Now that my first novel is self-published, I’ve had a little free time to contemplate other things. While editing it, I realized that I had made errors with the short story that I published in 2016. The DiVacci Curse was the first work of fiction that I self-published. The errors ranged from spelling issues to overused words and unnecessary adverbs; common mistakes that many first-time writers make. I’m now in the process of revisiting my short story and making appropriate revisions that I think will improve its pace and overall readability.
Some authors do not like the idea of editing and republishing their work. Once it’s done and published, then they wish it be left alone and judged as is. After all, would you change the Mona Lisa or rewrite the Bible? Of course not. As we’ve seen, Hollywood has a penchant for changing the classics, and not always with positive results. But I’m not talking about writing screenplays (although I have dabbled in that area). I am talking about crafting novels and stories, a different beast altogether.
I suppose if you are fortunate enough to be published with a major publishing house that has taken the time and money to promote your work successfully, then it may seem unnecessary to revise your story. But the wonderful world of self-publishing is changing the dynamics of the publishing system, bucking the ingrained trends and creating its own rules and standards.
I am not tinkering with the plot of The DiVacci Curse. That will remain as is, so no worries there. My intention is to revise and republish…and to not revisit the story again unless I make further catastrophic errors with spelling and grammar, etc. I don’t expect that to happen the second time around though. I wouldn’t want to edit and revise any story indefinitely. That’s counterproductive and not logical.
I like the idea that I can go back and change aspects of the story to make it more entertaining (or not). Of course, whether those changes will indeed improve the story is not ultimately up to me but in the minds of the readers. I’ll let them be the judge.
I learned a great deal from writing my first novel. I hope that it has made me a better writer. I hope that I continue learning and improving and finding my voice as they say.
I will post an update when my short story is revised and republished, so be sure to check back. Thanks for reading.
