Updating and revising

[Alp]

How often would you update a cover and release a new edition of a story? I am currently going through a wholesale update of all of my titles but this is a fairly lengthy process - even just doing new covers - so how often would you, for example, change a cover? Someone suggested every 6 months which seems excessive.

Alp

[Ken]

I would only update if the book or cover has serious issues, in which case it probably shouldn't have been published to begin with :)

[Alp]

I was hoping that a new cover would help to attract new readers who may have overlooked the old cover (some of them were quite uninspiring) - I see other authors do change covers from time to time and I just wondered if it was recommended; I suppose I might take a look at a cover once a year and decide if it needs to be freshened up.

[Lori]

Alp wrote: "I was hoping that a new cover would help to attract new readers who may have overlooked the old cover (some of them were quite uninspiring) - I see other authors do change covers from time to time ..."

I think you want to be very careful about changing the cover - and you probably want to make a note of the change in your description. I once saw someone leave a one-star review for an author he liked so much that he immediately bought the "new book" when it came out - without even realizing that it was the same book. You would think people would figure that out from the description, but evidently they don't pay much attention. Still a sucky way to lose a devoted reader.

[K.L.]

I COMPLETELY agree with the last two posters (Lori and HoneysuckleP). As an avid reader, nothing irritates me MORE than when I've purchased a book that I've already read b/c the cover is different and it's not explicitly stated, which happens quite often. I happen to remember the book by it's cover, so when an author changes it in an attempt to sell more books, it is quite irritating. And as an author myself, I have vowed never to do that.