How to publish an anthology of self-written stories?

WriteRex said:

I want to compile an anthology of my written short stories. How do I publish an anthology of self-written stories, and who will be willing to buy it?

My short stories are like fables; each one has a distinct moral. Like Hans Christian Andersen who writes fairy tales but sets them in his own time, I write original fairy tales but set them in my own time. I like to include symbolism and motifs in my writing, because fairy tales and folk tales are usually written or told in that way.

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Bundle them up and query, same as you'd do with longer fiction.

Are these original or reprints? That'll make a difference.

And in the business, an anthology is usually a set of stories by various writers. The term for a set of stories by a single writer is generally a 'collection'.

That definition has been blurred in recent years by self-publishers publishing their 'anthologies', to such an extent that the Amazon anthology category is chock-a-block with collections.

This annoys pedantic types like me.

I'm pretty sure it's a VERY hard sell to get a publisher to take on a short story collection by an unknown author. You see some short story collections here or there, but everything I've seen makes it sound almost impossible to sell if you aren't someone special.

You may have to consider the self-pub route if you really want to get your collection of short stories out there.

M. H. Lee said:

I'm pretty sure it's a VERY hard sell to get a publisher to take on a short story collection by an unknown author. You see some short story collections here or there, but everything I've seen makes it sound almost impossible to sell if you aren't someone special.

You may have to consider the self-pub route if you really want to get your collection of short stories out there.

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There are however many specialist publishers of weird tales who publish collections that the OP could try - people like TARTARUS PRESS, DARK REGIONS PRESS, PS PUBLISHING and others of that ilk regularly publish collections. And of course there's the genre small presses.

I have a book of short-shorts making the rounds. The publishers I'm dealing with (literary) prefer some/most of the stories to have been individually published before.

I didn't even bother with agents. I've had some nibbles so far from decent small presses so I have hope, but yes, it is a hard sell. I understand, because I am much more likely to buy an anthology myself, rather than a collection by one author. I feel like it spreads the risk around and is more likely that I'll like at least some of the stories.

First, you have to decide if you're going to try for an agent or go right to the smaller publishers who accept unagented submissions. Then look them up and make a list of the ones who take story collections, have a decent reputation, etc. There are some yearly books out that list agents and/or publishers. Or check the section on here, Preditors and Editors, Poets & Writers, Query Tracker (all online). Also, first story collection contests come up sometimes. They often have an entry free but maybe a better chance, since they are after all going to pick one of the bunch to publish.

Also, of course you'd want to get those other eyes on it and have the stories critiqued by others before sending it out, to polish it the very best you can, if you haven't already. I would, anyway, because competition is fierce. Good luck.

Another way I've found some publishers is in the bios of the online litmags I read. When someone writes the kind of stuff I do and has a book of stories out, I check out their publisher.

If you haven't published any of the stories in journals, then that's your first step. Get submitting to journals and once you've got at least half of them sold you can start thinking about publishing the collection.

M. H. Lee said:

I'm pretty sure it's a VERY hard sell to get a publisher to take on a short story collection by an unknown author. You see some short story collections here or there, but everything I've seen makes it sound almost impossible to sell if you aren't someone special.

You may have to consider the self-pub route if you really want to get your collection of short stories out there.

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Everything I've heard indicates that it would be a hard sell. Might be better to try to sell a novel first and if that's popular then try to sell the short stories. Or try to sell them individually to relevant online magazines.

I agree with the others who have suggested you sub the stories individually first. If they are published professionally, you'll have a better shot at interesting a publisher in the collection. Plus, your stories can earn you more (monetarily) that way. And should you win some kind of award for one of them, that can be a big boost.

It is hard for publishers to publish a series of short stories written by an unknown author. It is better to publish your short stories on an individual basis, first. Then, if the demand is good, you can consider publishing your collection of short fiction.

If you are really insistent on publishing all your short stories at one go, you can consider the self-publishing road. Though not as prestige as the traditional way of publishing, self-publishing is increasingly becoming an attractive alternative.

Do you want to have them published for you or did you mean to self-publish?

Everyone's journey is different, but I considered this same question a couple of years ago. I made the decision to self-publish my collection last year, and haven't regretted doing so.

I'm having to tackle this problem soon, as I'm currently approaching my fifth short story. Of course as it is there hard to sell individually.:/ I may just do the novel firsy.

Self-written stories? Man, I wish my stories would write themselves.

williemeikle said:

And in the business, an anthology is usually a set of stories by various writers. The term for a set of stories by a single writer is generally a 'collection'.

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I never knew that and thought people were just moving to the word 'anthology' because it sounded better than 'collection'. Good to know there is an actual difference.

JustSarah said:

I'm having to tackle this problem soon, as I'm currently approaching my fifth short story. Of course as it is there hard to sell individually.

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I sold short stories to several different online magazines before and after selling my first novel, and then was approached to put together a collection later. I've since started putting together collections of three short stories each on my own.

I highly recommend putting out collections for any short story writer, but I'd recommend waiting until you get a few magazine sales, even online. That way, you'll have a better idea whether your stories are to a level that people would pay for.

If you write both short stories and novels, I would also recommend making sure to have a novel available to go along with the short stories. If people enjoy your short stories, they're going to want to read more material.

I was selling short story singles for ereaders. I'm going to try to start putting them out in collections of 3 stories. I'll let you know how it goes.