Would the readers reread a rewritten novel?

[ProjCRys]

I've been thinking... I'm about to make major changes in my story since it mostly focused on plot and barely about the character.

I had a good idea how to make the characters feel more alive, but the problem would be the readers would just ignore it and go for the latest chapter if I ended up publishing it after the edit.

I'm afraid that they might be confused as there elements I added in the old chapters, but I still want to improve my story and not half-ass it.

 

[Southdog]

I was in this same boat. I elected to just hide my first version with a disclaimer in the description and start republishing it as if nothing else happened. Yeah it keeps the view count up but im not lying and dking it to pad my views

 

[Lire]

Maybe you could just post it as an entirely new novel? Except with "(Rewrite)" affixed to the end.
Then, on your old fiction, make a chap that links them to the new one.

Uhhhh... that's about it. My bad. I've never experienced this so I can't really say much.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

The short answer is no.
The long answer is fuck you, no
It depends how long the story is, but twenty or so chapters or more of rewritten material? nah, i ain't about that life. Dont expect ME, at least, to reread all that.
Now, i was also in a sorta similar position too, but it wasn't because i felt anything was lacking. I just baited readers with a synopsis that was true in essence but not indicative of the story itself, only the most basic theme the story would be loosely based around.

Some, or a lot, or readers didn't like that. So they bullied me until i just decided to make another story and call it "alternate" and use the same synopsis but be a bit more faithful to it. So it was an entirely different but familiar story. No one needed to reread anything, it was just something written for a different type of reader. If they liked the main story's flavor more, they can stick with that, if not then they could go read the alternate version instead.

I wasn't gonna basically force anyone to reread something by doing a rewrite. There'd be so many more people cussing me out for that

 

[RepresentingCaution]

That's kinda what I do for a living, so it depends on how much I liked the premise of the story in the first place. I flat-out reject most manuscripts, though. It's extremely rare that I ask for a rewritten version.

 

[J_Chemist]

My readers do. I've rewritten/revised my story quite a number of times over the last two years or so. These past few months, I've completely changed the first 10-20 chapters of my novel. Some chapters I've redone several times to try and get them right and proper. It's about execution and developing the connection with your reader base. My novel is a journey for myself as the author and my readers. I have let them know multiple times that I'm writing for their experience to be the best that I can make it and I strive to achieve that. So the majority, I think, understand that if a plot point is nitpicked enough, I will adjust.

However, you cannot expect them all to go back and reread. Some will but most won't. Just make your changes, alert your readers, and then move on. When details are changed or shifted in your newer chapters, they'll eventually go back and skim to check on what they've missed. Or they'll just make the adjustment themselves and keep moving along. If this is your first time and you're really getting into it, you'll find that as you grow, you begin to see more and more flaws in your writing. Flaws you will be heavily inclined to change in order to bring the quality up for new readers.

But! It is certainly all about the journey. Readers new and old will appreciate the growth aspect of your writing. You may not notice it but they do.

 

[RaidenReader]

Pure reader here! To answer your question:

No. I probably wouldn't reread it. Unless the major parts of the plot were changed. If it's just grammar fixes, or line edits, then no.

Spin-off stuff of what could've happened if this were this and that was that are A-Okay, though.
?

 

[TheEldritchGod]

In practice, no.
In two cases, yes.

Did you write the story to begin with to have a different perspective the second reading? Then you can get away with it.

If you write the story then make new chapters to self insert retroactively years from now.

I thought about a story that, when finished, will add in new chapters later, like a year later, as if some sort of alien had taken over the account and was adding in everything from his perspective.

However, I am happy making content nobody will ever read or see, just because I like doing weird shit.