Filling in some blank space
Over the last year I have been slowly revising my ebooks.
My main thought has been: Is this the most that can be made from this story?
Each ebook was originally written as a present tense blog, my thoughts of the day directly transcribed into each blog entry. This was accompanied by an image that gave an enormous amount of context. Without the image I suspect an ebook is read quite differently from a blog.
A blog can be skimmed. An image tells one story, then it is possible just to skim the writing.
The writing in an ebook has to be more self-contained, where you need to use words rather than rely on supporting, if tangential images. The context needs to be more specifically described.
I have to assume that readers have little knowledge of the areas in which I’m writing about.
I have tended to be more focussed on the philosophical issues, ie, What does this all mean? How do I live my life? Others prefer having a focus on the more immediate and practical issues.
But I also recognise that some readers are looking for a practical, handbook almost: What was the track like? What did I see? Where did I stay? What facilities are provided? Etc.
My task has been to go back and fill out some of the more practical aspects and I have also added some maps to give people an idea of where I’m travelling.
I hope this gives the ebooks more substance, and a wider appeal.
My Stewart Island Circuit has expanded from fewer than 10,000 words to over 25,000. Heading West went from 60,000 to 105,000. That’s a lot of writing, and there have been numerous drafts.
In the end I think the e-books are considerably more readable.
The writing as a whole is much more self-contained and coherent.