Second Edition vs. New Title

For the author / self-publisher, not only is there the whole writing / researching / listening / editing process, the effort to get the book in published form, and the exceptional amount of time spent marketing with advertising, relationship building and developing social media, there is also the effort to produce a second edition. If I am honest with myself, I must admit that I made mistakes in each of my books that I now want to correct.

I must not be alone as evidenced in the non-fiction world by the large number of second editions that are released. In fact, I know one very scholarly man that will never read the first edition of a book because he realizes that the kinks are still up for grabs.

For the person intending involved with self-publishing, please look at the blog article Joshua's Spiritual Warfare: An Author's Self-Assessment. In that writing, I give an honest review of the discouragement process with thoughts of abandoning my writing career, yet ultimately I reached the conclusion that a second edition is essential.

Second Edition vs. New Title
In the case of Joshua's Spiritual Warfare, I've committed to developing a second edition in 2012. I think that the basic flow of the book is probably satisfactory, but some text needs to be removed and replaced because it is either not current or not consistent with my current theology. There are a few typos and there is one chapter that I would like to re-write for greater clarity.

My second book, A Topical Treasury of Proverbs, was written to meet a publisher's deadline. I was not the publisher with that book; working against this time schedule, I am not happy with the quality of that manuscript. I have spent a large part of 2011 preparing a yet unnamed title that in some ways is similar to the first book, but in most ways is a significant overhaul of the original text. When finished, my intent is to self-publish this manuscript.

In my case, I contacted the publisher to ensure that I have the legal right to self-publish this. We reached an agreement that I believe is equitable for both of us. I do not know if they will keep the first book in print once I release the second. It doesn't matter to me because the two are so significantly different.

If your modifications are very small, possibly changing the wording in a few paragraphs or replacing a few photographs, things of that nature, it may not be necessary to release a second edition. If I were to replace a photograph or two in A Garden of Love and fix the use of italics in several places, that would not require a second edition. I would simply submit the revised text to my printer, paying whatever small fees they may charge for this effort. On the copyright page, I would add a note about the second printing with a date, but that is not necessary; in the print-on-demand world, there are few hard and fast rules.

A second edition should be used when the reader would discern a different flavor of the text. There may be substantial editing of some chapters, adding some significant insight that was not in the first, or removing a portion that is not appropriate. Second editions require a new ISBN number; small modifications do not require a new ISBN.

In my case, a new title is warranted for the book on Proverbs. The table of contents is very different from the first book. The flow of the manuscript is substantially different and there is a considerable amount of new content that was not in the first. Also, a good amount has been removed from what was in the first book. Most importantly, the original publisher is not involved with this second title. I have domain expertise in this area of Proverbs, and that is something the publisher does not own.

Should you simply modify your existing text, call your new effort a second edition, or come out with a new title? I don't know and probably don't have the answers. In part it is a marketing question, asking, "How do I best build on the exposure that the title has achieved?" Hopefully my examples with help some shed light on your scenario.


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For other articles about self-publishing in this series, see:
Index of Self-Publishing Articles by Thomas B. Clarke

An Author's Perspective: Dealing With Discouragement

I was recently encouraged to read D.A. Carson's Exegetical Fallacies – I finished reading it today. This scholarly book exposes many of the more common ways that God's Word through the Bible is incorrectly represented. Going beyond mere theological differences that exist between Christian believers, this book attempts to eliminate differences that exist simply because of inadequate research in word studies and grammar, illogical conclusions, personal bias, and much more. Carson includes many, many examples in this well-researched book. It is not a 'how to' book, but rather a 'how not to' book. As such, the strong negative tone was to me very challenging. As the author of three Christian books since 2008, Carson's book showed me where I had fallen into a few of these traps without realizing it.

After reading Carson's book, I was very discouraged about my own ability to adequately represent the Bible to the reading public. Thoughts went through my head that I should remove that book, and potentially my other books, from publication until I learned to meet Carson's standard. Carson may not have intended to write with a critical spirit, but that is how I interpreted his efforts.

I wrote to a pastor acquaintance of this concern, and he gave me an encouraging word with an appropriately placed kick from behind. Still somewhat discouraged, I read a significant portion of my own book. Through this, the Holy Spirit reminded me about the many positive evaluations by others. The result is I gave up the idea of giving up; yet it was a humbling and challenging experience.

To those considering the purchase of Joshua's Spiritual Warfare, I hope you do so. The in-depth study of Joshua 1 to Joshua 24 will challenge you with fresh insight while at the same time develop your strategies for victory in the battle between Good and evil. For me, D.A. Carson's book developed into a spiritual battle of discouragement; as I re-read the spiritual principles that are presented in this book, they led me back to the path of victory.

Several people have written book reviews of Joshua's Spiritual Warfare:

Rev. Barbara Di Gilio in her Mayim Hayim book review wrote, "It's only 232 pages, but it's packed full of good stuff, rare meat, just like I like it." (more)

Pastor and author Fred Hofeldt of the Judeo–Christian Israel Alliance stated on his website, "Tom has taken us to another dimension in understanding chiastic Hebrew poetry. His chiastic presentation of the Book of Joshua demonstrates the intricate design of the Holy Spirit. This book is most intriguing to read, as it unravels a spiritually deeper understanding into God's Word. It is written in a style that keeps you intrigued and interested." (more)

Pastor Luke Geraty from Think Theology posted on his website that, "What is immediately clear is that Clarke has studied the book of Joshua and put in a lot of time researching and interact with the text. His time has led him to believe there are a variety of patterns known as chiasms throughout the book and that these chiasms are actually integral to understanding the 'big idea' of the book and how it applies in the lives of Christians today."

Bible student Sue Kenney on her blog wrote, " It’s a fascinating book, both for its material on chiasms, and for its study of the book of Joshua. Since I love both literary expositions and Bible studies, I was doubly blessed by this book. But I will state straightaway that this is NOT an easy book; it takes time and mental effort to digest the wealth of information Mr. Clarke has packed into his tome. I believe, though, that it is well worth the effort. (more)

Questions or comments? Use the comments section and I will gladly respond.
Tom


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For other articles about self-publishing in this series, see:
Index of Self-Publishing Articles by Thomas B. Clarke

The Blossoms of August in the Prayer Garden

I enjoy the cooler evenings as fall approaches – the evening dew seems heavier this time of year as it settles on the soft and delicate flowers and leaves. I also enjoy watching parents as they bring their young children down by the stream to catch a frog, possibly the same one that another child delightfully caught just the day before. And I enjoy the rainbows of August, totally unscheduled events that catch the promising rays of the sun as a sudden shower leaves the area.

Most of the flowers in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden are perennials yet there is one annual, the cosmos, whose self-seeding effect gives the appearance of a perennial. The profusion of pure white, soft pink, ruby red and deep crimson blossoms peak in August, although many first opened in late June or sometime in July. If you sit quietly, you may see a brightly colored yellow goldfinch hop from branch to branch of the cosmos, eating a few seeds and scattering the rest.

I also enjoy showing the garden visitor the purple-blue anise hyssop flowers as they reach out with an invitation to smell its refreshing fragrance. "Crush the leaves as you breathe it in," I suggest. "See if you can identify what it smells like."

We also have a large collection of Russian sage in this garden, bluish-purple flowers with sprays and sprays of color. Again I encourage the garden visitor to squeeze a few leaves as we then move on to other plants such as lavender, cat mint and thyme.

To me, the Japanese anemone is the August show-stopper in the garden. Hundreds and hundreds of softly-hued pinkish-lavender blossoms prolifically fill one larger area. Although most people cannot detect a fragrance from these elegant flowers, the honey bees may be seen enthusiastically flitting from blossom to blossom, totally oblivious to people nearby.


Purple coneflowers continue their simple yet multitudinous blossoming in many areas throughout the garden in August. By the end of August, many will have lost their color so we clip off the old dead heads to prevent many new plants from sprouting.

This garden is heavily dependent on a large force of volunteers – some years we have more than others. When we have enough people, we try to trim the spirea so that they can get a second or even a third period of flowering. We have a dozen or so in the garden ranging from white to soft pink to vibrant red, and they are truly beautiful while in blossom.

For more information, see Photo gallery of Gethsemane Prayer Garden: August's blossoms

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.