Why You Shouldn’t Edit Your Already Published Articles
Leave some pen memories up for your fans
On June 7th, 2019, I published my first article. Immediately, I distributed links to the article to my friends and family to read and make comments. I felt great about having a piece published in my name on the web. To me, that was the start of a great career as a writer. I found focussing on my national history fascinating (perhaps not anymore) as a way to express my loyalty to my country and despair of her current state of affairs.
In the first week, I earned 43 views on the article. As exciting as it was, I wondered how my mentor, my Dad, got a hold of the link. He made some uncensored criticism of the article, pointed out some obvious errors, and suggested I edit it.
In my part of the world, a Dad suggesting an action is much more than a suggestion — it’s an instruction that must be followed! Owing to my juvenile yet rebellious nature (which I’m not proud of) I refused to edit it. I left it that way, with the errors peeking through the sentences.
Seven months later, I realized I’d made a pretty good decision not considering an edit.
Just Like Picture Memories, Your Earlier Published Works Are Pen Memories
Ever glanced through your Facebook photos? Pictures from five, seven, or ten years ago. Whenever I see those Facebook memories, I notice a beam on my face. I smile because I realize how far I’ve come. From a beardless, naive little boy that wanted to be a career doctor, to this young man sitting a this desk punching the keyboard every day, exploring creativity in its entirety. That should give every human being a chill.
The same thing happens when you look at an article you published years ago. You see all the errors and the usual urge to impress your readers.
There are a few reasons why you shouldn’t consider editing your works after they’ve been published, so long as at the moment you wrote those words, you were doing your best.
You Can Track Your Progress Over Time
Once in a while, I look back to that June 7th article and have a quick read. Then I read through all the articles in my portfolio. This connects me to the old me — the real me. It rekindles my passion for the beautiful of writing and creating.
Looking at those works and comparing them with each other, I often realize the minor improvements that I’ve gone through. I realized that every criticism, including my Dad’s, has played a role in making me the writer I am today and the writer I’ll be tomorrow.
You Create a Stronger Connection With Your Audience
It’s understandable when you find yourself craving perfection without a record of errors. It makes no sense to show people how ill you were with your writing two years ago. Even more, it makes absolutely no sense to let people deduce that it took you five years to write ten straight articles without obvious errors. I understand how that feels. But do you know what makes better sense? Being human.
Your readers are not machines. Ignore the beta readers and algorithms — they’re not your real audience. The real audience, the one that matters, are humans and they’re not perfect either.
As your audience grows with you they will notice your improvements over time. Editing your published works can mess with the mind of loyal readers.
Imagine reading my first piece and after two weeks, you go back to read it again, only to find yourself doubting your sanity. Word choices have changed, the contexts that they’re connected with are gone, and the naivety that brought them to you is nowhere to be found. I think that’s a pretty bad idea. Just as they’ve built a connection with you, they lose it.
These days, people avoid whatever makes them feel unsure of themselves. If they were sure that they saw something in your post — don’t prove them wrong. Leave it as it is and improve future works.
When I read Buckskin Brigades, one of Ron Hubbard’s first published books, I connected with him seamlessly. Years later, I read Mission Earth — a decalogy. I noticed improved creativity, smoothly describing abstract events that combined with the laws of physics. It was so smooth that even readers with no scientific knowledge could enjoy the story without being tossed around by the terms. That’s real-time improvement, noticeable and commensurable. The growth that writers experience over time is one of the reasons why some readers are loyal to your contributions.
Passion and Consistency is Encouraged
Observing positive changes in the quality of my writing is more than enough reason for me to write more and never stop. Comparing my current style of writing, proficiency, word choice, sentence construction, engagement, and flow with what I had in my previous work makes me curious as to what I could accomplish if I wrote nonstop for two more weeks. When those two weeks come, I find myself exploring my abilities for the next two weeks and on and on.
Comparing previous works with the present shows that you’re a step closer to being a modern-day Jane Austen or Ernest Hemingway. Editing, on the other hand, only improves an already existing piece and questions your creative credibility rather than allow you to explore the limitlessness of your creativity and growth as a writer.
The urge to be perceived as flawless, as sweet as it could be, can get in the way of your greatness. Allowing yourself to be human, to experience growths, and building faithful audiences that are loyal to your human traits is a route to follow. People can keep memories with pictures, qualifications, and whatever they like. But as a writer, your published works are timeless memories leading through a path to greatness.