but then it should also beits own like.
It should have its own kind ofoomph to it, and that's that's
where I think these theworkbooks can do really well.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Yeah.
And then also and we've talkedabout this before take up space.
You know, excuse me, yourvirtual bookshelf.
Yes, the more product you canget out there, the better,
typically, as long as it's donewell, obviously.
But you know, anytime you go toan author's author central page
just to see what they've putout there, it always you are
(31:15):
going to generate more interestif you show that you've been
around a while or that you'rethere to stay and that you're a
sure thing.
So this is not to make debutauthors stressed at all, you'll
get there, but it really doesmatter.
So when you think like, oh, doI really need to make debut
authors stressed at all?
You'll get there, but it reallydoes matter.
So when you think like, oh, do Ireally need to make you know a
print edition if it was ebookonly, or vice versa, maybe you
(31:37):
thought initially no, peopletypically like print.
If you know my market likesprint, why not make an ebook?
You know it's not expensive?
Like, just do it.
And then large print is anotherone.
There are a lot of demographicswhere large print is very much
welcome and people seek it out.
So do your research, see ifthat's another option for you.
(32:01):
But what's great about theseextras that we're talking about
is that it's a new release.
New release, you know, yes,you're refreshing your old one,
but you're going to have a brandnew.
You know publishing date If youhave, if you haven't released a
print edition or an ebookpreviously, or a large print
edition yeah, that's what'sreally fabulous.
(32:21):
So you kind of get a twoferyou're.
You're breathing new life,you're fixing things, you're
making things better for yourbacklist or for a title that
languished, but then you alsohave an opportunity to release a
different edition of that.
Then you're kind of coming atit from both angles, with both a
version with a new release anda version that's better than the
first version that went outpreviously.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Yeah, exactly, and I think you know sometimes authors
say, well, my audience doesn'treally read eBooks Like, are you
sure I mean?
You know what I mean.
And we've actually had authorswho will create, who I encourage
to create, additional editionsof their book in order for the
simple purpose to own moreAmazon real estate, right?
(33:06):
And an example of this is likea coffee table book which you're
like oh my gosh, penny, you'renot going to do a coffee table
book in an ebook.
That's silly, I get it.
But owning more Amazon realestate is only going to benefit
you and your reader may not wantthe ebook, they may like, but
(33:28):
they could stumble on it.
And you have a lot of we havedone shows on this, so I'm not
going to belabor this, but youhave lots of opportunities to
promote an e-book that don'tnecessarily support promoting a
print book, like doing e-bookdeals and things like that.
So just some that's kind offood for thought, something to
think about.
Audiobook is the next thing,right?
(33:48):
So in terms of just creativeadd-ons, I realize audiobook is
sort of an expensive creativeadd-on, but you know you could
also just refresh the intro orchange the narrator.
We did a whole podcast on,because I'm such an audiobook
nut we did a whole podcast onyou know bad narrators and
(34:10):
sometimes things happen and youmaybe you you know couldn't
afford, or the guy, the personthat you wanted wasn't available
and now is maybe a chance torevise that.
Or, like I said, you can justrefresh the intro.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
And the next one.
Oh, I love this book clubedition with discussion
questions.
I mean we could I think we'vedone shows on this.
If not, we should double checkPenny.
But I mean just creativeadd-ons, even if you don't do a
special edition.
But I mean, I think that's verybeautiful, like if you write in
a genre that is very popularwith book clubs, that is such a
cool concept to have an actualbook club edition where you have
(34:47):
a lot of extras built into theactual structure of the book.
But you know again, doing morefor your potential readers and
having more to offer them isalways going to be appealing,
(35:10):
would like, or that it fits inwith what book clubs typically
gravitate toward.
Then make sure you've had somereally great discussion
questions created, whether it'son your website, something you
share on social media, somethingyou share in your newsletter.
There's so many great ways todo it.
But doing that little bit extrathat shows you're invested in
the reader's experience willalways benefit you.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Yeah, I completely agree with that and I think the
final is a special anniversaryedition or a collector's cover.
And I actually talked to a lotof authors who really like the
collector's cover really appealsto them.
They want to create like acollector's edition of the book,
like maybe, let's say, you havea series and the series is
finished and now you want torelease the final one and you
(35:51):
want to have a specialcollector's edition.
I think that's a great.
I think it's a great idea.
Special anniversary edition isprobably more applicable to the
majority of the folks who listento us, because we've all
probably been writing for a longtime and so maybe a book that
you wrote 10 years ago you'regoing to re-release it.
Right, you're going tore-release, you're going to
update it, you're going to redoall the things that we talked
about and then maybe create aspecial anniversary edition from
(36:15):
it, which I think which I thinkis a really fun idea too yeah,
very cool.
I just think that you knowyou're sitting your backlist,
even if it's just one book.
Like backlist oftentimes,oftentimes implies like multiple
titles, but even if it's justone book, these are all hidden
(36:35):
assets.
They are goldmine for you.
Maybe, you know, don't a lot oftimes, authors that I talk to
get really like oh, I didn'treally do that good on my first
book, and you know, it's one ofthose things where we learn as
we go because there's also somuch information.
And sometimes I'll talk toauthors like, oh, I wish I had
known this.
X, y, z, whatever, you know,now's the time to implement that
(36:56):
and release these books, and wereally hope that this show has
been helpful to you.
The other thing I wanted tomention is be sure to subscribe
to the show.
If you just stumbled upon us,welcome.
We're so glad you're here.
Yes, all of our shows are amishmash of Amy and I just going
back and forth, talking aboutall the things we used to do
(37:16):
them like in year one, I think,and maybe even in year two.
We used to do them veryscripted, but I don't know.
This just feels this wholefree-flowing back and forth just
feels a lot more authentic andI think you get a lot more
information out of it.
So if you're a new listener,welcome.
Be sure to hit the subscribebutton.
That way you'll get notifiedevery time we release a show.
(37:38):
We love reviews wherever youlisten to podcasts.
If you can't you know?
If this system is giving you ahard time to upload it, we
understand that.
Then you're welcome to email usthe review.
We will put you up on ourpodcast website and thank you
all so much for listening.
We will see you next time.
Bye-bye.
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