A recent episode of The Indy Author Podcast tackled a topic that eventually touches almost every indie author: what happens to a book after its launch window closes. Host Matty Dalrymple sat down with Jeff Elkins, author of thirteen novels and founder of The Dialogue Doctor, to talk through what it looks like to give older, lightly-marketed titles a second life.

The Assumption Being Questioned

A lot of indie publishing advice over the past decade has rested on a few core assumptions: that Amazon's algorithm only rewards what's new, that a weak launch effectively seals a book's fate, and that the winning formula is to write fast, publish, and repeat, moving on to the next title rather than looking back. Elkins and Dalrymple's conversation pushes back on all three, drawing on Elkins' own experience of returning to books he'd published years earlier and finding that they could still connect with new readers.

Different Approaches Discussed

The episode covers a range of ideas rather than a single formula. Some of what came up:

Marketing the author, not just the book. Rather than treating each release as an isolated campaign, the conversation explores building visibility for an author's overall body of work, so backlist titles benefit from the same platform-building as a new release would.

Finding readers individually across different spaces. This includes both online platforms and in-person interactions, rather than relying entirely on algorithmic discovery to surface a title.

Rethinking what "success" looks like. The discussion probes whether authors must chase large-scale, algorithm-driven reach, often termed "McDonald's," or whether cultivating a smaller, loyal following can also lead to a sustainable career.

Working through the discomfort of self-promotion. The conversation also touches on imposter syndrome, which can make authors hesitant to champion their own older work, even when that work is just as strong as anything newly released.

Why This Comes Up for Authors with Multiple Titles

This is a truly pertinent discussion for authors with multiple books, especially for older works that had minimal marketing at the time of release. It's not a single tactic so much as a broader reframe: a book's launch performance isn't necessarily the end of its story, and there are multiple ways authors are approaching the question of how, whether, and when to revisit older work.

The full episode goes deeper into each of these threads if you want the complete conversation.

Sources:
- The Indy Author Podcast, Episode 350: "Beyond the Launch: Reviving Your Backlist with Jeff Elkins"