Why I Like Using a Print Book for Revisions

I’ve officially begun writing the first draft of Shadows, Book 5 in the Nine Lies Series. In the meantime, I’ve finished the first round of revisions on Vengeance and I’ll probably start to make the print version soon. Some people might think it’s too soon to make the paperback, since I’ve only done one round of revisions, but here’s why I like using a print book for revisions.

Using a Print Book for Revisions is More Convenient

Revisions go so much faster when I can carry a paperback around with me and work on my book anywhere, rather than when I’m chained to the computer.

Using a Print Book for Revisions Gives Me Time to Tweak the Cover - Over and Over and Over Again

Print covers are way harder for me to get right than their digital counterparts and it usually takes several attempts before I get the colors close enough to what I want. Since I live in South Korea, shipping a copy to myself takes longer and costs several times more than the proof itself, so I have to plan ahead if I want my paperback to be available when the e-book is released.

Using a Print Book for Revisions Helps Me View My Writing with Fresh Eyes

The writing looks and feels different to me in a book form than when I’m just reading it in Scrivener. I’m more likely to catch mistakes and notice problems with the story if I’m thinking of it as a book (and especially treating it like one, that I can hold in my hands and read outdoors) rather than just a project that I’m working on. I’ve tried doing revisions using an e-book version but it’s just not the same, mostly because it’s so much more tedious to type my thoughts into my phone. Which leads me to my next point…

Using a Print Book for Revisions Gives Me Space to “See” Everything

With a print book I can very easily make notes on the text and even rewrite whole chunks in the white space like the margins or the ends of chapters. I’m a very visual and tactile person, so seeing the words on the page helps me “see” the story and “see” what I’m doing when I make an edit. Holding a pen in my hand when I note errors or rewrite things somehow helps me focus more and really understand the things I’m doing. Trying to type revisions on the tiny keyboard on my phone and being unable to see more than a few paragraphs at a time makes it a lot harder for me to feel like I can see everything that’s going on when I rewrite.