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View Poll Results: Post-Release Edit
No 9 36.00%
Yes 16 64.00%
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-28-2011, 07:17 PM   #1
VydorScope
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Editing already released books?

What do you all think? For example my first book has had over 10k downloads (its free...). If I were to be in a postion to hire a professional editor and have it edit, should I? Or should I let be and only edit unreleased works?

No one complains about gramar, syntax, etc. The only bad complaint I get is "simplistic" writing style, so the edit would be to address that.
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Old 07-28-2011, 07:22 PM   #2
John Carroll
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The nice thing about ebooks is that they can always be improved. I say yes.
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Old 07-28-2011, 10:49 PM   #3
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I don't know if I'd edit a book for style. For every person you please by doing it, you're going to alienate someone who likes the way you write. Personally I'd move on to the next project and work on developing the voice that makes me happy.
I'm pretty sure you're never going to please everyone, take a look at the "things that kill a book for you" thread on the general forums and you'll quickly realize that no matter what you do someone out there will hate it.
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Old 07-28-2011, 10:52 PM   #4
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heh I started that thread, its been very enjoyable.
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Old 07-29-2011, 10:09 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by William F View Post
I don't know if I'd edit a book for style. For every person you please by doing it, you're going to alienate someone who likes the way you write. Personally I'd move on to the next project and work on developing the voice that makes me happy.
This. I appreciate edits for grammar/typos, but if you change the voice then you're completely changing the read. I would save it for future books. I like to watch writers grow from their first book.
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Old 07-29-2011, 03:32 PM   #6
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I was still making changes to things I'd "published" right up until the point when I abandoned it and started writing something else instead. Mostly to fix continuity problems in earlier stories and to get a more "consistent" style between them so that they hang together better when you read them one after the other.

Isn't that the whole point of ebooks?
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Old 07-29-2011, 03:38 PM   #7
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We're currently in the process of this with my wife's books. She's written a series a bit over 1,000 pages and we've only released the first 2 novellas...BUT we just started working with a professional editor who has read the entire series and is helping with some changes to the first novella.

I say, go for it. We'll be offering free copies of the revised book for anyone who bought the first edition, but that's just a personal decision.
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Old 07-29-2011, 05:09 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr ploppy View Post
I was still making changes to things I'd "published" right up until the point when I abandoned it and started writing something else instead. Mostly to fix continuity problems in earlier stories and to get a more "consistent" style between them so that they hang together better when you read them one after the other.

Isn't that the whole point of ebooks?
Well that's an interesting question. Is the point of ebooks different than the point of any other book? Just because the technology allows us to endlessly fiddle with our content is that really the best way to approach a body of work?
Editing for grammar, spelling errors and flat out mistakes I can understand especially since relatively few of us are able to afford professional services.
From a reader's perspective I'd be less than happy if an author went and changed a book I'd already read, and from a writer's persepective it seems like there are better uses of my limited writing time than to endlessly rework a project.
Because it's very tempting for me to do just that. It's hard to finish something and abandon it to the fates of the marketplace without worrying every detail to death. There comes a time when I have to let it go and accept that it is what it is or I'd never get anything done.
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Old 07-29-2011, 05:18 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by William F View Post
Well that's an interesting question. Is the point of ebooks different than the point of any other book? Just because the technology allows us to endlessly fiddle with our content is that really the best way to approach a body of work?
Editing for grammar, spelling errors and flat out mistakes I can understand especially since relatively few of us are able to afford professional services.
From a reader's perspective I'd be less than happy if an author went and changed a book I'd already read, and from a writer's persepective it seems like there are better uses of my limited writing time than to endlessly rework a project.
Because it's very tempting for me to do just that. It's hard to finish something and abandon it to the fates of the marketplace without worrying every detail to death. There comes a time when I have to let it go and accept that it is what it is or I'd never get anything done.
For me it's a consequence of the way I did it. I didn't want to just sit on it for years until I thought it was finished and then find out nobody was interested. So I serialised it as it was written, then released it in story blocks when they were ready.
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Old 07-29-2011, 05:27 PM   #10
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The only time I've edited released works is to 1) fix typo/grammer, 2) fix a plot hole I missed. Otherwise I leave them pretty much alone once they're in the wild. As far as fixing typos and grammer, that's fine. Believe it or not, they actually do that even with classic works like Lord of the Rings. Yes, believe it or not, they're STILL fixing typos in Lord of the Rings 50 years later. lol.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:46 PM   #11
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As a reader, I only like to see typographical, grammar, or factual errors edited after a book is sold. Continuity problem? Plot hole? Them's the breaks, the story as you brought it to market.

If you start going beyond straight error correction, well, I don't like it. In movies, I'll accept one "director's cut" later but not a "collector's edition" then "ultimate director's cut," ... Where does the madness end?

I say suck it up and admit your writing got better later in your career.
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:41 PM   #12
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Voting is running neck and neck heh. I have felt like the nay sayers in this thread but keep hearing about it being done so wanted everyones opinions on it.
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Old 07-30-2011, 04:42 AM   #13
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For major spelling and grammar issues yes but for what you want to do - no. The book you've released is the book you've released, it's got some good reviews and some not so good - that is the game.
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Old 07-30-2011, 10:11 AM   #14
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Depends on the type of editing.

If it's fixing spelling mistakes and grammer, yes, yes, yes! But make sure all your existing customers are given the option to download the updated version. To an extent I'd also include consistency errors in this too, but the key point here is that these updates should be offered for free to your customers.

If it's tweaking weak parts of the story, adding more detail or otherwise editing your style, I'd say no. Take that advice onboard and use it to better your next book instead.

I really wish more authors would provide free updates for spelling, grammar and formatting mistakes though.

PS I voted NO since you were hinting at more than spelling etc

Last edited by JoeD; 07-30-2011 at 10:14 AM.
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Old 07-30-2011, 02:52 PM   #15
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I reissued my novel several times, mostly to correct grammar and spelling issues, plus to resolve minor editing or continuity glitches (a wrong character's name, a revised place name that got missed).

But you know how it is. Writers write. Inevitably, I would come across a paragraph and all of a sudden an improved sentence would pop into my head and onto the page. But in terms of substantive changes? No. Most readers would not notice the difference among the various versions. A reader who bought the first copy read the same story as someone who buys it today, just minus the glitches and with the ocassional tweaked passage.
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