Do you go back?

[Krysteena]

I have worked on my manga a bit, currently playing with chapter 3.

That being said, there are things I have changed in the manga and released that I missed when making the novel.

I am new to making both, but as I have grown and looked back at some of my old work, I realize I was lacking pretty badly in many areas.

Would this upset readers by shifting things, or would it encourage new readers, as it has improved in areas they may not have wanted to get into...?

What do you think?

Below is both if you like to check them out.

Main Novel

Read Lightning doesn't strike twice | Tapas Web Community

MANGA OFFICIAL
https://tapas.io/series/Lightning-Doesnt-Strike-Twice---Official-manga

[jwabeasley]

DON'T GO BACK.

Learn and take it forward. Improve things as you go. Better to take what you learned and apply it to a new project. Better to actually finish your projects!

[jwabeasley]

Also, you've improved dramatically over the past couple of years that I've watched you. Do you plan on not improving any further? You'll be even better by this time next year, and any remakes you do now will seem just as flawed as what you drew a year ago does now.

[Krysteena]

I want to make this a printable novel and sell it. But when I go back a read I see why some readers never stayed or caught on.cleaning and editing it one thing. But I have also thought to completely reworking it to. It don't have the anime hook that getting people deep into wanting to read or watch. It has a small hook but I have heard from other people super deep into anime and manga if it doesn't rope you in by the first 1 to 3 chapters many walk away even if that means losing out on a hidden gem like to me one piece is. Slow to grow not great art or writing but OMG it gets better.

[blitz_kreed]

I don't think there's an issue with refinement, but outright changing whole scenarios is usually where I myself draw a line of never crossing. For me, it's more important on "How can I make what I've already written better for my readers?" rather than fully changing certain events.

As for you changing certain parts in the manga compared to the Novel, I don't think there's a problem in doing that. Many Authors do that, sometimes they use the opportunity of a Manga or Anime adaptation to do things with the Story that didn't exist in the Source Material, which can lead to a whole "2-3 Different Directions for the same Plot." Albeit, it doesn't work out well unless you've genuinely given thought of it.

Long Story Short, Be Proud of How Far You've Come, Don't fully change what you've already written, but make it better to understand or so for Newer Readers.

[AmysGames]

Your art/writing improving as the story goes on is part of the experience of posting comics online. Like @jwabeasley said, you'll be going back to your old writing every couple of years going "ugh, this could have been so much better," and you'll feel the desire to redo it all over again. Don't get caught in the trap, or you'll get stuck in an endless revamp loop.

And few thing annoy me as a reader more than seeing a comic constantly getting rebooted because the author doesn't like it anymore. I liked it! I want to see new stuff, not just the same intro over and over!

[jwabeasley]

I want to make this a printable novel and sell it.

When you finish the entire story and start looking for publishers, then you can make "re-edit my story" as a new project. I'm neither agreeing or disagreeing with you on your quality. Don't go back and re-edit until you're doing with a complete first draft!

If I ever do a webnovel, I'll write the whole thing completely before I start releasing chapters online. Comics take too much production time for that, though. You just learn to do better on the next chapter, the next story, and so forth.

[kyupol]

Keep going and going. Never reboot.

I never rebooted any comic since the early 2000s

[jmhenry]

To give a different angle on this:
DO go back... if you're considering taking your story to print or if it would benefit your comic's storytelling to do so.

I've rewritten LOSTLAND for both reasons, I was very new to making comics and a lot of what was there was super experimental and rough. As a result, the new version nearly doubled in reader count in half the chapters of the old version, and I'm pretty proud of what it's turned into. As long as you have a plan and you stick to it, it's an option you can take.

Not going back is also nice advice, but don't let pressure trap you with something you're dissatisfied with if you feel you can do it better

[ArtGremlin]

I would only recommend going back to fix small continuity details, or starting over entirely if you’re just begun. Both times when I started a comic I jumped the gun and started making finished pages before I had the full story fleshed out. That led to me starting over each time, but I don’t regret it at all and it worked out for the better.

[justincarbunkle]

Definitely make improvements to the manga version where you see fit. Whatever you need to create the best possible version of your story, do it.

If you’re definitely going to publish a physical novel, make the changes. Personally, I’d stick to focusing on the manga, and making that the “definitive” version of your story, as that’s the one the majority of people will actually read.

You’d have to gauge yourself how much time you’re willing to put in and when something is “good enough” you can move on. It is very important to have a strong opening section. Make changes if you have the time, but don’t overdo it.

[delladz]

It's honestly up to you? I see both sides to this point, and I think it comes down to a few things:

1. Do you have multiple stories that you think you want to write? If yes, then keep moving forward and don't look back
2. Do you want to aim to be a commercially successful comic artist/writer? If yes, then do not go back. You will often have to pitch many things and improve your work as you go
3. Are the changes you want to make essential to understanding the story later on? If yes, then this may either be something you go back and fix OR if it's such a major overhaul, you call it a wash and move on

To put my own personal experience out there, I have gone back and redid chapters multiple times over my run BUT that is because my current comic is the only big story that I've ever wanted to do in comic form and my time spent as an artist is truly just for me. I go back because I simply WANT to. Also, it's never been to rework the story, only to provide a fresh coat of visual paint and to add one or two TINY scenes

While I don't regret going back, I will say reworking old chapters took a lot of chunk of time out of making continuing chapters. It's a major time suck depending on how much you're changing and what sort of schedule you have

[Krysteena]

Yeah, rather novel or comic; there are some things I am not 100% satisfied with. I want to print the first novel, hopefully in a year, and the first manga volume. By August 2027, but OMG, it is time-consuming, and I am realizing 1 novel chapter being 2 or 3 manga chapters changes how the seasons end and land.

It is kind of weird how it lines up now. But that said, I watched YouTube. If I sell to publishers, I need to have the hook in 3 chapters or less... Yikes, I thought mine was a slow burn; it is meant to be slow and then pick up... SO IDK.