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This isn't really a personal advice-seeking post, more just tossing my thoughts out here for general discussion...
Short stories are out, got it. However, they've been in before. The big time was decades ago but perhaps somewhat of a comeback in the eighties?
Flash fiction seems to me to have become wildly popular in the magazines but perhaps I just notice it more because I write it and that's not accurate. Also, I get why many people prefer to buy an anthology (many authors) rather than a collection by one relatively unknown author. I do too, because I feel like there are likely to be more that I like when many voices are included.
However, it seems readers are thought to particularly not want flash collections by one author, even more than they don't want short story collections by one author (unless already well known). I am wondering why.
I'm not crazy about the common current, rather insulting, saying that people have developed flea-like attention spans. If anything, I'd say people are busier now. They also can be choosier now, with all the other easily accessible forms of entertainment competing with books. Still, it seems flash fiction would fit right in, quick little bites of fiction. So, why doesn't it?
Anyone see any signs that flash fiction, now so popular in magazines, will expand to also become more popular in collections? Or any idea why it's not?
Short stories are out, got it. However, they've been in before. The big time was decades ago but perhaps somewhat of a comeback in the eighties?
Flash fiction seems to me to have become wildly popular in the magazines but perhaps I just notice it more because I write it and that's not accurate. Also, I get why many people prefer to buy an anthology (many authors) rather than a collection by one relatively unknown author. I do too, because I feel like there are likely to be more that I like when many voices are included.
However, it seems readers are thought to particularly not want flash collections by one author, even more than they don't want short story collections by one author (unless already well known). I am wondering why.
I'm not crazy about the common current, rather insulting, saying that people have developed flea-like attention spans. If anything, I'd say people are busier now. They also can be choosier now, with all the other easily accessible forms of entertainment competing with books. Still, it seems flash fiction would fit right in, quick little bites of fiction. So, why doesn't it?
Anyone see any signs that flash fiction, now so popular in magazines, will expand to also become more popular in collections? Or any idea why it's not?
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