Intellectual House o' Pancakes Comments Page and Grill

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MacGregor - 2008-08-13 19:47:22
I can't even imagine how long a Stephen King book would be without the intervention of editors!!! I've never seen "author's cut" editions of a novel with edited chapters, but I've got a few "study group" editions of books with sections by academics discussing theme etc... and a couple with author interviews as well. Extra features rule!
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Paula - 2008-08-13 20:20:36
And of course, now it's fairly common for authors to make "author videos," so maybe the publishing world and the music/film industry are learning from each other. One author whose "author's edits" I wouldn't mind seeing is Raymond Carver. Supposedly his original work is much less terse.
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Rbrt - 2008-08-13 20:21:49
They exist, after a fashion, though the intent is usually scholarly and the authors dead. The facsimile manuscript edition of Eliot's "The Wasteland," for example, with the edits visible, or the recently published, pre-edited original scroll of "On the Road." Discarded alternate endings and lost chapters turn up from time to time, as well, though I'd have to do some googling to cite examples.
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MacGregor - 2008-08-13 20:37:45
I still see a lot of un-edited galleys in circulation amongst collectors, so I'm sure it could be done. That's a bit different though than packaging. Raymond Carver could be very interesting to read "uncut." I'd imagine after a point though one would have to be a "completist." Consider music where sometimes alternate takes and studio outtakes are illuminating... most of what I've heard by even great artists though is pretty bad.
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really bad meow - 2008-08-13 22:14:33
http://humument.com/
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villain - 2008-08-14 00:46:51
several SF authors have issued "director's cuts" of a sort -- Robert Heinlein issued an expanded "Stranger in a Strange Land" restoring text the original editor had made him cut. Gregory Benford (I think?) heavily reworked an early novel with which he was dissatisfied and reissued it with a new title.
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Paula - 2008-08-14 02:15:17
Interesting examples. That Humument document is the literary equivalent of "chopped and screwed."
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Joe - 2008-08-14 08:42:30
Stephen King has already released an "author's cut" of THE STAND. It's about 400 pages longer than the original. Big surprise.
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mister muleboy - 2008-08-14 14:39:02
I understand the director's cut of The Bible was way more depressing, and the editor's opted for the happy ending instead. The original bit with the aliens landing apparently leaked out of the publishing house, and was borrowed by some other authors.
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MacGregor - 2008-08-14 16:28:47
Wasn't The Stand far too long in the original version or was that just me?
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Bina - 2008-08-15 02:59:10
You admit to reading Stephen King?! These days when publishing companies are trying to promote a young new author, they include lots of features in the back of the book: an interview with the author, a critical reading of the book, the author's publishing history, etc. etc. I find it a bit annoying. I could find all that stuff on the internet!
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Paula - 2008-08-15 14:06:59
I assume your question was directed at MacG, but I'll pipe up, too: I've read surprisingly little Stephen King (given his prolific output) but the few things I read weren't too bad. The most recent King thing I read was his contribution to the Hard Case Crime library, and although it wasn't the most poetic thing I've ever read, it had an interesting and even somewhat daring plot twist.
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Bina - 2008-08-15 18:23:09
I read Stephen King in high school but burnt all my books the day I graduated. Okay, I'm joking, but King has always reminded me of Tupac Shakur: every year they both rise from the dead, produce another album/book, then go back to their crypts while everyone else tries to figure out how the hell that happened.
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Paula - 2008-08-16 10:46:32
Ha!
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