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Sunday
Feb232014

Second Chances

My wife came home last night from a dinner with two of her BFFs, not with a doggie bag but with a question for me.   At dinner, her BFFs asked her why I was re-issuing my first novel, Lost in the Ivy.  My wife didn’t have an answer for them.

I explained this to many people, and even touched on it publicly, via Facebook, but the reasons are many.  I’ve been working on this revised edition for over a year – it takes a long time to publish a book; even to re-publish one.  Maybe now that its reissue is nearing - just a little over a month away – it is time to explain again why I am doing this. 

The No. 1 reason is that the original version of Lost in the Ivy is dead.  It is out of print and is only available through resellers.  As of this morning, you can find 27 new and used copies on Amazon, prices ranging range from 39 cents (plus $3.99 shipping) to $188.70 (no, that isn’t a misprint).

No book should die.  If someone out there in the world wants to read it, they should be able to find it – and not just in a resale shop.

The No. 2 reason is that the publishing landscape has changed dramatically since I originally published Lost in the Ivy in 2005.  The Kindle had not yet been introduced to the world, and ebooks existed in only rudimentary form.  I saw this evolution occurring, and even became the first to donate a free ebook to what was then Chicago’s Underground Library.

The beauty of ebooks is that they don’t ever have to die.  All books should be able to live forever as ebooks.  By reissuing Lost in the Ivy, I’m giving it that chance at timelessness it never had.

The No. 3 reason is that while I still like the original version of Lost in the Ivy, I don’t love it.  I’ve grown a lot as a writer since it was issued, or at least I would like to think I have.  I also made many naïve rookie mistakes in terms of my publishing choices that first at bat.  By reissuing it I am able to correct all those missteps. 

Many have asked me what I have changed.  The answer is a little and a lot.  The basic elements of the story and the characters remain the same but the structure is different, new chapters with new intrigue have been added to it, I’ve tried to give more depth to the relationship of the main characters, and I’ve tightened the writing so that it hopefully reads better.

The No. 4 reason is that there was an opportunity.  Eckhartz Press, the publisher of my last novel, Cheeseland, expressed an interest in it.  That this season happened to be the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field seemed like kismet, that this was meant to be at this time.

In conclusion, I’m not reissuing this for those who read and enjoyed the original version.  I certainly appreciate their support and would obviously love it if they did pick up the new edition and shared it with their own circles of friends and families.  But I don’t really expect them to buy it and read it all over again.  I’m reissuing it for those who haven’t read it, and not just for those living today but for my son’s children and their children. 

I also am reissuing it for myself.  We don’t always get second chances, and this was my second chance, to issue the book the way that I want it to be and to live on for eternity.  

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