What do you do with the deleted scenes in your story?
Some writers permanently delete them forever, scraping them because “Why not?” Other writers find clever ways to use, reuse or upcycle deleted scenes from their story.
There are 5 clever uses of deleted scenes:
- Add them to your author website
- Add them to the back of your book
- Share them on social media
- Upcycle them into other media
- Create a free eBook giveaway
Each one of these deleted scene strategies can grow your traffic, reader engagement, audience, sales, and email list. Let’s dig into exactly how do make each one work for you!
1. Add Deleted Scenes to Your Author Website
New York Times and USA Today Bestseller, Jeaniene Frost, dedicates an entire page on her website, www.JeanieneFrost.com, to her deleted scenes.
She explains:
Just like with movies, books usually have scenes that end up on the cutting room floor instead of inside the finished product.
Why waste these scenes? Why not add them for free to your website so that your biggest or most curious fans can snoop them.
Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson does something similar with his unused scenes. I like the layout of his deleted scenes page, very sleek.
It’s a brilliant idea because it’s free, stupidly simple to do, and you do it once and it’s done (until you add more deleted scenes from your next book).
Even if you don’t do anything else with your unused scenes, why not consolidate them on a page of your website?
No website? Read my post about how to create a website and make money.
2. Add Unused Scenes to the Back of Your Book
You can also throw your deleted scenes into the back of the novel or book itself. This reminds me of the unused scenes and blooper reels in movies.
I think it’s a splendid idea.
You labored over those scenes, so why scrap them completely? Give your dedicated readers a bonus gift of some extra “blooper scenes” from your book.
3. Share Your Deleted Scenes on Social Media
Another clever way to upcycle those deleted scenes is to share them on scial media.
You could share them as part of a pre-launch campaign, during a launch, or as part of a sales funnel to sell more books.
Suggested read: 10 eBook marketing Strategies
4. Upcycle Unused Scenes Into Other Media
Deleted scenes can also be be upcycled into other media content like audio files, podcasts, or videos.
You basically get twice the bang for your buck. You can record yourself reading your unused scenes or use free or paid software to convert your text into a voice recording.
If you are so inclined, you can read your scenes on a podcast (either your own or as a guest), or go over your scenes on a YouTube video.
Read my article on Why Every Writer Should Have a YouTube Channel.
5. Create a Free Deleted Scenes eBook Giveaway
Another option you might not have thought of is to turn your deleted scenes into a lead magnet (or free giveaway) that you offer in exchange for someone signing up for your email list.
If you have enough scenes and a following, you could even sell your book.
Conclusion
A bonus strategy is to save your unused scenes, perhaps in a file labeled “deleted scenes,” for possible use in future stories.
Reddit user dverast says that they use Scrivener to manage their unused scenes and other writing files:
Scrivener is amazing. It has a pretty steep learning curve compared to any other word processor but before you know it using it is effortless and you can’t believe you lacked this functionality before.
To sum it up, you have lots of ways to use, reuse, and recycle your deleted scenes.