I’ve decided to re-edit a book I already released.
Actually, I’ve decided to re-edit ALL the books I’ve already released.
I argued with myself on this one a bit, and had a few people try to talk me out of it.
“Move on and write the next book,” they said. “Try to act like you’re not self-published,” they said.
And then one person said, “If you’re thinking about it that hard, you should probably just do it. You don’t have to publish the edited version, and it’ll bug you wondering what you could have done if you don’t.”
I liked that answer.
Here’s why I decided to take that last person’s advice:
I want to start marketing my books. I’ve been working on dealing with my phobias surrounding marketing, and the only way I’m going to start making real money from my books is if I start advertising. So 2023 is going to be the year I start dipping my toes into actually figuring out online marketing. And hopefully making some real books sales, instead of the little trickle I’ve been seeing since I started.
However.
People always ask me, “which book is the first one?” Very rarely do people ask which one I’m most proud of. I’m most proud of A Dark and Twisting Road, my faerie story. The first book I ever wrote and published is In the Dark, a book whose characters I love and whose plot twist I’m proud of, but which is not my best work. And that’s where everyone wants to start.
Also, all the marketing tips I’m reading suggest that when you release a new book in a series, you should drop the prices of all the books in the series and market the hell out of the first one so that people will start with the correct book and read through. My vampire series gets better as it goes along, but that first one . . . It’s not terrible, but it’s not my best work. I feel like people won’t read through if they read that one first. Or some will, but not necessarily the sort of readers I want to attract and who will like the direction I’m going. So far I’ve had a lot of people who like my work compare me with authors I’m not super impressed with and who I don’t want to sound like. As I develop my style and move away from that, a lot of those people probably won’t stick with me. I need to attract people who will like where I want to go.
So that’s what book 1 needs to reflect.
I also keep remembering my experience with Sir Terry Pratchett. I did the same thing when my sister wanted me to read his Discworld series. “Which one is the first one?”
My sister told me I shouldn’t start with the first two books. But it’s a series, right? So starting at the first one should be necessary. Well, no. The books build on each other, but subtly, so a person can pick up anywhere in the series and follow what’s happening, but also go backwards and realize as you read that you’re seeing a younger version of certain characters. It’s not confusing at all. Sir Terry was brilliant.
But I stubbornly started with The Color of Magic, which even Sir Terry did not recommend doing, and I hated it. It took two more years before I was finally convinced to try a different book. (Reaperman, if you’re curious.) Of course it was genius, and I devoured his complete body of work as quickly as I could and now list him among my very favorite authors. But if my sister hadn’t insisted I try again, I would have given up on Discworld after that first attempt. I could have completely missed out on the brilliance of Sir Terry.
I’m a total newb at this publishing biz. I don’t have hundreds of crazy devoted fans promising new readers that the books get better. The only thing I have to speak for me and my writing is that first book. And if that first book doesn’t sell the rest of them, I’m sunk. With that first book not being my best work, it’s not selling the rest of them as I’d like.
I’m also self-published. That means I have the leeway to fix that.
So edits for all the books!
To be clear, I know these books do have a few fans. Not many yet, but the people who like them really like them. I don’t want to alienate those folks, some of whom I think will follow me as I grow. So, no major changes.
The plot needs smoothing out — I’ve learned a lot about pacing and plot structure, and I intend to apply that. Act 3 drags a bit. I’m going to combine the important scenes together so it moves better, but the same stuff still happens.
When I wrote the rough draft (at 18 years old, thank you), I didn’t know what I was doing and wrote a very short book. When I realized how short the finished book actually was, I tacked on more story to the end. It works, but I didn’t do it very well, so I titled the two sections Book 1 and Book 2 in the released version to try to smooth out the transition. With this edit, I want to smooth out that transition better and remove the Book 1/Book 2 divide.
Then there’s the matter of over-used words and phrases. There’s a lot of sighing. There’s a lot of what writers call “stage direction” — too much description of characters rolling their eyes, crossing their arms, staring at walls, things like that. That sort of thing falls under a “little goes a long way,” so I’m taking a lot of that out. I’m absolutely addicted to the word “just.” “But” is another problem. I thought I took a lot of those out, but upon re-reading, it turns out I left way too many of them in. (Did you see that I just used “but” again? Oop! And “just” again!) My dialogue attribution is heavy, too — if there are two people talking, I only need to add “he said” or “she said” once in a while to keep it clear who’s speaking. Not damn near every time anyone opens their mouth. At least I didn’t fall into the “said is dead” trap and use “exhorted” or “exclaimed” or “asserted” every time someone spoke. Phew! Bullet dodged.
And there may have been one or two phrases that sounded very immature and like certain authors I don’t want to be compared to. Those are gone now.
In the Dark is the only book getting a plot edit. The others will only get the words-and-phrases treatment. But then, In the Dark was the only book that was too short once the draft was done and basically had a short sequel added to it. The others are good.
Is any of this going to make my books magic and suddenly start selling like beer on the 4th of July? No. But is the first book going to be a more polished piece of work that I am more proud of and better reflects my style and the style I want to move more towards? Yes.
Do I feel like the first book will lead people through the rest of my books better after this edit? I think so.
Do I feel like it will attract and keep the sort of reader I want following me and my books? I do.
And since it’s going to bug the shit out of me until I do it, I’m just going to go for it.
