On Writing & Storytelling: The New, Improved ‘Reunion’ is Complete*

* Now go to Amazon and order a copy! Stat!

“Sooner or later every writer evolves his own definition of a story. Mine is: A reflection of life plus beginning and end (life seems not to have either) and a meaning.” ― Mary O’Hara

Man, I’m tired.

I’ve been awake now – it’s 9:40 AM on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, as I start this post – for a little over 90 minutes, and I’m already exhausted even though I’ve already had my café con leche (Cuban-style latte). I’m groggy and sore all over – the result of staying up until 1 in the morning to finish the time-consuming tasks that come with revising and republishing a book.

If you’re a regular visitor to this space, you know that lately, I’ve been fixing some issues in my self-published book Reunion: A Story. Cosmetic issues, mostly, such as correcting typos and deleting extraneous words, but in at least one instance, I had to fix a plot hole (a minor one, really, but one that people familiar with the architecture and geography of New York City would notice) born out of my not living in Manhattan in real life.

“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” – Thomas Mann

I also corrected some formatting errors that bothered me incessantly once I saw them on a recent re-reading of Reunion, and added, on the suggestion of my former journalism professor at Miami-Dade Community College, a copyright notice and the “this is a work of fiction” disclaimer. I should have done that when I self-published Reunion five years ago, but I have “knowledge gaps” about the business and legal aspects of creative writing, so I didn’t do that back in 2018.

Oops.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I haven’t revisited Reunion often since I published it a half-decade ago. After all, it’s something that I’ve been working on, in one way or another, since 1987, and since I don’t work with an editor or even have a “beta reader” – essentially, someone knowledgeable and patient enough to read a manuscript with a critical eye and will point out inconsistent details, typos, questionable stylistic choices, and other issues that will take a reader out of the story – mistakes will creep in.

“Good writing is remembering detail. Most people want to forget. Don’t forget things that were painful or embarrassing or silly. Turn them into a story that tells the truth.” – Paula Danziger

Thankfully, I can use Microsoft Word and Kindle Create to go into Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) site, access my Bookshelf, temporarily unpublish a book while I make the necessary fixes, then re-publish it. It just takes time – tons of it, in my case – and effort. But I can do it, and that’s what matters.

What to Expect from the Second Revised Edition of Reunion

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach

Although I can’t in good faith promise that the second edition of Reunion: A Story (which is, indeed, a novella, per my former journalism professor) is 100% error-free, I have fixed all of the issues I know about. Typos, mostly, but some small storytelling issues, misplaced tenses, and possible plot holes in the narrative have been either eliminated or corrected.

“A good story is a dream shared by the author and the reader. Anything that wakes the reader from the dream is a mortal sin.” ― Victor J. Banis

Reunion now has clearly defined chapters and a table of contents in both digital and print editions. The number of pages is different in each medium, but at least readers will have a more professional-looking book, even though it’s a short volume and not a tome the size of Stephen King’s 11/22/63.

Each version of the novella will also sport its own new cover. The Kindle e-book features abstract cover art that readers can interpret however they please; the paperback edition is more representative of its “core story” and, by chance, happens to have a palette of colors that are like my high school’s official colors.

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” ― E. L. Doctorow

I saved the paperback revisions for last – which is why I was up so late last night – so consumers will only see the new cover art when they order that edition from Amazon; the updates to republished works take up to 72 hours (depending on what is being updated) to complete, so right now prospective readers will see the 2018 cover on Amazon until late Wednesday or Thursday.

(When you get the order confirmation on Amazon, you’ll see a small thumbnail image of the new cover. I ordered a copy of the new edition – authors do not get free copies of their own work! – this morning, so that’s how I know.)

I hope that the new edition gives readers a more enjoyable experience. That’s always been one of my primary concerns as a writer – making sure that the writing is crisp and clear, the pacing is balanced, the characters are well-developed, relatable, and believable, and that you, Dear Reader, are entertained and hopefully moved emotionally. That’s why I took nearly four days to make corrections and improve a story that’s close to my heart.