As my mystery novel, Null_Pointer gets closer to release, I’ve been putting together a Writer’s Edition of the book. This ebook only version will be packed with all kinds of interesting extras that writers love to read. Here is the TOC:
1. Introduction – Explaining the Writer’s Edition concept.
2. Concept and Execution – From original idea to how it was written.
3. Software Used – The programs I used for writing and editing.
4. Outline – The final outline of the novel.
5. Blog Posts – A journal of the writing, from day one to publication.
6. Draft One – Warts and all.
7. Beta Readers – Some catches and concerns from early readers.
8. Draft Four – Right before the editor got her hands on it.
9. Evolution of a Chapter – From D1 – Final.
10. Editing – Lessons learned from my wonderful editor.
11. Release Version – The entire final version of the novel.
12. Cover and Design – Evolution of the cover and interior design.
13. Printing – How I used LuLu to print the novel.
14. Exit Thoughts – Ruminations on finishing and future novels.
Can you think of anything else I should add? Let me know in the comments.
That’s a good question Bill. I probably will not put out the pdf of an early draft of the next novel. The reason I did it for this one was to build interest before it came out in paper. I believe the ebook you are referring to is the one on Scribd. Which is labeled Draft Three, and is free. I also had the first draft available on my web site in all it’s ugly self, but nobody ever saw that one.
I think Draft Three has had a really good run on Scribd and generated thousands of views. I will take it down and replace it with the final as it is finished in the next month or so.
The appeal of a Writer’s Edition ebook is probably pretty low, so it can be released after the paper and regular ebook versions. The biggest reason to hold off on releasing it would be to have a chapter in it about the lessons learned after it hit the shelves.
How about something on the value or lack thereof as it relates to putting out the e-book versions while going through this process? Looking back, in the next book would you still put the e-book versions out there, would you hold off until later in the cycle, or would you wait until the book was “publishable”? Why?