Short Story Excerpts

[NicoleMD]

Does anyone ever put up excerpts of their short stories up on their blog when they have a new story published? I've been thinking about doing so, but don't want to be bothered with asking editors individually for permission.

I'm thinking about putting up a small teaser, about 350 words out of a 2500 story. Would that be too much? Is there a guideline somewhere, like less than 10% is okay?

If it's too much of an issue, I don't mind not doing it at all. I was just hoping to drive a little traffic to the magazine, maybe get a few of my readers to buy the issue.

Nicole

[pdr]

that sounds like a good idea as long as it's a tiny taster.

[johnnysannie]

I've put up very brief excerpts on both my blog and Facebook as teasers in the past.

[Jamesaritchie]

I tell him it's a horrible idea, but one of my pseudonyms insists on putting up excerpts of almost everything he sells.

[NicoleMD]

Okay cool. I think I'll give it a shot!

Nicole

[astonwest]

If the magazine is one people have to pay for to read, I wouldn't see an issue with putting in a small excerpt. Like you said, it could drive traffic to the magazine.

I haven't put excerpts of my short stories up myself, but most of my publications have been with magazines that are free for everyone to read. The ones that haven't been, I bank on the free magazines to serve as a pseudo-excerpt for readers.

[BjornAbust]

I'm glad this thread is here! Posting a slight teaser might not be a bad idea; the problem will be in attracting traffic to my blog, however...

[Damian_Rucci]

This actually sounds like a great idea. I wouldn't see it as a problem if you accompany the excerpt with a link back to the publication, since all you're really doing is driving them traffic to say the least.

[JohnL]

Yeah, that does sound like a good idea. Were I to read an interesting snippet I’d definitely try to find the rest of the piece, and like Damian said, I think the publication would love any extra traffic.

[Nathaniel Katz]

Would the same be true if the story in question was flash? I want to give a teaser on my blog, but not at the cost of offending the publishers.