Is it worth the effort to submit an edited story?

[Sunadmire]

Hallo Everyone
I submitted my first story recently and it was published on May 2. It is doing reasonably well (4.79) for a long story (23.1k words) and it is getting close to 10 000 views. Since English is my second language, I made some errors with my tenses and sentence construction that I discovered after publication. I understand that this type of 'carelesness' could be a drawback. I corrected these ( I guess there could be more) and added two minor twists in the storyline which would (marginally) improve the story.

My question is whether it is worth the effort to submit the edited version. version? What are your experience of edited stories?

 

[KeithD]

First, 4.79 isn't doing "reasonably well." It's doing phenomenally well, especially on a Web site as open as this one is to trolling. (It's also likely to change, not least because it's been pointed to on the discussion board.)

There is limited utility in submitting edits (and it would be irresponsible and insulting to fellow authors to not take your best shot to begin with with the attitude that you can clean it up in later edits). The best exposure time for having a story read is while it's still on the site and hub "new" lists, which will expire before you can get an edit effected.

In my own case, posting to Literotica is usually the last stop of a story that's already been in the marketplace for years, so cleaning up anything now is sort of a "why bother?" exercise--and I've never done it even when someone has pointed out a screamer of a mistake made in the original (which, yes, does happen regardless of how many edits and proofs a story has been through).

 

[GinnyPPC]

Hallo Everyone
I submitted my first story recently and it was published on May 2. It is doing reasonably well (4.79) for a long story (23.1k words) and it is getting close to 10 000 views. Since English is my second language, I made some errors with my tenses and sentence construction that I discovered after publication. I understand that this type of 'carelesness' could be a drawback. I corrected these ( I guess there could be more) and added two minor twists in the storyline which would (marginally) improve the story.

My question is whether it is worth the effort to submit the edited version. version? What are your experience of edited stories?

I would, and I have, submitted a gently edited version of my first story that came out a couple weeks ago to correct a couple spelling errors (quiet vs quite) that just got overlooked in the review process. No story/plot edits or anything. So it is up to you what you want to do and if your personal level of perfection pushes you to do so. Mine does.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My question is whether it is worth the effort to submit the edited version. version? What are your experience of edited stories?

Unless there's some spectacular technical glitch, like html coding gone wrong, I don't think so. By the time the edit is processed, your story has done its initial dash and you've either been savaged or people don't care. Readers are forgiving of the occasional typo or minor error - if your story is full of them, then you should have spent more time in edit in the first place.

Write the next story is always my advice, don't fuss with the last one. That's how you learn to get the technical stuff right, by writing new words, not by re-writing old ones.

I think every author should meet a minimum quality standard for their readers and the site editor, and do their very best before they submit, not after. If no one has commented, don't bother; if every comment is a nag, pay attention!

 

[MelissaBaby]

Hallo Everyone
I submitted my first story recently and it was published on May 2. It is doing reasonably well (4.79) for a long story (23.1k words) and it is getting close to 10 000 views. Since English is my second language, I made some errors with my tenses and sentence construction that I discovered after publication. I understand that this type of 'carelesness' could be a drawback. I corrected these ( I guess there could be more) and added two minor twists in the storyline which would (marginally) improve the story.

My question is whether it is worth the effort to submit the edited version. version? What are your experience of edited stories?

It's your story. If you think it ought to be improved, do it. What other people think is about as relevant as their opinions of what you name your baby.

 

[KeithD]

Herman. Name the baby Herman.

 

[JGittes]

A currently have, in pending, an extensive rewrite of the first story series I posted here four years ago. My reason for the rewrite: I'm 80k words into a sequel and 35k into a prequel that once published, I expect to generate the usual back catalogue interest in the original story. While they are all self-contained works, I want them to be internally consistent.

About a year after I originally published, I submitted a lightly edited version correcting mistakes that slipped through my original editing process and one minor plot point I wanted changed. From my perspective now, I shouldn't have bothered with that. It was a method of avoiding getting back to the hard work of setting my butt on the chair in front of the laptop and writing.

Having said all that, MelissaBaby's is the correct answer.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

As a retired software developer, editing and rewriting is as essential as the first delivery. In fact, I really enjoyed taking existing code and modifying it to make it cleaner, faster, and fix bugs. So I apply that same regimen to my writing. I have 25 submissions and every one of them have been edited at least once, except my latest submission (and I found a lexical ambiguity in it that needs fixing sometime soon).

As MelissaBaby said, it's really up to you.

 

[DanDraper]

I've done it for a few stories and although it didn't increase my scores or followers, which is no big deal to me, I did feel that it helped to improve my writing. Also, I learned a few things from him to do it on my own so I wouldn't have to use an editor.

Try it out and see what happens, if you don't like what he has to offer you don't have to use them anymore. Or you can go online and find some websites to give you hints on how to improve your own writing, that also helps.

'
'

 

[Fervid]

I do it all the time, usually with an apology to Laurel, because I re-read my stuff occasionally and cringe at some word choices that I bet no one else would notice. So I’m doing it mostly for just one reader, moi.

I did add a gratuitous sex scene at the end of one story that was rating lower than I thought it should, and the rating has slowly gone up, which tells us all something.

 

[Voboy]

How badly does it bother you?

If it was something that nagged at me, I'd certainly edit. I wouldn't even think twice, and I don't say that lightly; I usually feel a published work ought to stay as-is.

Then again, very few things nag at me like that.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I'm not a perfectionist. I've never submitted an edited story, because minor spelling and grammatical mistakes just don't seem to me to be worth my effort, and Laurel's to post them. I'd rather write the next one.

That said, I was in such a rush to get Just One Last Dance in, that I missed quite a few things my own editing usually picks up, or my editors would have if I'd given them a chance. 246 edits at last count, including some major boo-boos like inconsistent use of tenses. Now THAT bugs me enough that I'm going to submit an edited cleaned up version.

But for anything minor, nah, not bothering. That's just me, though.

But in the end, it's up to you. My tolerance for mistakes vs yours vs everyone else's is certainly different

And 4.79 is good!!!! Congratulations

 

[gordo12]

I like to keep them the way they are to remind me of where I came from! Also, edited works don't get another run, so you won't be seeing a "that's much better" response from readers.

I wouldn't bother, but as Melissa said...!

 

[SimonDoom]

Herman. Name the baby Herman.

Call it Ishmael.

Seriously, the OP did well enough that I don't know what the point would be of submitting an edited version of the story. Just learn whatever you can from your experience and write a new story. Move forward.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Usually, I put the revised version on a different site with a new name. I often wait at least a year before I post the new one.

I have a couple on this site that are rewrites of older versions. No one has ever noticed; there is just too much material on here. Most times I find the new version to be superior to the old one.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I used to do edits, but not anymore. Every once in a while I think about it, the say "Nah" and continue on trying to make my next one better instead.

Oh and 23K words isn't a long story. That's only 6-7 Lit pages. When you hit the 25-26 Lit pages, that's a long story.

*raises hand*