What would I change about my book?

Written on 7th Jun 2021 by Alex Lowery

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I have considered doing an edited version of my book before where I update some of the things that were previously mentioned in the book. I was very young when I wrote it so needless to say, I have changed a lot since the time I wrote this. I was planning to write this updated version but when I’ve mentioned the idea to others, they haven’t thought I should do it. They’ve tended to say it’s a piece of history that shouldn’t be altered and that people probably wouldn’t buy the new one when they have the old one. I decided to write a sequel to my first book instead which I am working on. However, I still wanted to address some of the things I would like to change so people are aware of them. You can see a list of 4 of the things I would like changed from my book today. 

1. This one is kind of a nitpick but I have come to notice a number of grammatical errors that I wish I could fix. One example is when I mention how my mum used to help me to eat as a child. I say, “My mum says she helped me to chew by moving my jaw for me with my hand.” The “my hand” should really be changed to “her hand”. My mum helped me with those earlier chapters which I am thankful for since my memory of the time was very vague but my mum was also the one to add the part about moving my jaw with my hand and for years I never really understood that sentence. I didn’t quite understand why she would put my hand in my jaw and move it. I struggled to really grasp how it worked. Later I found out it was an error that was never fixed.

2. In the first chapter I speak about how I didn’t like turning 4 when I was used to being 3 years old. I also say, “I didn’t have a problem with being a different age again (or at least not in the same way) – I might not like the thought of growing up too fast but at least I haven’t been screaming about it!” When I read this part, I now feel it’s out of date because saying “I don’t want to grow up too fast” implies I’m not yet grown up. When I wrote that chapter, I was only 16/17 so not really yet an adult. I’m now 27 so I am very much an adult, so it feels a bit weird to read this now. I worry that people will read it and think “How is this guy thinking he’s not yet an adult?” If I was to write it now I’d change it to, “I don’t like the thought of getting older”, because that can apply no matter what age you are.

3. Thinking back now, there were also a few examples from my book where I think I was remembering a detail slightly wrong but the truth came to me more recently. One example is when I talk about the children in the school being violent. I mentioned how they used to chase, scratch and bite me. I also said that when I complained to the teachers they said “He’s just trying to be friendly. He just wants to be your friend.” What I said was true but there was a fairly important detail I neglected to mention. The truth is that I would become so afraid of the kids that even when they weren’t violent, I was afraid they would hurt me. If one of them even sat next to me, I would be really scared. What I neglected to mention was how it tended to be when they sat next to me that I would complain to the teachers and ask them to get them away from me. This would be when the teachers would say “He’s just trying to be your friend”. So I feel like I missed out a pretty important detail. Due to this I feel I painted the teachers in a rather bad light which isn’t really something I wanted to do. I feel like the way I worded it may have sounded as if the teachers just let the kids be violent and never did anything to try and calm them down. This of course wasn’t the case. The truth is they weren’t always violent but I would still be afraid of them.

4. There are a number of things I missed that I wish I could add to the book. I feel like it would have been a good idea to add some more information about how I was really worried I would never get a job. I’d also like to add how there was even a time when I believed I would never be able to do public speaking. If I had added this it would have made it so much more powerful and meaningful to the reading when they find out I ended up accomplishing this very thing. There are also a few funny stories I wish I had added. There was even one I was convinced I had added but when I read the book recently, I realised it wasn’t there which actually really upset me. 

Thank you for reading. Please let me know how you feel about some of the things I’d change.

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