Karma Bennett of Ulysses Press writes:
“The publishing house where I work was founded with our travel series, the Hidden Guides. The first book, Hidden Hawaii, was at the time, the only book on Hawaii that actually reviewed and compared the various beaches of the islands.
“Now we are giving the books a whole new look which emphasizes the hidden aspect of the series: the places that locals love, rather than the same tired tourist traps. The trick is that book reviewers don’t like to review new editions, so I am looking for a good side-door angle. The original author will not be able to fly to Hawaii for the new edition as we are a small company and the air fare would be expensive.
“I would love to hear what your fellow Hounds can come up with to kick off this series with a bang.”
Why not create it as new editions instead of reviving the old ones? Reviewers shouldn’t have a problem with a new series under a new title.
Good luck!
I would ask which travel book audience is this going after – Lonely Planet readers or Fodor/Frommers readers?
If your going after Lonely Planet what about “donating” a copy to the key hostels in that area – they can keep it in the communal area, people will pick it up and discover they like it.
If you are going after Fodor/Frommers readers I would add some key comments on those locations to sites like traveladvisor.com or other related websites that allow comments.
I would recommend keeping each book separate and focused on a that new market. It is best to have more products for sale. It will help make you look like the real experts on Hawaii.
There is a separate market for each book, and a market that would buy both books. When you release your new book it will be reviewed as a new book. But I would make sure that the new book is tailored for that different market and not just a redo.
See ya,
Michael Draper
What is it that’s hidden and always sought after?? Treasure!
Make up some 9″x12″ envelopes, with the book’s cover or logo printed on them (or glue publicity postcards on them, just so they look fun)
Encourage each place mentioned in the revised edition to participate with a modest in-kind contribution – a discount coupon, whatever. depending on the business. Collect these and put them in the envelopes.
Just prior to the release date, go to each place mentioned in the revised edition of the book, and ‘hide’ a couple of the envelopes where they can be found by an alert customer.
Publicity for this event centers around the ‘hidden’ concept and should attract radio & local news attention. It’s kind of like a grown-up easter egg hunt! People love to look for ‘fun stuff.’
Change the title of the series and the titles of the individual books to make them seem brand new. If you only change 20% of a book you are allowed to recopyright it, giving it an up-to-date copyright. And of course, develop a snappy new design and covers for the series and individual books, very different from the older series. You might even change the size of the books.
Why not partner with travel agencies to help promote the series? I am a travel specialist who specializes in culinary travel and I am always looking for the genuine aspects of any destination. Offer the books to travel specialists for a free or reduced rate in return for advertising in their newsletters and on their websites. I’m already excited to check out the series for myself!
I got so much use out of my first copy of Hidden Hawaii! I am thrilled to know it is being updated!!
Try to get the news into Daily Candy Travel. They love things like this. http://www.dailycandy.com
Good Luck!!
Giving away a few books might reap thousands of dollars of PR value. For example, my business, the Internet Dating Game ( http://www.InternetDatingGame.Net ) has fun contests where couples can win romantic vacations to exotic locations. I also like to give away less expensive gifts weekly. So for the costs of a few books you can can get the publication exposed to hundreds of thousands potential buyers. And there must be other entrepreneurs doing the same thing I am.