Fiction changing its spots - online

Maxinquaye · Dec 8, 2009

This is a development I like. Short fiction has become more and more hard to sell as print magazines die or stop taking in fiction. Often this happens not because the print magazines want to stop publishing short stories, but because they can't afford to.

That's why I like stuff like this:

The Atlantic Will Sell Short Stories on Kindle

Digitalisatin CAN lead to good things, and in this case it CAN lead to a resurgence of short fiction.

LOG · Dec 8, 2009

Yaaaaay!

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 8, 2009

Doesn't help me as a reader, I don't have a Kindle, nor do I plan on ever getting one.

Maxinquaye · Dec 8, 2009

You don't need to buy a kindle. Sell a story to Atlantic Monthly, and they'll sell your story to people who do want one.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 8, 2009

I think reading on ereading devices and smart phones will actually help the short fiction market enormously.

Commuting, waiting in line (on line even!), at the vet's--people will read on their digital device.

Maxinquaye · Dec 8, 2009

Yes, and as it says in the article - length restrictions will be less important. It may even lead to a resurgence for the novella.

mookwac · Dec 8, 2009

Best news I've read all day.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 9, 2009

I'd take it all with a huge grain of salt. No one has a clue how online fiction will work out, or whether anyone will actually pay for it. Finding readers is easy, but finding money is tougher than ever. No money, no fiction.

And for some reason, length restrictions often seem to be tighter with online fiction.

thothguard51 · Dec 9, 2009

You can now get the Kindle for computers programs for your laptop or home computer as well.

bsolah · Dec 9, 2009

I definitely think ePublishing will see a resurgence in short fiction and even the novella. Length will definitely be less important, as there won't be as much initial investment needed to print the book, hence less concern over value for money and all of that.

Problem is, as some people have pointed out, most people don't have kindles. I read a bit of online fiction on the screen, but not longer short stories. There needs to be an open-format device, removing glare like eInk and it needs to be accessible. Still waiting on those things here in Australia.

mscelina · Dec 9, 2009

Actually, epubs have always gone for the novella. At one of the small houses I work for, the majority of our published work is novella-length. Whole slews of writers are making a living (and a good living at that) by publishing 20-45k stories and pumping out scads of them fairly quickly. As long as you have an editorial staff that can keep up, a company can turn out multiple novellas by high-selling authors and turn over good profits continuously.

Maxinquaye · Dec 9, 2009

I think it's a bit premature to say that the future is Kindle. I think Amazon is about to get razed pretty bad in the coming year over its exclusivity demands, and its cuts. Amazon demands between 50-70% of a sale. The publishers are NOT happy about this. Neither should writers be. Amazon wants a model where authors get less than 5% of the sale in royalties.

However, more and more rumours about about an Apple tablet coming out next year. I'm a bit wary of that because if people think Kindle's are expensive, anything with an apple on it will cost twice as much. BUT it will - probably - give writers and publishers a better deal than amazon does. Here's an article about it in Fortune.

EDIT: And here's the publisher's action - they're limiting deliveries to Amazon to put ebooks in the publishing cycle.

Fiction changing its spots - online

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

LOG

Lagrangian

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

Deleted member 42

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

mookwac

A swell guy

Jamesaritchie

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

bsolah

AW's Resident Commie

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer