4 months ago
5
Eight years ago, I published my first book, Interviewing Immortality. I was super happy about my achievement, but was immediately shocked by low sales. This is because I had naively thought there was a large group of readers who purchased every new book to get in on the wave of “breakout authors.” Still, a few people read it and offered praise. This positive energy felt great, but some readers discovered errors and even suggested improvements.
I planned to update this book in the distant future because it was my first, but the pile of mistakes was too big to ignore. So, I reluctantly began the process in January 2023. Most updates focused on dialog integration, which is the supporting words surrounding a character’s spoken words. Another big concern was flowery descriptions, and fixing every instance nearly wore out my delete key.
Of course, there were the fundamental typos ang grammar boo-boos. Fortunately, I did not need to add to or change any part of the story because it still held up. Well, at least in my mind. But I did need to add a few explanations to help the readers. A big issue was not providing the motivation behind a major decision. It turns out that readers are not mind readers. And no, I did not put my phone number on every page so they could call me with questions. Another area of improvement came from my hasty changes right before publishing.
After the first pass, the result was a mess. I needed to delete many sentences, resulting in lost connections. So, this second pass focused on smoothing over the transitions. However, this second pass made me realize I had eliminated major problems, which gave me confidence that at least part of my original work still held up. Still, this second pass revealed flaws.
After three more rounds of self-editing, I did a ProWritingAid and Grammarly pass. I did not have these tools when I wrote the first edition, and they really shored up the sentence mechanics. Unfortunately, this pass required two solid weeks to wrangle in the flaws. I then made three more passes to make a final polish. Fortunately, I found a few issues and was pleased with the results. And that was it. After a quick ProWritingAid and Grammarly pass, I was ready to reformat for eBook and print-on-demand.
While I have some formatting skills, they are not enough, and I paid my formatter to develop the second edition. Because this was just a text update, I expected a minor cost, but it turned out to be pricey. The problem was that it is easier to start a book from scratch than to update an existing work. Oh well, I bit the bullet and coughed up the dough.
The printed result went from 227 to 219 pages (65,019 words to 60,387), a reduction of 0.9%. I had expected that with so many flowery descriptions deletions would whack out at least 25 pages.
What did I learn from this adventure? Many issues arose from a flawed writing goal. “I want this to be the longest book possible because all readers respect an enormous book.” Around my second book, I began understanding the balance between a solid description and a wordy mess. Yes, I still struggle with this.
Overall, I altered about 10% of the words, which, despite the small number, is actually an impressive change. The largest physical result was deleting three paragraphs that added very little to the story. I spotted many big grammar and spelling mistakes, including two sentences without periods, one extra space between a period and a quote mistake “Like this. “ Those were in my first edition? Yikes!
Then there was my old nemesis: appreciated/appreciated, imbursed/embarrassed. Plus, the epic battle between less and fewer. Finally, I became Elmer Fudd, but instead of trying to shoot Bugs Bunny, I loaded my coma shotgun and blasted away until my keyboard turned red from all the bloody sentences.
I feel bittersweet about the ultimate result. I am pleased with my original story, but the necessary and noticeable changes disappointed me. Nevertheless, my re-writing pilgrimage showed me how much my writing has improved, and that realization is something to be proud of.
There is another aspect to think about. I am permitted to release a second edition. In school or a job, when you turn in your report, there is no second chance; you get your grade or get fired. I have read many books with ten editions, so I guess I still have lots of future freedom. Something to look forward to. Is this article going to require a second edition? Hmm. Something else to look forward to.
You’re the best -Bill
February 07, 2026
Hey, book lovers, I published five. Please check them out:
Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.
Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.
Cable Ties. A slow-burning political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.
Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.
Pushed to the Edge of Existence. Just when Kim, Gabe, and Emma’s lives start returning to normal, a mysterious government organization orders them to use their telepathic abilities, and then they travel to an alien planet.
These books are available in softcover and in eBook format.
