Are books ever finished?

Well, I've been working on the proofs for The Birth Machine, my first novel which is to be reissued by Salt in October. This will be the third edition of the book, and I've written before about why I published my own second, revised edition after the rights reverted to me.

Well, there I was recently reading the proofs for typos (the whole thing had had to be rejigged from old files), and guess what? I wanted to change it again! Not in the way I changed it for the second edition (that was a change of structure, a reversion to the one I began with before the book was ever published). But you know, inevitably over the years my writing has changed (developed, I hope). Apart from anything else, in the period since I first wrote this book I've had a career as a radio playwright and under a different name I wrote a series of TV novelisations for children. The disciplines involved in those forms/genres must have contributed, although probably it would have happened anyway: in any case I think that nowadays my writing is sparer. It was very difficult therefore for me to read through the text of The Birth Machine without wanting to work on it, and I couldn't resist making a few tiny changes, and as a result this will be the 'Third, further revised edition' !

It makes you realize that in reality a book is never, ever finished...

And of course I am utterly grateful to Salt for allowing this one to go on living and breathing in this way...