Thoughts about Revising Fiction

I was in my twenties, working on a team that was preparing a report for top management of an organization, when the team leader said, "Every final becomes a new iteration."  

I did not know the definition of iteration, though the dictionary said it essentially meant  a new draft. Today's Oxford American College Dictionary gives one meaning as "a new version of a piece of computer hardware or software." When I first encountered the term iteration I did not yet own a computer and doubt the dictionary writers did either. Times change.

Hearing this phrase taught me two things. First, never use a three-dollar word when a one-dollar word will do. Second, don't have such pride in your work that you consider an early draft to be the one for public consumption.

As a technical writer for many years, I revised constantly.  I revise my fiction, too, but generally only before publication. In 2006, Author House issued my book Searching for Secrets.  It is a short mystery that puts almost as much emphasis on a potential romance between the two main characters, a teacher and police officer in Iowa City.

After a lot of thought, I issued a new version of the book as an e-pub. Why? I didn't like the earlier version. 

The romantic elements seemed forced and took away from the story. I liked the story itself, so I reworked parts of the book. The book is much the same, but with less focus on the characters' thoughts about one another. It flows better. 

Is this sacrilege? Maybe. Am I happy with the new version?  Definitely.  A friend's note confirmed that the revision was a good decision.  He had just finished reading Appraisal for Murder and said, "It is a good read; much better than your first effort Searching for Secrets."  Only a good friend will tell you something like that.

This will be the only time I publish a revised piece of fiction. My skills are at a level I'm happier with -- doesn't mean everyone will like my writing, but I will. And I may let some of it sit longer in a drawer before putting it out there. 
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"Words to Write By" gets more interest

After editing nonfiction for a number of years I saw similar themes among a number of clients.  They knew their subject matter but either believed they "could not write" or were frustrated with not doing it as well as they wanted to.  I wrote Words to Write By: Getting Your Thoughts on Paper, with them in mind.  It is now on Kindle, but since portions are intended to be a workbook I want to reissue it as a paperback.  Years ago I did a spiral-bound version, but as I've refined segments I did not reprint.

If you go to the link on my web site (click here) you can see a more full description and then click a link to read the table of contents.  As I consider revisions for a new edition, I would appreciate it if you would take a look and offer comments.  If you can't wait a couple months for a paperback the Kindle edition is available.  Words to Write By: Getting Your Thoughts on Paper

Updated my web site

I spent a fair bit of time working to create a sleeker look at www.elaineorr.com.  While you can still tell the site was designed by a novice, I like the look.  I had not been able to update the site because Yahoo (my host) stopped accepting updates from the Front Page software.  I can say that Yahoo's own Sitebuilder is simple to learn (which a couple others I tried were not) and there are people you can call any time -- and not one of them says, "You mean you can't figure that out for yourself?"

My e-book giveaway on Amazon is "Secrets of the Gap" and it has topped 9,000 downloads.  It has led to an uptick in sales of other books.  Cool.  www.amazon.com/Secrets-of-the-Gap-ebook/dp/B0032JSL52/

Now, back to writing...

Learning to Blog for Book Publicity

That business of writing being easy ("you just open a vein...") does not hold a candle to blogging effectively.  Between trying to overcome the "who wants to hear from me every day?" handicap and learning the technical aspects of creating the posts, I'm considering a hut in the Andes.  Or maybe the Alps, I love the Alps. Now that I've learned the difference between posts and pages I better understand why some writers have abandoned web pages in favor of blogs.  This really is (sort of, kind of) easier. Today I created a page on the Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series and am about to do one on my recent family history book, Orr Campbell, Mitchell, and Shirley Families in Ireland and America.  I thought about whether the fiction and family history blogs should be separate.  For now, both are here -- both kinds of writing inform the other.  And, this is me.