William III asked David B. Lentz:

What, if any, are your views on revising non-academic fiction? Should a work of fiction, once published, be considered 'done' or is it open for revision? E.g. what would be the merits and/or pitfalls of Thomas Pynchon re-releasing 'Gravity's Rainbow' with additions/omissions?

David B. Lentz William, thank you for your thoughtful question. New publishing technology enables writers to revise their work with an opportunity to "improve" their early published works and first editions with minimal economic downsides for publishers who print on-demand or must reprint to refresh warehouse inventories of well received works. So if the revisions actually do enhance earlier versions of a published work and publishers agree to its economic value, then it may make sense to upgrade an edition. A further benefit is that imperfect first editions may assume higher valuations for investments in secondary literary markets. For example, a genius work by Alexander Theroux in "Darconville's Cat" contains a printer's error on a first-edition spread midway through the novel which left a "moire" pattern where he intended a solid-black, printed page, like Thackeray in "Tristram Shandy" who left pages intentionally blank. I purposely bought as an investment this flawed first edition of "Darconville's Cat," which now trades at a considerable premium to "improved" later editions. The revision of some of my published hardcover first editions has served to reward those clever readers, whom I dearly love, investing early in my work some of which signed, true first editions in mint condition have listed in secondary literary markets for as much as 1600 USD. The new technology enables living writers to become more dynamic as the times in which they wrote may have made liars or fools of them in first editions. Further, such re-publications may help to extend some copyright protection for authors by serving as renewals of their work. There exists the definite risk that any author may tarnish a masterpiece in its reissue and so such revision is wisely undertaken with the judicious assumption of prudent risk on all sides.

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