Ebooks and the unending quest for continuous improvement

mr ploppy · 01-31-2012, 12:22 PM

This is an offshoot of Jonathan Franzen: e-books are damaging society.

When I first wrote Punk Faction I serialised it as it was written with a new "chapter" going online each week, mainly because that was the only way I could motivate myself to continue with it. At the time it was just a series of slice of life type stories with no real plot.

Later, with about half of them written, I had an idea for a loose plot that would tie all the individual stories together, so I went back through what had already been written and added references/setups for future events. I also had lots of ideas for spinoff stories and added hints to those (a pub landlord who's really a gangster, a missing housewife, a man who throws sacks into the river).

Those went up on Smashwords and Feedbooks (and a few other places) as individual stories with numbers so people would know which order to read them in. When it was finished, I went through it all, fixed any mistakes I found, standardised what clothes people were wearing so that they weren't wearing trainers in one story and then Doc Martens in another one that is supposed to be set a few hours later, etc. I also changed a few characters' motivations for what they did, and added a bit of a back story so that their actions would make more sense. Then they were collected into one ebook for Amazon and given a new cover.

It's had a few minor changes since then, adding a splash of colour to the cover, changing the blurb a few times, and fixing one typo that somehow crept past me. But I always intended revisiting it when I thought I had improved my writing skills enough to do it justice.

Which is what I've now done. I've changed it from being a collection of short stories with a loose connection, to one long story that's about 10,000 words
shorter. Gone are all the references to future stories I'll probably never get around to writing, and all the stories that don't really add anything or didn't
fit in with the overall "style" of the rest of it (those will be rejigged into standalone free stories). I also took onboard some of the criticism from the skinhead community, though it does still contain a lot of characters who don't like skinheads and voice their views on them at every opportunity.

I'll probably revisit it again at some point in the future too, though probably not for a few years at least. So am I evil? Or is this sort of improvement the right thing to do? I doubt I would have kept the interest going long enough to reach this stage if I hadn't released the earlier versions into the wild.

ApK · 01-31-2012, 12:31 PM

On the one hand, books are probably like movies, paintings, etc: They are never finished, only abandoned.

On the other hand, everyone hates George Lucas now.

Han shot first!

ApK

Harper Kingsley · 02-01-2012, 07:22 PM

I think it's okay as long as people that have already purchased the books can download them again without having to repay. I personally hate it when they do like an Anniversary Edition of some book I love or whatever, and the publisher goes through and adds a bunch of crap, then charges $15 like it's brand new.

Right now I'm working on my serialization idea and I'm going to put out a collection, then later have a Perfect Collection where all of one story is put together in a single ebook for a single price. Hopefully if the first volume does well, I'll be seeking other authors for any others

teh603 · 02-01-2012, 08:41 PM

In my case, it was more a realization that my plots for my Red Oni/Blue Oni pair were too small for outright novels (or worse, would be one horribly episodic novel) and decided to just publish 99¢ short stories. That way I can try to see what worked and didn't on a smaller scale, and not have to worry as much about stringing it all together into one monolithic work.

Not that I'm going to rule out doing monolithic works or an anthology sometime down the line; its just I don't have any plots quite big enough for that just yet.

The other advantage is that its easier to weed out all the nitty gritty (I want to use a word that start with N and sounds like the N-bomb but really isn't) little mistakes and fix serious plot problems when you only have a short story, than it is a monolithic work. I'm up to revision three of just my first one right now /sweatdrop

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-03-2012, 11:08 PM

Authors have revised already-released books since... forever, probably. Nothing evil about that. Remember, it's just a story; you're not rewriting history. And it's your story; do what you want with it.

ApK · 02-04-2012, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

And it's your story; do what you want with it.

Certainly true, but if you're going to think of it as ONLY yours, then, by all means, keep it to yourself and read it before going to bed each night. I think it's important to think of a published story as, in some part, belonging to its fans.

Unless you want to be thought of like this:

Nancy Fulda · 02-05-2012, 03:57 PM

I find it annoying as heck when writers change a story after publication. I'm willing to grant leeway for short stories that are later expanded into novels, but that's about it.

(Orson Scott Card's retelling of the Ender series, for example, very much irked me. The books from Bean's POV were pretty good, but there were inconsistencies that couldn't be explained away as simply the result of Bean's different view of events.)

mr ploppy · 02-05-2012, 06:59 PM

Depends on when you defne publication though. I've always had my early drafts on public display, but I've never seen them as being cast in stone.

anamardoll · 02-06-2012, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy Fulda

I find it annoying as heck when writers change a story after publication. I'm willing to grant leeway for short stories that are later expanded into novels, but that's about it.

(Orson Scott Card's retelling of the Ender series, for example, very much irked me. The books from Bean's POV were pretty good, but there were inconsistencies that couldn't be explained away as simply the result of Bean's different view of events.)

This, so many times.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-15-2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy Fulda

I find it annoying as heck when writers change a story after publication.

Interestingly, I have a few novels that I pulled from publication a few years back, with the idea of doing a fresh editing and cleaning pass before re-releasing them. Occasionally, I've considered doing a complete rewrite and retitle on one of them, in order to bring it more up-to-date (the original story is over a decade old now). So far, I've done neither, and haven't decided which direction to go.

01-31-2012, 12:22 PM	#1
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Ebooks and the unending quest for continuous improvement This is an offshoot of Jonathan Franzen: e-books are damaging society. When I first wrote Punk Faction I serialised it as it was written with a new "chapter" going online each week, mainly because that was the only way I could motivate myself to continue with it. At the time it was just a series of slice of life type stories with no real plot. Later, with about half of them written, I had an idea for a loose plot that would tie all the individual stories together, so I went back through what had already been written and added references/setups for future events. I also had lots of ideas for spinoff stories and added hints to those (a pub landlord who's really a gangster, a missing housewife, a man who throws sacks into the river). Those went up on Smashwords and Feedbooks (and a few other places) as individual stories with numbers so people would know which order to read them in. When it was finished, I went through it all, fixed any mistakes I found, standardised what clothes people were wearing so that they weren't wearing trainers in one story and then Doc Martens in another one that is supposed to be set a few hours later, etc. I also changed a few characters' motivations for what they did, and added a bit of a back story so that their actions would make more sense. Then they were collected into one ebook for Amazon and given a new cover. It's had a few minor changes since then, adding a splash of colour to the cover, changing the blurb a few times, and fixing one typo that somehow crept past me. But I always intended revisiting it when I thought I had improved my writing skills enough to do it justice. Which is what I've now done. I've changed it from being a collection of short stories with a loose connection, to one long story that's about 10,000 words shorter. Gone are all the references to future stories I'll probably never get around to writing, and all the stories that don't really add anything or didn't fit in with the overall "style" of the rest of it (those will be rejigged into standalone free stories). I also took onboard some of the criticism from the skinhead community, though it does still contain a lot of characters who don't like skinheads and voice their views on them at every opportunity. I'll probably revisit it again at some point in the future too, though probably not for a few years at least. So am I evil? Or is this sort of improvement the right thing to do? I doubt I would have kept the interest going long enough to reach this stage if I hadn't released the earlier versions into the wild.

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01-31-2012, 12:31 PM	#2
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,389 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	On the one hand, books are probably like movies, paintings, etc: They are never finished, only abandoned. On the other hand, everyone hates George Lucas now. Han shot first! ApK

02-01-2012, 07:22 PM	#3
Harper Kingsley Clone Trooper Posts: 212 Karma: 4566103 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington Device: kindle	I think it's okay as long as people that have already purchased the books can download them again without having to repay. I personally hate it when they do like an Anniversary Edition of some book I love or whatever, and the publisher goes through and adds a bunch of crap, then charges $15 like it's brand new. Right now I'm working on my serialization idea and I'm going to put out a collection, then later have a Perfect Collection where all of one story is put together in a single ebook for a single price. Hopefully if the first volume does well, I'll be seeking other authors for any others

02-01-2012, 08:41 PM	#4
teh603 Autism Spectrum Disorder Posts: 1,212 Karma: 6244877 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Coastal Texas Device: Android Phone	In my case, it was more a realization that my plots for my Red Oni/Blue Oni pair were too small for outright novels (or worse, would be one horribly episodic novel) and decided to just publish 99¢ short stories. That way I can try to see what worked and didn't on a smaller scale, and not have to worry as much about stringing it all together into one monolithic work. Not that I'm going to rule out doing monolithic works or an anthology sometime down the line; its just I don't have any plots quite big enough for that just yet. The other advantage is that its easier to weed out all the nitty gritty (I want to use a word that start with N and sounds like the N-bomb but really isn't) little mistakes and fix serious plot problems when you only have a short story, than it is a monolithic work. I'm up to revision three of just my first one right now /sweatdrop

02-03-2012, 11:08 PM	#5
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Authors have revised already-released books since... forever, probably. Nothing evil about that. Remember, it's just a story; you're not rewriting history. And it's your story; do what you want with it.

02-05-2012, 03:57 PM	#7
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	I find it annoying as heck when writers change a story after publication. I'm willing to grant leeway for short stories that are later expanded into novels, but that's about it. (Orson Scott Card's retelling of the Ender series, for example, very much irked me. The books from Bean's POV were pretty good, but there were inconsistencies that couldn't be explained away as simply the result of Bean's different view of events.)

02-05-2012, 06:59 PM	#8
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Depends on when you defne publication though. I've always had my early drafts on public display, but I've never seen them as being cast in stone.

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