Comments on: Should You Publish a Second Edition? https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/should-you-publish-a-second-edition/ Nonfiction Authors & Writers Group Membership Community Wed, 05 Apr 2023 21:22:16 +0000 hourly 1 By: George J. Whalen, NY9A https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/should-you-publish-a-second-edition/#comment-75047 Fri, 17 Jun 2022 15:01:38 +0000 http://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/?p=14443#comment-75047 Thanks for your fine site for nonfiction writers. I’ve done 27 books to date (#28 is now in production). I write in TECHNOLOGY HISTORY these days and have a great franchise in “The Story of Radio: to 5G Wireless. I’m a bit hindered by readers’ lack of history knowledge and lack of technical understanding. Fortunately, we are all human, so I do my best to focus on the humanity of great scientists, inventors and everyday people who were all “Radio Heroes(tm),” revealing their “quirks” and “things no one’s ever told” about them.

Here’s an example: Three young men in their 20s saved 706 people using very early radio the night in April 1912 when the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in frigid water in the North Atlantic. One of them died (Jack Philips, 27, senior Marconi Radioman on the Titanic ); Harold Bride (21), second Marconi Radioman) and Harold Cottam (23), sole Marconi Radioman on the rescue ship, Carpathia). These Radio Heroes(tm) were trained in code and radio by The Marconi Company and were “leased” to the ships they worked on. Yet, their grit and determination to get the message through saved 706 people from the watery grave that claimed 1,500 souls. This fact is not recorded elsewhere, But it’s in my book. And that makes my nonfiction “different.” I am about to bring out a second edition that will cover 60 Radio Heroes(tm), including five who are responsible for beginning the “Electronics Industry.” Their never-before-told stories make great nonfiction! I guess the best advice I can give is: don’t write boring non-fiction! It’s hard work getting to these stories, but when your character comes to life in nonfiction, your book will glitter with humanity and truth: and that’s a lot better then “fiction.”

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By: deborah https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/should-you-publish-a-second-edition/#comment-67623 Fri, 23 Jul 2021 17:41:19 +0000 http://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/?p=14443#comment-67623 What publication date do I use. First edition was 2013, second one trying to publish now.

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By: Ernie Zelinski https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/should-you-publish-a-second-edition/#comment-12807 Sun, 09 Jul 2017 07:57:56 +0000 http://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/?p=14443#comment-12807 A second edition can actually be a bad decision. In March 2005, my “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” was paired with the first edition of “The New Retirement” by Jan Culliane. “The New Retirement” was chosen by Michelle Singletary as her “Color of Money Book Club” selection and it actually hit the sales rank of number 1 on Amazon.com while bringing my “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” to number 114. In 2007, a new edition of “The New Retirement” was issued but this actually hurt overall sales. I won’t get into the details. Incidentally, “The New Retirement” is no longer available in the print edition but my “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” (first released in the US in 2004) has been selling over 25,000 copies a year in the last four years. For the record, I had to self-publish “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” with a new ISBN in 2009 but I did not change the content. The new ISBN presented a big problem for me with Amazon.com that I had to overcome with creativity and critical thinking skills, but here again, I won’t get into the details. In short, I believe that my “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” is good for at least another 10 years without bringing out a 2nd edition. Furthermore, I intend to sell 500,000 copies of the book with this approach (sales are only at 325,000 copies so far).

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