Web 2.

0 for the Novel

By Scott James
Published on Likoma
November 2010

A dear friend mourned the recent passing of President John F. Kennedy’s close
confidant and speechwriter Ted Sorensen. “He wrote my favorite book,” she said.

Which one? I asked.

She couldn’t remember the title. But I was missing the point – it wasn’t a book she
actually read. It was simply a large hardcover of size and heft that had become a
useful blunt instrument around the house when she needed to bash something and
a hammer wasn’t available or appropriate.

Books, I was reminded, are quite solid objects.

Not so with digital books. In the emerging e-books world, books

and the stories they contain aren’t even static – the text can be
changed or updated in an instant. When my latest novel, The
Sower, was published last year, the first release was as a digital
book, and at the time I made the point of saying how this
created a new possibility for authors. Once committed to the
printed page, our words were locked. Digital books offered a
key to get back inside.

Now I’ve done exactly that with a new digital edition of my novel, The Sower 2.0.
I’m told it’s the first version 2 of a novel.

It’s not that I’ve had second thoughts about the first time I wrote the book. The
message of the novel is the same, as are the characters, the themes, and the
overall story arc. These took years to conceive, and I have not changed my mind.

But the novel has always been set in an alternative version of the present day. It’s
a thriller about a manmade supervirus. Instead of killing people, the virus cures all
diseases. But there’s a hitch. The only way the virus cure can be passed to others is
through sex.

This sets off the ultimate battle of the current culture wars. That’s what drove me
to release the first edition last year as an e-book. Digital publishing meant I could
work on the novel right up until the hour of publication, making it as topical as the
day’s news. With print publishing, a book must typically be completed two years
before it reaches readers.

So nearly 18 months after The Sower was first released, my intention was to go
into the novel and update all those references to current events so they would be
refreshed for late 2010.

Once I got back inside the book, however, I let my imagination run a little wild. I
began looking and scenes and wondering – what if I played one crisis a bit
differently? What if I moved a different confrontation elsewhere?

These “what if?” questions quickly led me to realize that I wasn’t dealing in a
scenario where any change would require a costly new print run. I had the freedom
to do anything I desired.

So I ended up reimagining the entire novel, similar to how a film might be re-
released in a “director’s cut” edition. There’s a new opening, and what was
originally a 30 chapter novel is now 40 chapters – and yet the book overall is
shorter.

The new edition of The Sower also allowed me a coming out of sorts. Version 2.0
notes both my pen name, Kemble Scott, and my real name, Scott James. Although
not a secret identity, I’ve always written fiction under the pseudonym. But since the
first edition was released, I’ve started contributing a weekly column to The New
York Times and The Bay Citizen. In the spirit of transparency, which is important in
the world of journalism, I’ve now put it all out there.

And for The Sower 2.0’s initial release on Scribd, the book is enhanced with a true
advanced web experience – the new reading technology Apture. This allows readers
to learn more about aspects of the novel by highlighting a word or phrase. Pop-up
windows bring in videos, photos, maps and articles with additional information, all
without leaving the text of the novel. It’s an opportunity for a deeper reading
experience, while remaining in the story.

Should novels be treated this way?

In a time when audiences have taken the creativity of others for sampling, mash-
ups, and reinvention, there’s no reason why authors can’t take some of the same
liberties with their own work. This digital era makes this remarkably easy to do.

Of course, there are those of us who still love printed books. So the hardcover
edition of The Sower from Numina Press remains for sale for those who prefer to
read the book in printed form. It is available in stores in the San Francisco Bay
Area, including The Booksmith, Books Inc., A Great Good Place for Books, and A
Different Light…plus online everywhere else in the world.

And having the hardcover is important for folks like my friend – she wouldn’t dare
hammer anything around the house with a Kindle!