I have a few failed books hiding under my metaphorical bed. These were not erotic romances, but most definitely romance of one kind or another. I mentioned one of them to a writer friend of mine who suggested I rework the book to make it into an erotic romance.

So, my question is this…when is a book really dead? When do you just give up and move onto something new?

When I write, 80-90% of that first draft stays as is. So I’m not used to doing some humongous editing project, reworking my story over and over and over. When I was writing THE OPAL HUNTER, I cut one scene entirely…about 3 or 4 pages. There was no purpose to it at all. Just more setting and a bit of character. But it wasn’t vital to the telling of the story. Mostly what I do when I edit, is reword awkward sentences and get rid of basic grammar mistakes. And when I finish the final version, I really am done with it.

It’s very hard for me to go back, unassisted, and redo a book that I think is ‘done.’ My brain just can’t see it from the outside anymore. I’ve read that sucker over and over again. I know every scene, each plot twist by heart. And to go back…? Well, that’s hard to think about.

The sad thing is, if I had started writing that book idea NOW, it probably would have turned out to be a much different book. And probably would have worked, would have been something I could sell.

So, have you ever (authors out there) gone back to an old manuscript and tried to save it? Did it work?

Kris