I want to write and self-publish my own horror story anthology this spring.
Has anyone at AW done so? Were you successful?
I appreciate all advice.
Has anyone at AW done so? Were you successful?
I appreciate all advice.
Self-publishing a short story anthology
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Usually, 'anthology' refers to a group of short stories with a shared theme written by multiple authors, while 'short story collection' refers to a group of short stories all written by one author.
There have been quite a few threads like this that I have seen. But I always wonder why people don't try to get their stories published by magazines or journals. You can still publish a collection even if some of the stories have been published elsewhere. Maybe you have tried that. Selling stories is not an easy thing. But it is also an indicator of where you are at as a writer. If your writing isn't at the level yet where editors are accepting your stuff, do you really want to put a collection out?
Short story collections do better for writers who have credentials and publications under their belts. I often read journals and magazines, and if I read a great story, I then look to see if the author has collection out because I want to read more by them. I would most likely not look twice at a self-published collection by someone if it was the first thing they ever published.
Short story collections do better for writers who have credentials and publications under their belts. I often read journals and magazines, and if I read a great story, I then look to see if the author has collection out because I want to read more by them. I would most likely not look twice at a self-published collection by someone if it was the first thing they ever published.
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I have a reprint collection up. It sells less often then novels. I am not sure I would have bothered but they were already reprints so there was little cost in terms of editing etc.
Thank you, everyone! I have researched this, and it appears that collections are successful for published writers.
Thanks for explaining the difference between "anthology" and "collection".
Thanks for explaining the difference between "anthology" and "collection".
Collections are seldom successful for any writer. Even most famous writers have trouble selling collections, or earning very much money from them, if they do sell.
There are exceptions, but not many. Not many at all. Publishers generally buy collections from writers who sell a LOT of novels, and do so more as a courtesy to that writer, rather than with the expectation of turning a profit.
For writers without a name, collections don't sell as well as individual stories.
Collections are a tough sell, regardless of genre (maybe erotica is an exception, but I haven't really researched it). Even if your name is George Saunders. His collections sell better than most, but I doubt he makes anywhere near the sales of big-name novelists.
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What about Wool?
Was that the only short story that blew up recently? Not being sarcastic. I honestly don't know.
Was that the only short story that blew up recently? Not being sarcastic. I honestly don't know.
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I have never heard of it being a short story collection which is the topic here. But in general looking at outliers is not a great way to make an assessment. Unless you know what was special about them that made them blow up, in which case--go for it. Your average collection or average short story single is not going to put you on a primose path to success.
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As Vein said: Short stories are not nearly as popular as novels, so there are fewer readers who buy short stories.
Readers tend to buy anthologies because they're interested in the theme/genre (e.g. WWII stories, or gay policeman erotica, or vampires on Mars). Readers buy collections because they love that particular author. If they've never read or heard of the author, they're unlikely to fork out money on a punt.
Readers tend to buy anthologies because they're interested in the theme/genre (e.g. WWII stories, or gay policeman erotica, or vampires on Mars). Readers buy collections because they love that particular author. If they've never read or heard of the author, they're unlikely to fork out money on a punt.
Isn't Wool a series of connected novellas though? That's different from a collection of unconnected (I assume) short stories.
And, IIRC, Wool started out as separate novellas that were later combined into an omnibus. Again, not the same as a collection of short stories that have not been published before.
This is not to say it's impossible for the OP to be successful. Only that success in this area seems to be very unlikely, unless the short stories are already popular on their own, or the author is already well-known.
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I agree with the others here.
- If money is your main goal, you'd be better off writing something with higher demand than a story collection by one unknown author. If you just love writing stories, then do it.
- Get most, if not all, of the stories published in various magazines, e-zines and anthologies first. Even if they're not ones with huge circulation, they're still getting your name out there to some of the right readers and a small percentage of those readers will buy the book.
- The collection needs additional editing, beyond what was done for each individual story.
Consider placement, with the strongest stories at the beginning and the end. That way readers are drawn in and then leave wanting more.
Arrange them with care otherwise, too. For example, if you have three stories dealing with zombies, either use sub-headings for different topics in the table of contents, or space them out throughout the book.
Check for things that might have been fine in the individual stories but might not be in the book as a whole. For example, if you happen to have a character named Bob in more than one story, readers might assume it's the same character making another appearance and be confused when the two Bobs have nothing in common. Also, we all tend to have our little writing tics but it can seem like annoying author intrusion if the same strange phrase shows up repeatedly, etc. If it does, you'd want it to be a deliberate choice, not because you didn't notice it. This is where beta readers come in.
- Consider giving a story away for free on Amazon and make sure it's one of the best ones. People just love freebies, and a small percentage of them will buy the book.
- The cover is very important for drawing readers in to take a second look at your book in the first place. You might want to post whatever you come up with on here and get opinions on it.
Good luck!
- If money is your main goal, you'd be better off writing something with higher demand than a story collection by one unknown author. If you just love writing stories, then do it.
- Get most, if not all, of the stories published in various magazines, e-zines and anthologies first. Even if they're not ones with huge circulation, they're still getting your name out there to some of the right readers and a small percentage of those readers will buy the book.
- The collection needs additional editing, beyond what was done for each individual story.
Consider placement, with the strongest stories at the beginning and the end. That way readers are drawn in and then leave wanting more.
Arrange them with care otherwise, too. For example, if you have three stories dealing with zombies, either use sub-headings for different topics in the table of contents, or space them out throughout the book.
Check for things that might have been fine in the individual stories but might not be in the book as a whole. For example, if you happen to have a character named Bob in more than one story, readers might assume it's the same character making another appearance and be confused when the two Bobs have nothing in common. Also, we all tend to have our little writing tics but it can seem like annoying author intrusion if the same strange phrase shows up repeatedly, etc. If it does, you'd want it to be a deliberate choice, not because you didn't notice it. This is where beta readers come in.
- Consider giving a story away for free on Amazon and make sure it's one of the best ones. People just love freebies, and a small percentage of them will buy the book.
- The cover is very important for drawing readers in to take a second look at your book in the first place. You might want to post whatever you come up with on here and get opinions on it.
Good luck!
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Well, I appreciate the opinions and advice in this thread. For example, Stephen King's "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" is a successful collection with two stories which were adapted into classic films. That's successful.
My collection by my no-named self would not earn me much money at $2.99 a digital copy.
Great advice! I'm expanding one of my short stories into either a novella or novel. It depends on how much I edit.
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Big name authors are likely to sell whatever they put out. That doesn't mean collections are successful. It means if you're already successful, you can use that to promote your collection.
The self-publishing forum is going to be more useful for you than looking at Stephen King. Here it is: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47
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True enough. Super big name authors could sell their laundry lists, probably. But even the super biggest names don't publish many short story collections, because their novels earn them heaps more money.
There are quite a few markets out there for horror short stories -- I'd strongly recommend that you try to sell them individually that way. Even at ten or twenty dollars a story to small semi-pro magazines, you'll end up with a few hundred dollars, and a lot more exposure that can get you some name recognition.
Try Duotrope and Ralan, for starters.
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