Idea for a short fiction series -- has anyone done this before?

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Iidoni

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I've had an idea for a series of long-ish short stories/short novellas that I'd promote on Kindle. My thought is to create a series of these long stories that I'd write and publish in seasons rather than 'books'.

My idea would be to create a strong ensemble cast and replicate a literary version of the feeling you get when you binge-watch a season of a tv series. I think epub would be a great way to do it just because you aren't bound by the size and length of what you can fit into a binding (not to mention the costs).

Am I reinventing the wheel? Has anyone else done this?
 

Jamesaritchie

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Without actually reading it, I have no way of knowing. Nor does it matter. If it's good, you'll find plenty of readers, If it's bad, you'll just have to move on to something else.
 

Niccolo

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First of all, write the stories. It doesn't matter if you're reinventing the wheel if the wheel isn't finished. Write the stories, then worry about self-pubbing them. Someone might have done it before, I don't know. I've never heard of it done before, but I've heard the idea come up several times. Nothing has ever come of them, though, so write the stories and go from there.
 
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gettingby

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I've had an idea for a series of long-ish short stories/short novellas that I'd promote on Kindle. My thought is to create a series of these long stories that I'd write and publish in seasons rather than 'books'.

My idea would be to create a strong ensemble cast and replicate a literary version of the feeling you get when you binge-watch a season of a tv series. I think epub would be a great way to do it just because you aren't bound by the size and length of what you can fit into a binding (not to mention the costs).

Am I reinventing the wheel? Has anyone else done this?

I don't quite understand what you are trying to do here. Why do you feel like your writing needs a gimmick?
 

Jamesaritchie

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I don't quite understand what you are trying to do here. Why do you feel like your writing needs a gimmick?

This kind of gimmick works. I see it as no different that the "A is for" books, or any others that use some letter, number, month, etc., writing gimmicks.
 

Fruitbat

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I hear publishers often push for a series. The seasons variation might add something in letting readers know when to expect the next one. I'd consider giving the first one away. Assuming the story's good, that could bring in readers for the later ones.
 
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Cwright

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I thought about doing this as well, but wasn't quite sure how to get it out there. I think it is an awesome opportunity to try out because it accommodates readers too busy to dedicate time to a novel but want that rewarding feel.

Just be sure to not sacrifice quality and/or plot and such to simply get the next 'episode' out the door. That kind of stuff works on TV but within short stories or novellas, every single bit needs to completely captivate the readers so they will continue on. That may prove to be pretty difficult.
 

bchukran

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Yes, I'm doing that now with some e-stories and books I published for the Kindle, but I wasn't the first. I write a series of stand-alone short stories and two novellas so far based on the same characters, set in the same town ("Nameless, Texas"). I also had one published recently in an anthology also set in the same town, different characters. Other authors, Garrison Keillor, Bailey White, etc. have done this. Go for it!
bobbi c.
http://bobbichukran.com
 

JCornelius

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OP, while growing up I very much enjoyed reading books containing the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and also the exploits of Conan the Barbarian, The Saint and Hoppy Uniatz, and all sorts of crime pulp serials--all short 'episodes' of short story, novelette, and novella size, with a 'strong cast'--and it can certainly relate to the 'binge watching' thing. This is how things were done before the decline of genre magazines as bill paying venues--and now with the rise of e-publishing things like that can be done again, and if you can do something along those lines--more power to you.
 

BrianJamesFreeman

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I've had an idea for a series of long-ish short stories/short novellas that I'd promote on Kindle. My thought is to create a series of these long stories that I'd write and publish in seasons rather than 'books'.

My idea would be to create a strong ensemble cast and replicate a literary version of the feeling you get when you binge-watch a season of a tv series. I think epub would be a great way to do it just because you aren't bound by the size and length of what you can fit into a binding (not to mention the costs).

Am I reinventing the wheel? Has anyone else done this?

Everything's been done before. And if you can execute this idea well and have fun doing it, you should. It's a fun way to build a collection of linked stories.

Brian
 

bchukran

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Yes, linked stories--that's what most call them. I'm optimistic about mine since I actually have sold some through Amazon. I love writing short fiction and want to focus on it, but it's not as hard as coming up with a whole different "world" every time you write a story.
bobbi c.
http://amazon.com/author/bobbichukran
 

BrianJamesFreeman

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Yes, linked stories--that's what most call them. I'm optimistic about mine since I actually have sold some through Amazon. I love writing short fiction and want to focus on it, but it's not as hard as coming up with a whole different "world" every time you write a story.
bobbi c.
http://amazon.com/author/bobbichukran

Bobbi, I noticed that a lot of your short stories on Amazon are priced at $1.29. I've always gone with the standard 99 cents, but I find that $1.29 to be intriguing -- maybe because it looks DIFFERENT than everyone else's pricing? How did you or your publisher decide on that price point, if you don't mind me asking? It's really an interesting choice, I think, and I like it.

Brian
 

bchukran

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Bobbi, I noticed that a lot of your short stories on Amazon are priced at $1.29. I've always gone with the standard 99 cents, but I find that $1.29 to be intriguing -- maybe because it looks DIFFERENT than everyone else's pricing? How did you or your publisher decide on that price point, if you don't mind me asking? It's really an interesting choice, I think, and I like it.

Brian

Hi Brian--

I actually indie publish all my short stories that are on Amazon, and had them on sale for 99-cents for quite a while. Oddly enough, they sell better at $1.29. :) I didn't do any hocus-pocus to calculate it, it just felt like the logical next step. I hope to experiment with some bundles of three stories eventually to see how those work. My HALLOWEEN collection hasn't done very well so far, but it is somewhat seasonal. One thing--I'm fairly well established in the mystery world online, but many of my more recent stories have been more macabre. So I hope they'll do as well on Amazon, although it's harder for me to link them like the others.

bobbi c.
http://amazon.com/author/bobbichukran
 

bchukran

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I like it a lot...!

Brian
Thanks! There has been a lot of talk online about indies under-pricing their work, and I agree. But it's hard when you hear a lot of readers complain about prices. But I had more complain at 99-cents than I do now, so I'm sticking with it. And hopefully, can raise the price of the longer stories a bit eventually. It's all experimental, ya know? :)
 

BrianJamesFreeman

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Thanks! There has been a lot of talk online about indies under-pricing their work, and I agree. But it's hard when you hear a lot of readers complain about prices. But I had more complain at 99-cents than I do now, so I'm sticking with it. And hopefully, can raise the price of the longer stories a bit eventually. It's all experimental, ya know? :)

I've thought for years that eBook short stories could resurrect the form with readers, so I'm all for anything that helps. I have four mini-collections of 5 stories each that will be published as eBooks and trade paperbacks next year, after the last collection's hardcover edition is published. About 8 or 10 of the stories are already out there as eBook singles, and I've thought about putting the rest out that way, too. Just to give readers the option to try one story for this price or buy the whole collection for a little more, etc.

Brian
 

bchukran

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I've thought for years that eBook short stories could resurrect the form with readers, so I'm all for anything that helps. I have four mini-collections of 5 stories each that will be published as eBooks and trade paperbacks next year, after the last collection's hardcover edition is published. About 8 or 10 of the stories are already out there as eBook singles, and I've thought about putting the rest out that way, too. Just to give readers the option to try one story for this price or buy the whole collection for a little more, etc.

Brian
Hey, do it! :) Seriously, there's no reason not to. I'm drooling at the idea of a HARDcover book. Maybe someday, but I do love those e-books. Compared to publishing huge paper books (which I did in the past), they're like candy! LOL I'm morphing more into the macabre stuff now although the traditional mystery stories are the bulk of my e-pubs. Although, I do have a horror story coming up in a magazine, so hope that can help me bridge where I am to where I want to be. Right now, the mystery world is focused on series with longer books. But I think the horror readers (maybe?) are more used to shorter works, like novellas. I would LOVE for there to be a renaissance of short stories in all genres. There are lots of anthologies being published now, but unless the author helps with promo, they don't get the notice they deserve. Of course, there are some great magazines out there, with lots of authors wanting to get published in them. :)
bobbi c.
http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com
 

Jamesaritchie

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I've thought for years that eBook short stories could resurrect the form with readers, so I'm all for anything that helps. I have four mini-collections of 5 stories each that will be published as eBooks and trade paperbacks next year, after the last collection's hardcover edition is published. About 8 or 10 of the stories are already out there as eBook singles, and I've thought about putting the rest out that way, too. Just to give readers the option to try one story for this price or buy the whole collection for a little more, etc.

Brian

You can't resurrect something that was never alive. It's true there used to be far more short story outlets, but the short story has never been as popular as most think. Even at its height of glory, short story magazines came and went about as fast as they do now.

Short stories have always been placeholders, space fillers in most magazines. With rare exceptions. most short stories appeared in nonfiction magazines in order to please the few who liked them.

There has always been a diehard, dedicated group of short story readers, and always will be, but this group was always in the minority.
 

CathleenT

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FWIW, I really like the idea. I like collections of short stories around a cast of characters. Eric Flint has done something like this, collecting fanfic shorts and publishing them as the 'Grantville Gazette.' He's turned the 1632 series into a shared universe.

It would probably work best if it had a spec fic premise, because that group seems to be the most dedicated short story readers.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Horror. Lots and lots of horror. It'll probably end up being 700 pages in hardcover when all is said and done.

Obviously, I'm grateful to work in a genre where there are still readers for the short form!

Brian

I love horror anthologies. When this thing is ready for public consumption, spread the word. I try to buy every such anthology I can find.
 

BrianJamesFreeman

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I love horror anthologies. When this thing is ready for public consumption, spread the word. I try to buy every such anthology I can find.

By the way, I don't know if it'll be your cup of tea, but I'm co-editing a new series of mini-anthology eBooks for Random House, launching this December with stories by Stephen King, Kelley Armstrong, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, and Ramsey Campbell.

The series is called DARK SCREAMS and we have five volumes finished at this point. It's supposed to be a throwback to the paperback horror anthologies of the '80s, hence the kind of generic paperback name.

Random House is putting out the eBooks (with 5 stories in each) and then we (Cemetery Dance) will be collecting all of the stories into an omnibus hardcover special edition around the end of next year.

Brian
 
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