Agents who consider short story collections?

It's rare, but there are some out there. Check Agent Query. "Short stories" is one of their search categories. And then read the agency website and individual agent bios very carefully.

What do you mean by "a few"? Even with a good novel, only pitching to a few agents isn't likely to produce results, unless you get lucky. Have you considered e-publishing it? Or perhaps selling the stories individually?

starrykitten said:

Hello!

I have a short story collection that I'd like to publish. I'm looking into contests and such, but I'd also like to find out agents who consider short story collections. I realize they generally consider them if there's a novel to follow, and I have a novel in progress that can follow shortly. I also realize that the short stories should have been published individually, which they have been.

So, can anybody recommend an agent who's friendly to short story collections? I've pitched a few with no luck, though I don't know for sure that it was because it was a s.s. collection and not a novel.

Thanks for your help!

Click to expand...

The big question is where these stories have been published? If they've all appeared in top markets, finding an agent is usually much, much easier.

If not, you're probably going to have to publish a novel first, and then let the same agent who handles your novels handle the short story collection.

According to my agent, who has twenty-plus years experience in the field, short story collections are very, very hard to place. Why? Because readers aren't buying them. Few commercial publishers are acquiring them, and only if they've *already* bought a novel from the author.

So ask yourself these questions. Have you sold these stories already? Have they appeared in high-end markets, or won major awards? If the answer is no, don't bother. That sounds harsh, but that's how the market rolls these days.

Readers are more interested in novels, with characters that offer a long term, satisfying investment, than a cluster of unrelated short stories. However, collections of short stories by some authors do sell fine--and these authors don't release the stories in any magazines. Stephen King, for example. So if you could find a way to, say, tap into King's reader base, you could sell your book of short fiction. No easy task, of course. You would likely have to do most of the marketing yourself, which would require a great deal of time, effort, and money.

Selling the stories in "high-end" markets might indeed help you get an agent, but it's doubtful it would have much impact on sales from the actual bookstore shelves. Unless you simply want to make short fiction sales and get your stories read on a smaller scale, I wouldn't bother with that as far as the book is concerned. And making sales of the book, of course, is your ultimate goal--not merely getting published, because if you wanted to, you could do that through a vanity press. The major challenge is how to connect such a book with real readers who will pay money for it, and that's a tough one, unless you've made a name for yourself through novel sales.

You could sell the book in PDF form (or something akin to that) off a website for a download fee and then try to draw readers to that website by whatever means you could come up with. This way, you could continue to sell the book indefinitely and make 100% of the profits. However, you would have to continue to make a name for yourself in the meanwhile in order to generate interest. In other words, you would have to have a stellar blog, or sell some novels, or continuously find ways to successfully promote your PDF download. Since I have no idea what the success rate of such a venture is, you would be wise to research it thoroughly before surrendering your first publication rights to a website.

Robert, to be blunt, your advice is way off base.

Collections are a dead end for unknown writers. Publishers don't want them because not many readers want them. And if readers don't want them from many established authors, they certainly won't buy them from unknown ones marketing their vanity/self-pubbed POD from a website.

As a couple authors told me, the time to sell your collection is when the publishers come to you and suggest it.

eqb said:

Robert, to be blunt, your advice is way off base.

Collections are a dead end for unknown writers. Publishers don't want them because not many readers want them. And if readers don't want them from many established authors, they certainly won't buy them from unknown ones marketing their vanity/self-pubbed POD from a website.

As a couple authors told me, the time to sell your collection is when the publishers come to you and suggest it.

Click to expand...

Did you read my post very closely? If you did, you should have noticed that I said I have no data on the practice and that the writer should research it. Is it off base to suggest someone look into something? And have you looked into it thoroughly yourself? Have you tried it?

My advice is always to go to the best publishers first, by the way, but as we've pointed out in this thread, a short story collection is nearly impossible to get accepted.

The concept of vanity, regarding this topic, is utterly meaningless. Sales are what counts. So you know for a fact that a PDF book (not POD), priced at $2.00 for example, of short fiction would never sell from a website of someone not known for their fiction? Regardless of what he did to inspire sales? Even if he had a blog getting 10,000 hits a day, for example? (I myself have little faith in blogs, but occasionally one will break out and gain a large following.) If you have evidence that such an effort would surely fail, great. Where you did you gather it?

I think it's worth submitting short story collections.

I know I've been told a billion times that publishers don't consider them but I'm annoyed that this kind of logic leaves the possibility closed. Try submitting it to smaller publishers or consider self-publishing or digital publishing.

It seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy with publishers. They're not even trying to sell them or give them a go. And if we accept this and don't both submitting, it's never going to change which is a shame because it's an underrated medium in my opinion.

It might be true that collections won't sell as well as novels, but I think the idea that they don't sell is overstated. They sell, just not in the vast quantities that high-end publishers want. That's why I suggest a small press.

There are small niche areas that are worth exploring, you just have to find a willing publisher. There are a few in Australia like this.

I want to echo what James and eqb said and add:

Robert, what you're suggesting is basically what self-pubbing advocates preach. And every year there's hundreds of thousands of self-pubbed titles (novels, short story collections, poetry chapbooks, nonfiction) and on average they sell between 50-100 copies. SEO is basically useless and tireless self-promotion is in reality quite tiring, and for most not that productive.

Interestingly, anthologies (collections of short stories by different authors, and often based around a central theme) still move, though not as well as novels, of course. Perhaps the appeal of owning stories by a whole lot of different authors in one volume is what keeps them in business.

starrykitten, if you just want to see a collection of your short stories together in one book, then self-pubbing through lulu (or similar free self-pubber) and marketing through your blog/website might be the way to go. Or you could search out a micropress that does short story collections. But if you'd like your collection to sell through a larger publisher and get face-time on shelves in big bookstores, then you'll likely have to sell the novel (or novels) first.

Unless you're one of those rare writer-beasts who's regularly written award-winning short fiction for thirty years, but doesn't do novels. But that's still thirty (give or take a few) years of works compressed into one greatest hits volume.

Forget about an agent for your short stories unless they have been in big markets like James said.

You might have a tiny chance with small press markets but not through an agent.

Try entering your short story collection for the Drue Heinz prize. I ithink that the deadline is still several weeks away.

bsolah said:

It might be true that collections won't sell as well as novels, but I think the idea that they don't sell is overstated. They sell, just not in the vast quantities that high-end publishers want. That's why I suggest a small press.

Click to expand...

They sell, but the number are pretty low, except for well-known authors. And even those authors usually go to the smaller presses. This is what I've heard from agents, publishers, and authors.

To answer the OP, I doubt you can find an agent who will handle your collection. (Unless you're already their client, that is.) Large publishers aren't interested in collections from unknowns, and the small presses who might be probably won't pay advances.

starrykitten said:

Hello!

I have a short story collection that I'd like to publish. I'm looking into contests and such, but I'd also like to find out agents who consider short story collections. I realize they generally consider them if there's a novel to follow, and I have a novel in progress that can follow shortly. I also realize that the short stories should have been published individually, which they have been.

So, can anybody recommend an agent who's friendly to short story collections? I've pitched a few with no luck, though I don't know for sure that it was because it was a s.s. collection and not a novel.

Thanks for your help!

Click to expand...

What they said
Get them published individually first, then you may have a prayer at pitching them to a small press yourself. No agent is going to want to know

From Publishers Marketplace for the past year:

March 31, 2010

Fiction:
Debut NYT Notable author Carolyn Cooke's DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION, chronicling the social and sexual movements in a mythical New England city from the 60s to the present, and AMOR & PSYCHO, a short story collection, featuring nine stories on the relationship between violence and desire, to Jordan Pavlin at Knopf, by Laurie Fox of the Linda Chester Literary Agency.

January 29, 2010

Fiction:
General/Other University of Portland Magazine editor Brian Doyle's BIN LADEN'S BALD SPOT and Other Stories, a humorous and dark short story collection, to Kate Gale at Red Hen Press, by Jon Sternfeld at the Irene Goodman Agency.

January 15, 2010

Fiction:
General/Other Author of PEN/Bingham Award-winning THE BOSTONS, Carolyn Cooke's first novel DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION, chronicling the social and sexual movements in a mythical New England city from the 60s to the present, and a second short story collection, AMOR & PSYCHO, featuring nine stories on the relationship between violence and desire, to Jordan Pavlin at Knopf, by Laurie Fox of the Linda Chester Literary Agency.

September 23, 2009

Fiction:
General/Other Novelist and New Yorker editor Ben Greenman's WHAT HE'S POISED TO DO, an expanded edition of the short story collection CORRESPONDENCES (originally published in a limited edition by Hotel St. George Press); CHARLOTTE ANNE, a novel; and a third, untitled work of fiction, to Cal Morgan at Harper Perennial, by Ira Silverberg at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

July 14, 2009

Fiction:
General/Other P. Moss's BLUE VEGAS, a short story collection exploring the clash between old and new Las Vegas, shining a light on the hard luck and lingering anguish faced by Las Vegans who've been trampled by this single-minded city, to Geoff Schumacher at CityLife Books, for publication in October 2009.

June 6, 2009

Fiction:
Debut T.J. Forrester's debut short story collection, BLACK HEART ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL and novel, MIRACLES, INC., about the grooming of a slacker to become the next "big-box" TV evangelist, to Kerri Kolen at Simon & Schuster, by Leigh Feldman at Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman.

April 20, 2009

Fiction:
General/Other Nobel winner J. M. G. Le Clézio's short story collection, MONDO AND OTHER STORIES, to Heather Lundine at University of Nebraska Press, their third title with the author, for publication in spring 2011.

April 16, 2009

Fiction:
Debut Tiphanie Yanique's HOW TO ESCAPE FROM A LEPER COLONY, a short story collection set mostly in the US Virgin Islands, part oral history, part postcolonial narrative, a loving portrait of a wholly unique place, to Fiona McCrae at Graywolf, for publication in March 2010, by Elise Capron at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (World).

Click to expand...

Note that most of the sales are from already published authors or editors. But there were three that were debut collections without prior credentials. It does happen. It's a slim possibility but if the collection is unique in setting (like living in a leper colony or Las Vegas) or simply amazing writing, it can indeed sell as a first publication.

But it's a big "if". My best advice is to find some similar thread within your stories to tie them together as a whole and pump that aspect up in your query. You might strike gold.

Cathy C said:

Note that most of the sales are from already published authors or editors. But there were three that were debut collections without prior credentials.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say they didn't have prior credentials. Yanique was a Pushcart winner, Fulbright scholar, and recipient of numerous awards and grants. Cooke had a list of short story credits to very high profile markets, including The Paris Review and Ploughshares, and she's also won several prestigous awards. Forester sold a novel along with the collection. And his stories appeared in high-profile literary magazines.

In other words, these are the authors The Rejectionist is referring to.

Izz said:

I want to echo what James and eqb said and add:

Robert, what you're suggesting is basically what self-pubbing advocates preach. And every year there's hundreds of thousands of self-pubbed titles (novels, short story collections, poetry chapbooks, nonfiction) and on average they sell between 50-100 copies. SEO is basically useless and tireless self-promotion is in reality quite tiring, and for most not that productive.

Interestingly, anthologies (collections of short stories by different authors, and often based around a central theme) still move, though not as well as novels, of course. Perhaps the appeal of owning stories by a whole lot of different authors in one volume is what keeps them in business.

starrykitten, if you just want to see a collection of your short stories together in one book, then self-pubbing through lulu (or similar free self-pubber) and marketing through your blog/website might be the way to go. Or you could search out a micropress that does short story collections. But if you'd like your collection to sell through a larger publisher and get face-time on shelves in big bookstores, then you'll likely have to sell the novel (or novels) first.

Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting that Starrykitten self publish anything, Izz. I only suggested that Starrykitten research the topic. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm an advocate for keeping an open mind. Just because some piece of knowledge is passed from writer to writer and repeated religiously doesn't mean it's always entirely true. Sometimes it is wise to look deeper into an issue, and new paths can be forged into the unknown.

bsolah said:

I think it's worth submitting short story collections.

I know I've been told a billion times that publishers don't consider them but I'm annoyed that this kind of logic leaves the possibility closed. Try submitting it to smaller publishers or consider self-publishing or digital publishing.

It seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy with publishers. They're not even trying to sell them or give them a go. And if we accept this and don't both submitting, it's never going to change which is a shame because it's an underrated medium in my opinion.

Click to expand...

That's just not true. Sure, a tiny publisher might take on a collection from an unknown writer now and then, but short story colections from unknown writers simply do not sell well at all.

There's no self-fulfilling prophecy here. Thousands and thousands of collections have been published over the last hundred years, and a hundred years of sales numbers from publishers of every size and shape tell the story in no uncertain terms. No one is guessing that short story collections do not sell, they're looking at black and white numbers that state plainly it's almost always going to be a money losing proposition.

Jamesaritchie said:

That's just not true. Sure, a tiny publisher might take on a collection from an unknown writer now and then, but short story colections from unknown writers simply do not sell well at all.

There's no self-fulfilling prophecy here. Thousands and thousands of collections have been published over the last hundred years, and a hundred years of sales numbers from publishers of every size and shape tell the story in no uncertain terms. No one is guessing that short story collections do not sell, they're looking at black and white numbers that state plainly it's almost always going to be a money losing proposition.

Click to expand...

Define "sell well at all." How many books are we talking about? Surely part of this is just being measured against mainstream novels.

In Melbourne, there are a few publishers that are doing collections, one exclusively publishing collections from unknowns and it's having moderate success. They're not flying off the shelves but there is a small niche that are buying them.

Part of the problem I'm getting at when I say it's a self fulfilling prophecy is because they're not expected to sell well, very little marketing is put into the collections, booksellers put them in the corners of bookshops, and only blogs really talk about them.

I think the emergence of a literary blogging community in Melbourne is part of the reason for the moderate success of collections here, tapping into the small niche, mostly of other writers.

I love reading short stories, but honestly, there are few authors that I would purchase collections from. As a general rule, I get my short story fix from magazines and anthology. I like reading a bunch of different authors.

The only authors I can think of that I've read collections from (or plan to read collections from) already have an established name.

This is shameless, but it's also free. My short story collection was published by a variety of publishers over the years, but sales were abysmal. I'm giving it away now. http://www.michaeledits.com/chron.pdf

bsolah said:

Define "sell well at all." How many books are we talking about?

Click to expand...

For a mainstream publisher, you have to prorate the cost of literally everything that goes into the book--from the cost of editorial salary, to the copier, to cover art and the author advance. I think I remember seeing that a mass market paperback had to sell a minimum of 20,000 to recoup the cost, a trade paperback selling 10,000 and a hardback 5,000 (due to the higher cost to the buyer per unit.)

So, a book that doesn't sell those minimums aren't going to be worth the publisher's time to take on. They're not a charity. Even small presses, with lower overhead, need to sell 1,000-5,000 copies to make back their money. My first book was with a small offset press. We had a 6K print run for trade paper, and the publisher (who was unusually forthcoming with real figures) said we had to sell 4,000 of that in order to break even with the extra costs of getting permissions to print maps and photos and such. But he happened to like it so he took the risk.

This is often why you hear industry people say that the "break-even" point for a publisher to consider taking on a self-published book is 5,000 or 10,000. Depends on the genre, of course.

You'll also hear it said that most books don't sell more than 500 copies. That's mostly true, and the publisher earns most of its money back on the front list which sell many thousands. But the GOAL of each book is to break even at the very least, so they figure the numbers based on breaking even. Often they don't. But they always try. So they often won't take on a book that's a guaranteed failure (meaning it won't break even). It dashes even the slim hope they hold onto.

I just so happen to be reading a bio about Alice Munro, written by her daughter. If there's ever been a better short story author than Alice Munro, it's somebody I don't know about.

So, late 50s and early 60s, Alice Munro's stories had been published in a much better class of magazine than mine have been. She thought about publishing a short story collection. Her publisher or agent (I forget which) said she needs to publish a novel first.

Sigh... Some things never change.

Show me the money? I still maintain you'd get a better "return on investment" by buying Microsoft stock than by writing novels and/or short stories.

I recently mentioned Alice Munro. Lemme whip out another heavyweight. Anne Tyler. She has no desire to be acclaimed by all readers, but it matters to her to be noted by certain readers. That's how I work, too. I'm blessed in that my lovely bride is one of the readers I care about. Heck, I recently wrote a sci-fi novel that she's read more than once, and she hates sci-fi. Boo-yah!