By Mary Shafer
There are any number of reasons you may wish to re-release an existing book title. Maybe you’ve done some market research that shows it would do better with a new title, a new cover, or both. Perhaps you’ve taken advantage of a resurgence in popularity for your subject due to related current events. Or maybe you’ve just done an update on the contents with new material.
This past August, I held a launch event to re-release an existing title that I’ve significantly updated. I thought it might be helpful to share how and why with those of you considering updating one of your own books.
My book, Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955 was originally published in October, 2005. It was supposed to have been published on August 19, 2005, which was the 50th anniversary of the weather disaster it documents. I had signed a contract and already received half my royalty advance from a publisher, but two months before we were to go to press, they went under, taking my project with them.
Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group 