Publishing E-Books For Dummies

Updating Your E-Book After Receiving Feedback

One simple way to take your e-book further is to release a new edition. Six months or a year after its publication, you might realize that you’ve gained new knowledge or that readers have suggested changes or additional chapters.

When you receive feedback on your e-book, whether it’s positive or negative, record it somewhere safe. Save all related e-mail messages and Amazon reviews, for example. Don’t act on every piece of feedback immediately — there’s no point in adding five extra chapters simply on the request of a lone reader. Schedule time to review the feedback systematically.

Consider inserting extra material (perhaps in the form of an appendix) or making changes to help the reader engage with the material you’ve written. For example, if you’ve written an in-depth time management guide that gives lots of advice, include a few quick-start bullet points to help readers start saving time immediately.

When you update your e-book, let past customers know. If possible, graciously let them have the updated version for free, to encourage them to buy from you again. If you’re selling your e-book from your own website, or via E-junkie (see Chapter 12) or a similar site, you can easily supply everyone who has bought the previous version with a link to download the new one. If you don’t have the e-mail addresses of readers who bought your e-book via Amazon or another store, you can announce the new edition on your blog, ...