Anthology editor including their own story in the anthology - gauche?

I believe that, so long as they can be utterly certain that your story meets a very high standard, there is nothing wrong with an editor including one of their own stories. Harry Turtledove and I did this in our jointly edited original anthology The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age. When I edited a reprint anthology entitled Otherworldly Maine, the publisher requested specifically that I include one of my stories because, he said, readers are often curious about what kind of writer an editor is (if that editor also happens to be one).

But, to help to avoid the appearance of what Maryn notes, your story has to be extremely good. I ran my contribution for The First Heroes by not only Harry but other professional writers (including two who write reviews), and it, along with the anthology overall, went on to gather a lot of praise from the critics. The story for the Maine anthology had been published in Realms of Fantasy, so I figured it had already passed muster.

To be honest, I wouldn't do it because it does give me a first impression of "amateurish." Sorry.

I think readers might legitimately wonder how impartial you were as an editor in selecting your own story for the anthology rather than somebody else's.

Charlaine Harris and LP Kelner have done a number of anthologies (I believe; I've read at least two), where they both have a story in the anthology. In fact, especially with Charlaine Harris, that's pretty much a key selling point for the anthology. I imagine that many, many of the purchases are primarily for her story, with lesser numbers who are fans of the other authors.

I'm going to be in an anthology of short stories by authors from my publishing house, and the owner of the publishing house has a story in it and is an editor on the book. Which is perfectly fine with me -- a big bonus, in fact, because she has more of a following than anyone else in the publishing house, much like the situation with Charlaine Harris's anthologies.

So, no, I don't have a problem with it if the editor is also a writer. I've seen it work well a number of times, both with the Charlaine Harris example and some others in the mystery world that I can't think of right now. Neil Gaiman did one, I think, or someone of his calibre.

It really depends on whether the editor is a good editor, a good chooser and improver of stories, and if she can also write a good story and has a solid following in the genre, then it makes a lot of sense to wear two hats.

Can't say that it's ever bothered me. If I noticed that an editor had a story in their own anthology, I'd assume it was because she had an interest in the theme, and perhaps that's why she gathered like-minded stories.
If the editor is one of the better-known writers in an anthology, why wouldn't she put in a story, give the whole collection some name recognition, boost sales a little?

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Personally it doesn't bother me. But I know it would bother others.

It's just fine, however, if you're writing a non-fiction anthology--a series of essays on a particular topic and each author is writing about his/her field of expertise.

Fiction...you're right to ask the question.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Doesn't bother me a bit. The first two anthologies I pulled off my shelf include stories by the editors. One of them--Dangerous Visions--is often listed among the best SF anthologies ever.

For me it depends on whether the editor is better known as an editor or as an author.

Someone who's primarily an editor slipping in one of his/her own stories? That doesn't feel right to me.

But someone who's primarily an author, and is well-known in the field? Sure, why not?

But I guess it would primarily come down to the opinion/wishes of the publisher, wouldn't it? If they're okay with it... well, I might not like it as a reader, but I could live with it.

I'm involved with two anthologies, both to be published by trade publishers, and for both, the author who is editing or edited the anthology also had a story in it. But these are both anthologies edited by people who are first and foremost authors.

And at least in YA anthologies, I don't think I've ever seen one in which the author who is wearing the editor's hat didn't also have a story in the anthology.

I might feel differently if the editor wasn't primarily an author, but every one with which I am familiar was edited by an author.

~suki

I could see it in two cases. One is where an author is hired on the basis that they will provide a story as well as edit, as the publisher may see that as a marketing hook. This is usually going to be established authors. Two is where it's a collaboration, and one of the contributors took on the main editor role (some self-published authors band together to make anthologies this way). But in general, I don't think it's the best idea, as an editor is not going to be impartial about their own story, and it does make it look like they produced the book so they could publish themselves.

As a reader, I'd find it quite weird. It's one thing to have "Stephen King's Anthology of Best Horror" - I'd expect that to have his story in - but quite another to have "Best Horror Anthology, edited by J Bloggs" and find a J Bloggs story in it.

It depends how the anthology is being sold, who's actually deciding on the stories, and how they're being edited. I wouldn't trust J Bloggs to be impartial about his story, nor the best person to edit it. When I have encountered this with small press anthologies, it usually results in the editor's story being one of the weakest. Plus, how does it help the author/editor? No one in the industry is going to be impressed you passed the gatekeeper of yourself.