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This is part 2 of Why Editing of a Book is Necessary. Just as writing a book is time-consuming, so is editing. I’m not one who likes to edit books, but the task must be done. Let’s continue the discussion.

What About Editing I Talked About Last Blog

Editing the first chapter of a book.
Editing Grammar.
Examples of Homophones.
Self-Check Grammar. (Exception to the rule when using a Bible program.)

In today’s blog, I’ll talk more about editing.

When editing chapter face pages

When my husband and I are writing each chapter of our books the preface that we follow is that the face page of each chapter (also known as chapter’s first page)) is always on the odd page. The last page of the chapter ends on the even page.

Adding more pages

This is a tough one to follow. I sometimes find it frustrating when I must add more pages to a book because a publishing company wants a certain number of pages before they’ll publish the book.

We use KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and they require seventy-nine pages for the print book if you want a spine (also called a ‘gutter’). This is different that eBooks, but a print book needs a spine if you want people to find your book.

Sometimes you need to go in and add more pages by simply adding more content to each chapter.

For example, in the latest devotional book I’ve been working on, I was short a few pages. I went back and added more content and extra KJV Bible verses. Now my book has a total of eighty + pages.

A second editing

My husband is in the process of doing the second editing of my book. He put it on KDP to make sure that it matches up with the criteria that KDP wants.

When he’s done editing, he’ll turn the book over to me so I can do another editing of the book. I’ll want to make sure I haven’t left anything out.

Editing the cover of the book

I love the picture that I chose for the book cover, but don’t like the white lettering background. I’m going to change the lettering to a brighter color, one that will grab peoples’ eyes when they take that first glance at my book.

I’m hoping to see my book in the publisher’s hand by the end of next week, but we’ll see what happens. I want the book published yesterday, but when writing a book, we don’t always get what we want.

God expects us to put our best effort forward, whether it’s in writing a book, serving Him, or whatever. As a writer, we should always strive to do the best work that we can.

Have a wonderful week.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/Tessriddle.

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Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

Today I am taking a look at updating, which was originally titled republishing. What is updating? Why is it important? How can you do it?

I have retitled this to Updating because of the following.

Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur published an article on Republishing and I learned I was using the wrong title. I am not to proud to be corrected. So, my article is now Updating. I have shared a link to his article.

What is Updating?

Seems rather obvious, but I don’t want to be misunderstood. In this blog I am talking about taking a previously published book, and updating it under the same title with the same ISBN, and with the same publisher. Generally speaking, you can use the same title and same ISBN if you have not made extensive changes, but when you completely rewrite your book then you may have to republish it as a new book.

But I want you to understand that what I am talking about is very important to you as an author and as a marketer.

Why is Updating Important?

Updating comes into play after you have published your book. But let’s say that you now discover an error, possibly a major error, or maybe you have found a stronger, more powerful cover. Or you want to add material. These are just some of the reasons you might want to update.

What about Traditional or Self Publishers?

Neither traditional or self publishers offer free updating after you’ve published. Some may offer a limited ability to update. For example, they may offer it one or two times. But nothing like what I am talking about.

Can Indie-Publishers Offer it for Free?

Yes!

Since I only know of one publisher who works with Indie Publishers, I will talk about KDP. It is my understanding that that some Self Publishers may offer this service, but KDP is the only one I have experience with.

So, KDP Updates Books?

Technically, you are using KDP to update your books. It is more of a printing platform, in my opinion. Some people identify KDP as a Self-Publisher, but they don’t really fit that description. However, to be fair, Amazon identifies themselves as self-publishers. But look at these differences, they do not:

Charge an upfront price
Offer packages
Limit updating after a book has been published

There are other differences such as the amount of control you have, the royalties you can achieve, and more. But here we are focusing on one thing: updating.

My first books were with AuthorHouse and later with American Star. AuthorHouse is owned by Author Solutions, which also owns Xlibris, iUniverse, and Trafford. These offer packages which nowadays can by thousands of dollars.

How Does KDP allow it?

It is simply one of the free services they offer. Please note the word “free”. Assuming you are making no major changes where you add a great deal of new content, you will not be charged.

Note: you cannot change the title, subtitle, or ISBN once it is published. To that requires republishing it virtually as a new book. There are other restrictions regarding the paper and color. But if you want to edit, update material, or change cover, or change price, you can as often as you want for free!

How is Updating an Advantage for me?

I have already mentioned a few. Here they are:

Correct an error
Change the cover
Add content (within reason)
Change price

This gives you control that in my opinion surpasses any offering by any other publisher. The above reasons help you in keeping your book fresh, and as a marketing tool.

. VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.