Short Story Collections

[The_Red_Wing]

Is it possible to sell these? If so, how hard compared to selling a novel?

I assume your odds are better if the stories are related somehow, with recurring characters or they take place in one location, etc.

Are there agents who represent collections?

[Truth and Fiction]

Unless you're already a big name or your stories have appeared in prestigious journals, it's very unlikely you'll attract an agent based on a short story collection alone. You need a novel or, at least, those prestigious publications. Short story collections generally don't sell as well, especially if the author is unknown.

That's if you're going the agent/NYC house route, however. There are many small and university presses that publish story collections, and these will be more accessible (but still very hard to break into, of course).

My debut story collection will be published later this year because I won a collection contest. For the short story writer, I think contests are a great route. Good luck.

[MJNL]

Here are a few recent AW threads on the topic (I didn't go through all of the posts, so some may be more helpful than others):

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199550&highlight=short+story+collection (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199550&highlight=short+story+collection)

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197982&highlight=short+story+collection (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197982&highlight=short+story+collection)

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196362&highlight=short+story+collection (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196362&highlight=short+story+collection)

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177271&highlight=short+story+collection (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177271&highlight=short+story+collection)

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190322&highlight=short+story+collection (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190322&highlight=short+story+collection)

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186936&highlight=short+story+collection

[Jamesaritchie]

Unless you have a big name, short story collections are a tough sell. Even collections put out by big name writers seldom make much money.

And most publishers want short stories that have already been published in decent magazines.

[pattyjansen]

True. None of which stops you from making your own short story collection of pre-published stories.