The other day, I was having a discussion about creative regrets. Whether, now that the first three books in The Luke Bright Series are out, if there’s anything I would change about them. Other than the obvious typos which managed to slip through the net, there are a couple of minor things, but genuinely I don’t think there is major.

It’s a hard thing when you send your work out into the world officially, wondering if it’s premature or if there’s more that could’ve been done to make it better. Maybe you see something that you think could’ve made a great plot point or find a plot hole you didn’t consider. That’s why self publishing is so good — you can fix those things. Whether you should, however, is a different matter. I personally wonder what would’ve happened if I’d changed the Atlantic Split to Brexit — would that have impacted on the success of the books at all. But I’m glad I didn’t because at least now I can say I maybe have predicted the future.

I now treat the first three books as undisputed canon. This is what’s happened in them and subsequent plots have to work around those, not the other way round. I’m happy to change minor errors, but things that’ll change the whole story? I don’t think it’s fair, because then someone else will get a whole different sort of book to someone else who bought it before. Especially if someone points something out in a book review that you feel you want to change in hindsight — don’t unless it’s a massive issue. It’s one person, it doesn’t matter what they think now it’s published. Whilst you can still play God when you’re self publishing, it doesn’t mean you should. You have to leave things be and you should leave things be once you’ve pressed publish. That’s why beta readers are so important before you make it official. It’s not fair on the readers and not fair on you, as you’ll potentially ruin your reputation as an author. Plus, you’d probably have to republish the book all over again if it changes drastically.

So, with my books. What would I genuinely like to change. It’s difficult and I’ve recently re-read the whole thing in order, and I’m pleased at how little I would change. Other than a few interactions and potential character development that maybe needed some work earlier on, I’m very happy with what I’ve done and it all works very well. I’m glad I published when I did and I still believe they are extremely strong and relevant books. They’re what they need to be and what I wanted them to be. And that makes me extremely proud and determined to keep writing more. And I will.

Atlantic Split, At Liberty To Live and An Undercover Dream, the first three books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! The final book of the series A Long Lost Time will be released in 2020!

Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K