Writers who pen articles for magazines understand this concept very well. They research a topic, write an article targeting a particular publisher, submit it, then turn around and repurpose that same article, just retargeting/repurposing that piece for a new audience and another publication.
Fiction writers don’t get that opportunity as often because, if we have an audience, how irritated would they be to read the same piece over and over, just repurposed for another release? Here are two examples of works I’ve recently “repurposed.”
Two Hot was previously “Hot Out Here” in The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance, however, I revised it, and added a better ending. Something I couldn’t do the first time around because of word count restraints.
All the short stories in Strokes, except for “Lily’s Last Stand” and “All About Me,” were previously published in Cleis Press collections.
Why would I want to republish them?
1) I like to make my work accessible to my fans and not everyone is willing to buy every anthology I appear in.
2) I like making a little money for my labor. The stories I sold to Cleis, for example, only earned me $50 apiece.
In this day and age when a writer can publish her own work, she has greater control over her own destiny. In the scary old days, there was only one way for a writer to go—straight to New York and a handful of big publishers. If you didn’t manage to catch the eye of an editor, then if your story wasn’t something the marketing department knew how to sell, you were toast. With more epublishers and self-publishing opportunities, writers can cut out the middle men entirely if they wish.
I wouldn’t ever want to cut out all of my publishers. You never know what the future holds, and it’s best not keep all your eggs in one basket, but there’s so much freedom now. I’m enjoying it. I hope you readers enjoy the result too—more books, more quickly, for a great price from writers you love.
Oh, and sometime late today or tonight, Two Hot will be offered for free on Amazon.com. Just my way of saying thanks for being along for the ride. I’ll tweet, FB and message you all when that offer goes live! *blows kisses* ~DD
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Amen, Sister! Rock on Repurposing!
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Hey, you’re just being green–reuse is a smart thing to do! š
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I have repurposed a few but to another publisher. I added on 30k so is it still repuroposing lol. I took really short shorts and made them into longer works.
Two Hot was fabulous. I sank me teeth into it and had my DD fix for the night š
I haven’t read Strokes yet but I have it š
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Now, that’s enterprising, Delilah. Well done. Can’t wait to read them.
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I think it is great that you have decided to do that.
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Thank You so much! Looking forward to reading it. š
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I love your books, even if I blush when I read them. Can’t wait to read Two Hot, I’m sure I won’t be dissapointed.
Thanks.
Lynda
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I think it’s smart to re-shape your work. I say take that freedom & explore.
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Thank you because Free is ALWAYS good!! You are the best, Delilah!!
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I don’t think there is anything wrong with “repurposing” previous work. Or sometimes called revised storyline. It remarkets your previous works and makes it available to some of us who haven’t read them.
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I think its awesome that republishing them. Some stories are so good, they need a few other endings! ;D