What Constitutes a New Edition of Your Book?

Authors sometimes struggle with the concepts of new edition versus revised edition. We're here to help clear this up.

May 18, 2026

In October 2026, the website BookDesignMadeSimple.com (founded by Fiona Raven and Glenna Collett) will be closing, and their co-written book will no longer be available for purchase.

While this is incredibly sad news, Fiona and Glenna have generously allowed me to archive their blog posts on Hadley House to avoid having them disappear with their website. You can find all of their archived posts here.

Fiona and Glenna have made a huge impact on my life, teaching me so much about book design and giving me the hope, motivation, and confidence to succeed in this field. I am eternally grateful. It is an honor to learn from them. I think you will feel the same <3

This is an archived post from Book Design Made Simple.
Originally Published: April 13, 2026
By: Glenna Collett

We get plenty of queries about new editions of books. Are the changes enough to constitute a new edition? Or maybe a revised edition? Or is it simply a reprint?

The issue is partly a subjective one, but there are some conventional standards that govern the answer to this complex question.

Here’s our non-legal advice, based on experience and a bit of research.

Reprint? New edition? Revised edition?

Before you even ask, fiction does not get new editions. Reprints, yes. Maybe even a revised edition now and then. We heard of a fiction book in which the main characters’ names and parts of the plot had to change for legal reasons, and this resulted in a revised edition.

For the most part, though, we are discussing only nonfiction books here.

Reprint

If you need to fix spelling or grammar issues and maybe update a few facts, you’re dealing with a reprint. There’s no need to mention this on the title page or cover. However, on your copyright page, note that this is a reprint. Or you could call it a second (or higher) printing. Check out our article on copyright issues to see ways to do this.

New edition

When it’s time to overhaul your book, you’ll know it. Depending on the amount of change, you will be developing either a new edition or a revised (or updated) one. Here are some items you might be dealing with:

Rewriting facts, entire chapters, opinions
Adding substantial material (chapters, key paragraphs, illustrations)
Restructuring
Redoing the design, typography, and/or layout in combination with any of the above

These changes basically make a new book, don’t you think? So give it a new edition number. And make at least some minor changes to your front and back covers (and don’t forget the spine), or change them completely.

Revised or updated edition

On the other hand, you might simply need to add a foreword, or redo your preface. You might decide to include an index. Or you might even revise your conclusion or your main point. You can even change the title of your book, since an official copyright doesn’t cover the book’s title at all. In these cases, you are probably dealing with a revised edition.

An updated edition would include new, fresher data. Or, perhaps in a cookbook, ingredients that are more nutritious. You get the idea.

There is little difference between a revised edition and an updated edition. Use the phrase that suits you best.

A new edition’s copyright page

ISBN

A new edition requires a new ISBN. We hope you purchased a block of ISBNs when you started on your publishing journey so that you can now simply assign a new number. (And it’s less expensive that way, too.)

Whether you already have your new ISBN or not, please read our article on how to obtain and assign ISBNs.

Copyright

Your original copyright protects the original edition. Your new edition will need protection, too, so please reapply for a new copyright in your country. This new copyright will cover the new elements of your book while keeping the original bits under protection at the same time. Both copyrights will expire at the same time, which is your lifetime plus 70 years.

On the copyright page, list your copyright dates in order, with the new edition first, as in this example for a third edition:

As a reminder, you get your official copyright in the United States from the U.S Copyright Office. In Canada, it’s through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

A revised or updated edition’s copyright page

There’s no need to assign a new ISBN or apply for a new copyright.

It’s smart to add “Revised Edition” or “Updated Edition” on the cover and title page. And maybe redesign your book cover. The back cover copy could be rewritten or redesigned, too, to discuss the new features. Take advantage of this good opportunity to revitalize your marketing campaign and give your sales a boost.

On the copyright page, try something like this:

We hope this clears up these issues for you at least a little.

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