Authors and publishers usually have back lists — books published some time ago that can be republished. They’re a good way of capitalising on past work, especially when the books have been out of print for a while, or when the author has a potential new audience, perhaps in the form of younger readers.
There is a lot you can do with a back list of books, such as:
Publish a new edition, with some updates.
Publish a completely new, revised edition, that is rewritten from the ground up rather than just tweaked here and there.
Publish a 10th anniversary edition.
Republish the original edition, perhaps with a new cover.
I also think it’s useful to build up a back list of articles. This has come in handy recently, especially on my education blog, because I’ve not been well enough to write a lot of original articles recently. (I became ill after visiting my local A & E just before Christmas. It may be a coincidence, but social distancing was being honoured more in the breach than the observance, some people were wearing masks as chin warmers, and others weren’t wearing masks at all. I realise this is the teacher in me coming out, but what on earth is the point of having rules if nobody bothers to enforce them?)
Anyway, as a result I have been republishing older articles, sometimes slightly amended, but mostly with a note to say I wrote this x years ago and it is still relevant today.
Other uses for older articles are:
On This Day posts, in which you write about an article you published on this date x years ago.
To be brought to readers’ attention, in case they missed it when you published it originally.
Older articles can be added to as new information comes to light. For example, every so often I find out about another website that provides free-to-use illustrations, so I add them to an existing article, or publish a new and updated version of the article.
To serve as the basis for new articles on the same theme, because one doesn’t always have to start with a blank sheet so to speak.
If you don’t already have a collection of articles that you can (legally) republish or rework, then today is as good a time as any to start.
If you found this article interesting, why not subscribe to my newsletter, Terry Freedman’s Books Bulletin?