Why do reissues and renovations of your work?
I am a product of the 70s and 80s. I saw Star Wars (sorry, to me it’s not Episode IV – A New Hope, it’s just Star Wars) in 1977 when I was almost 5. That made a lasting impression on me – and inspired me to become a sci-fi and fantasy writer.
It thrilled me to see this film – and the subsequent movies, books, cartoons, and other material – take on such a life. I loved everything about it – even the relatively lame prequel films.
But George Lucas got this idea in his head that it could be improved. That he could perform renovations on his classics and, to his way of thinking, make them better.
Thus, the fight around the Death Star in Star Wars is cleaner now. The scene where Han confronts Jabba was added. And we get a hint of the relationship between Luke and Biggs before they take on the Death Star.
Unfortunately, you also get Greedo firing on Han, rather than Han simply shooting him under the table.
Taking a page from Mr. Lucas, Steven Spielberg made a few changes to E.T. The Extraterrestrial. I admit I have not watched it since this was done – but apparently, the agents confronting the kids had the guns they were holding removed and replaced with walkie-talkies?
Hey, Mr. Lucas and Mr. Spielberg, they are YOUR works. But did they REALLY need these tweaks? Was it necessary? And in the case of Mr. Lucas, did you need to do this more than once?
That’s not to say that there is not a place for reissues and renovations. But it’s important to acknowledge some of what that includes.
The first attempt was good, but…
In 2014, I decided I had had enough of attempting to go the traditional publishing route. While I had an agent for a time, it was before my first fantasy novel got edited (and I learned immeasurably useful aspects of the craft I needed), and he wasn’t a sci-fi fantasy guy.
So, after extensive editing, I self-published Seeker. This is the first book in my Source Chronicles series and was the labor of many years of love.
This was done via CreateSpace (which has since been absorbed into KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing). I worked with the limited formatting options and created my own cover.
A year later, I followed this up with Finder. Again, I used the resources available, creating my cover via PhotoShop and the tools CreateSpace had to offer.
Until 2020, I continued to self-publish in fits and starts. But KDP offers some better tools now for formatting – and 7+ years of experience have improved my knowledge of how to format for print.
I also have come to realize that I haven’t the skills to make a good-looking cover. And as much as one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – it’s human nature to do so. As I began publishing the Void Incursion series I found and hired an incredible cover artist.
Looking at all my titles on my Amazon author page, it’s very clear the amateurish covers made by me besides the professional covers.
After many years with various struggles and distractions, I am slowly working on editing Harbinger, the 3rd book in The Source Chronicles. Knowing the value of a professional cover – I intend to hire the artist I’m using to do the cover for it.
But what about Seeker and Finder? Should I leave them be – or do some renovations to them?
Reissues and renovations
The answer is that what I did was okay – but there is plenty of room to improve upon it.
Thus, I hired a cover artist (Starla Huchton – who I cannot say enough great things about) to design a new and MUCH more impressive cover for Seeker. She set to work – and I was excited to see what she came up with.
Meanwhile, I’ve learned a lot over the years about blurb writing. The blurb for Seeker was too long, too convoluted – and yet totally vague. I recognize that it was time to redo that, too.
New cover. New blurb. The substance of the story is unchanged – but the skin is new, fresh, and frankly gorgeous.
But there was another issue for me. Formatting. I have learned a LOT about formatting both for Kindle and paperback. Seeker’s format was okay – but still fairly amateurish. Since I was working on reissues and renovations with Seeker – I decided it was time to reformat it, too.
Originally, I was only going to reformat the Kindle edition. But my inner-Virgo got control, so I reformatted the paperback, too.
Now, in 2021, I have majorly renovated Seeker’s blurb, cover, and overall formatting. Unlike the revisions Mr. Lucas and Mr. Spielberg did to the substance – I trust the substance and only did reissues and renovations of the surface matters.
As you can see – what Ms. Huchton created is incredible compared to what I attempted. I am so happy with this that I look forward to what she’ll do with Finder.
Your work, your choice
I believe that to improve my overall brand it is necessary to do these reissues and renovations. Seeker looks so very much more professional that it’s my hope sales will increase.
Let’s face it, despite the notion of not judging a book by its cover – we totally do. And not just books – cars, homes, people – we get utterly caught-up in aesthetics and judge on them, often subconsciously.
While we often point to what Lucas and Spielberg did (and some love to say it ruins their childhood and similar hyperbole), it’s their work. Thus, it’s their choice. If they desire to do reissues and renovations – that’s their call.
Currently, the 4-hour extended version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is on HBO Max. His work, his choice, his reissues and renovations. I enjoyed the original release well-enough – but some are hailing the rerelease as a massive improvement.
Whatever work you do – it is your work. This remains true even after you share it with the public. Thus, if you feel the need to alter, change, or otherwise redo your work in some way or another – you can.
One very important caveat – perfection is in the eye of the beholder. For example, I postulate Mr. Lucas has gotten so obsessed with “perfecting” his work that he’s making changes that have had a negative impact. Sorry, Vader crying “Nooooooooooooooooo” as the Emperor is about to force-lightning Luke to his death, in my opinion, doesn’t more humanize, but instead weakens an amazing villain.
In striving for perfection it’s never quite good enough. Sometimes done is much better than perfect.
My reissues and renovations improve the first impression of my work. That, to me, is utterly worthwhile. You may agree or disagree – but when it comes to your work, the choice is yours.
Have you done any reissues and renovations on a finished work?
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundred and first article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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