Making alterations to a boxed set

[idontknowyet]

I am planning on creating several box sets out of my series. One of the reasons is to put the focus on underlying storylines.

For example i have a storyline running through 7 books about a single family. Their time line overlaps and weaves through each other.

Is it possible (i mean i kinda know i can do anything with my book, but do you think this would be a good idea) to weave the stories into each other to make one chronological story.

This means i might have 12 chapters from one characters point of view. Then three chapters from another. Then back again for ten more chapters from the first characters point of view.

They will all be books and words already written, but this way the story is actually playing out like it happened in real time.

Thoughts ideas suggestions?

[notthatamanda]

My initial reaction is don't. POV or POVs should be consistent throughout the book. I can see the reviews- I thought the book was about Mary but all of a sudden it's all about Joan for three chapters and then back to Mary. What the...

Now something like an event, a bbq, where Joan and Mary have a conversation and later in the other series the same conversation takes place from Joan's point of view, just don't make the repetitiveness too long, then it's okay.

I just read a book by Sarah Pekkanen and there were four main characters and it was constantly flipping between their points of view for a couple of pages at time and it was fine.

Example - Emily Giffin, her books, Something borrowed and the follow up told the same story from each character's point of view, then she had another book where the woman, was Dex's (one of the characters from Something borrowed) sister. I didn't explain that very well, but it was fun to see Dex referenced in the new book.

Edit - Make the town your brand - A Misty Hollow Romance - Mary and John series, Joan and Bobby series, etc.

[alhawke]

This means i might have 12 chapters from one characters point of view. Then three chapters from another. Then back again for ten more chapters from the first characters point of view.

I've done this within some of my novels, separating POV by chapters. It's not a problem for 3rd person limited POV. But are you taking novels you've already written and creating box sets and changing things? Not sure I get the box set part of all this.

[notthatamanda]

Most of my books alternate POV between two characters. It's the 12 chapters one, 3 chapters another 10 chapters one that I'm finding awkward. I guess I didn't explain my point very well, sorry.

[alhawke]

Most of my books alternate POV between two characters. It's the 12 chapters one, 3 chapters another 10 chapters one that I'm finding awkward. I guess I didn't explain my point very well, sorry.

Looking back, idontknowyet, I see you did already finish the books. But did you publish them? I'd hesitate to change the order for the box set if they're published. But it could be brilliant artistically ??  I think it's hard to say without knowing what you wrote. It could be awkward POV like Amanda's saying.

Did you read Wonder? Wonder has three sections (if I recall correctly) that are each written by different characters. In this case they're 1st person POV. But the structure might be similar to what you're getting ?at as it's broken up into sections by different characters (but not on your larger box set scale)

[Lynn]

I would say no. Stick to the books as written outside the box set. People want the box set for easy reading of a series, probably not to get a reshuffled experience.

I have series with overlap. Most readers comment that it creates deeper stories. If I were to chop it up so it all fits chronologically, it would affect pacing at the least, and probably be detrimental to the story as a whole.

If your books work as individual novels as is, I would think you would have the same issues. You would end up having to do rewriting to fix that.

[idontknowyet]

This particular grouping is a family. Think 3 generations of women grandmother mother wife.

Each original book is written from one woman's pov, but their stories are very interwoven. You will see them all throughout each others books. You seen scenes from other points of view but rarely with much overlap of information.

Into all 7 books there is a storyline that i think would be well highlighted by reading their stories at minimum in a different order than released together. But i can see weaving the 7 books together so it shows it completely chronologically starting with the grandmothers story which will fade into the mothers then into the wife and ending with the mother's story.

The books would have already been released for several months.

I also thought to make it more interesting for reader that might have already read all the books to add new/deleted scenes as well.

[TimothyEllis]

Forget about box set, as you can do that any time anyway.

But what you have here is an opportunity to retell the timeline of the story contiguously.

One thing I always wished they'd do with Doctor Who is a dvd set of the episodes in the order River Song experienced them.

You can do this sort of thing with your books.

Only make a completely new book, or series, very carefully choosing which of the POV describes each event. So new title, even series name, chosen to convey the timeline story as a theme.

Make a small banner with the POV name to go at the chapter heading when the POV changes, so the reader doesn't get confused.

If done well, you could find it goes over with fans really well. Done badly, and it won't.

The other alternative is do it with a complete edit to a narrator voice not used before. Lot more work, but it becomes a telling of the story in the right order that way, without being confusing as to who's POV it's coming from.

[LilyBLily]

I don't understand why you want to bother. Artistically, I do; it sounds like Walt Whitman going over and over Leaves of Grass, or Verdi redoing Don Carlos as Don Carlo and then continuing to tinker with it, and probably some famous painter doing the same with his masterpiece so there are so many layers, each different, that the restorers don't know which they should call the definitive painting. As a creative endeavor, it surely would be interesting, but is this the direction in which you want to go? Would your current audience appreciate the result? Would it attract a new and bigger or more enthusiastic audience or critical acclaim? 

I'm asking in part because I have stories I've considered rewriting--I'm sure we all do as our storytelling chops improve with experience--but it's my belief that the moment we fuss with the older stories, we mess them up. Meanwhile, we make no forward motion creatively to tell brand new stories.

[She-la-te-da]

This isn't how box sets work. Those are books in a series collected together, given a lower price than all included books would bring, and sold to attract a different set of readers. I see no value in rewriting books in the way you describe. It will take time away from projects that could bring in more money.

[idontknowyet]

This isn't how box sets work. Those are books in a series collected together, given a lower price than all included books would bring, and sold to attract a different set of readers. I see no value in rewriting books in the way you describe. It will take time away from projects that could bring in more money.

The idea is to create 2 revenue streams from the same body of work. If i alter/add enough of the original 7 books reader that have already bought/read the story might rebuy and enjoy the additions and fresh perspectives. While I add way for different viewers to get into my series.

These books are around 70k words each so your talking 490k word book in KU with maybe 10-20% new words added. It should hit the 3k cap for max payout. Selling the same book twice without diminishing reader experience is the idea behind it.


Though mainly i love the subplot hidden between the 3 womens story and would love to highlight that to readers. Since it isn't really an in your face kinda thing until the books are rearranged.