When I first started writing travel guides my plan was to release an updated version every two years. I’ve added new information each year, and deleted some of the out of date information I know about. There was no way to make quality updates to my travel guide unless I was here to tour the towns and villages for myself to see what was new, and what no longer existed. So since I came back here in May, I’ve been jumping on the dolmus to explore the local area to make all the necessary updates.

Of course, one of the biggest changes is the dolmus. This puzzle has taken a while to unravel, and caused the biggest headaches, but was such a dramatic change that I had to delve into the topic in great detail, and collaborate with other expats who are more familiar with the local bus service, in order to make sense of how the new bus service timetables and routes work. There have been so many changes over the past couple of years, that I decided it would be best to create a new edition of the travel guide.

Updated book file vs. New book edition

Historically I’ve just updated my ebook file and republished it as a revised file for the original travel guide I published back in 2013. The only downside is that the Amazon Product Details lists the original publication date, no matter how many times I update the source file.

I last updated this 1st edition in 2016, and the introductory line in the Amazon book description said “This travel guide was updated in 2016″— so that readers could see that it was more recent than 2013. For most books, a publication date isn’t that important, but for travel guides it’s critical.

I took this sunset photo at Bodrum marinaI had wanted to keep this original book listing because that’s the only way to retain the book reviews. But for 2019 I decided I was going to follow the lead of the traditional publishers, and publish a brand new edition and listing for the new edition of my travel guide.

I have kept the original listing on Amazon, but included a new line in the Amazon book description that says “There’s a newer version of this book available….” So that any reader who stumbles across the old version, knows to look for the updated version instead, and this way there’s still visibility to the reader reviews for the previous version.

Wide Distribution vs Amazon Exclusive

I’ve had six years of insights into the sales generated by Amazon vs. the sales on the rest of the ebook retailers and distributors I have a presence on, and if I had to apply a sales percentage I’d have to say that Amazon accounts for 90% of my Bodrum Travel Guide sales, so this time around I’m only going to publish on Amazon to see whether I can also increase my page-read royalty income by enrolling in Kindle Unlimited.

I have another Turkey travel guide that is exclusive to Amazon, and I get a constant stream of page-read royalty for that book, so I’m confident I can pick up some extra income from reader who don’t want to buy the book, but are happy to have it as one of their Amazon Prime benefits.

#1 slot for New Releases in Turkey Travel

I released my new edition of the Bodrum Travel Guide just three days ago, and it went straight into the #1 slot for New Releases in Turkey Travel.

I’ve been updating the content for the past three weeks, and the last task was to put the finishing touches on the cover. The type setting layout is consistent with previous covers and my other travel guides, and I wanted to keep the current theme of the sunsets as the focal point, so I used a Bodrum marina photo I took a couple of years ago.

The first version of my cover used the image in the original orientation, but I didn’t like how the three figures were so far off to the left and overlapped with my Roving Jay image. I couldn’t shift the image over any more because of distracting objects to the right and left of the figures.

I ended up flipping the original image horizontally and it solved my problem. The figures are in the middle and don’t overlap with my logo, and I love how the setting sun is slightly off centre, which I think adds interest to the image, rather than having the sun and the figures centered.

You can see the “before” image in the Amazon #1 spot image, and the updated image below.

I think this new version of the 2019 has a more balanced feel to it. What do you think?