Rewriting a Novel After It’s Published
Today The Tyee features an article by Richard Warnica about Edeet Ravel, who revised her novel well after it was printed:
But publishing is also about letting go and moving ahead. Just as we let go of control about how we’re seen, what people write about us, and in some cases how the book looks (cover, blurbs, paper etc) so we have to let go in terms of rewrites. I read a novel recently I thought was perfect, and I met the author in Paris at a festival, and she told me that recording the book on CD was frustrating for her because she wanted to make changes but wasn’t allowed. But you also reach a point of fatigue with a novel — which is another reason you need time to set it aside and return to it. There are days towards the end of the editing process where you think, if I have to look at a single page of this novel one more time I’m going to be sick.
Ravel posted the new ending and an explanation of her changes on her website, which has a pretty great URL.
