My Debut Book Was Meant to Have a Different Ending
On Instagram, I promised to write a blog about the original ending of my debut book, CAKE EATER. Since it was published in 2022, I think it’s finally safe to reveal that I changed the ending fairly late in the writing process. Ready for the full story and the original ending?
Why I Changed the Ending
The reason I changed the ending of my book is pretty simple: my editor/publisher asked me to. They felt my original ending was too sad for a teen book. I didn’t necessarily agree. I think teens love tragedy, drama, and shock, but as the world becomes more stressful I thought perhaps the publisher had a point. Maybe teens just aren’t in the mood for such a depressing theme. I was also a new, baby writer with very little confidence in my own decisions and instincts. I thought, “who am I to know better? I’m not the market expert here.”
So, I felt like I should agree and re-think the ending to CAKE EATER.
What Was the Old Ending to Cake Eater?
If you’d like to experience the old ending to Cake Eater, that’s pretty easy to do! I’m holding a copy of the paperback and will guide you to it.
Ready?
Turn to page 440.
Stop reading there.
Skip the epilogue.
Ignore Marie’s disorientation in the elevator to her execution walk.
That’s right. Originally, I sent both Marie and Louis to the guillotine, just like their historical counterparts.
How I Changed the Ending
Here’s the problem with make a big revision like a new ending: it effects more than just the final pages. You’ll remember that Marie had to get swapped with an android duplicate who was executed in her place. I had to go back and thread this through multiple scenes so this save didn’t seem to come out of left field.
When deciding how the ending should go, I faced another conundrum. The real Marie Antoinette didn’t get a chance to change her fate or correct her course. Was it right to give that chance to my version? On the other hand, most people know what happened to the real Marie Antoinette. If I made my character share the same fate was it too predictable. Would my readers want to march with her to the bitter, terrible end?
I second-guessed myself and thought, no. Who would want to do that? Given all the other changes I’ve made to this historical story, why does Marie have to die? Isn’t that a hopeless message?
How I Feel About the Ending Now
At first, I felt pretty good about my new ending, but if I’m being honest, I regret changing it now. Originally, I imagined that even though Marie’s death is really depressing (and made several readers cry!) that was kind of the point of the story. The terrible cyclical greed and abuses of power not only made an entire nation of people suffer, but also led to the deaths of these two characters who tried to forge a different path. Whether their deaths were justified is up to the reader, but the decision of what to do with them wouldn’t be an easy one.
It felt poignant to me. Throughout history and I’m sure in the future, societies will feel the strain and push toward dramatic changes and they’re going to have to decide what they’re willing to do to enact those changes. When we must decide how far they’re willing to go, whether we’ll repeat the past or try something new, I think we’ll have to accept that there are no easy answers.
When Marie meets Robespierre, she’s certainly not a fan of him. From her point of view, he’s her executioner, but I hope I also portrayed him as sympathetic and communicated that he wasn’t excited to order her execution, but he hoped to spare many more deaths and minimize suffering by ending the royal line. Did he make the right choice? I wanted the reader to have to wrestle with that question and decide for themselves. By saving Marie in the new ending, I don’t think I totally removed that question from the reader’s mind, but I do think it lessened the impact.
Living and Learning
I’m not upset at myself or my publisher for suggesting the ending change. I think there were valid reasons to do change it, but I think my feelings now are valid too. The original ending had more of an emotional impact, even if it might have upset a lot of readers. Of course, it’s easier to wonder what would have been different if I never changed the ending, and with some more experience under my belt I feel like I could have more confidently steered the changes made and had more discussions about them. But just like my book, there’s no easy answer here. You as the reader might totally disagree with me and would have hated the book without the epilogue!
I’m definitely curious to hear your thoughts about this, so feel free to let me know!