Short Story Collections

MumblingSage · Oct 21, 2009

Anybody here ever tried publishing a short story collection? Every succeeded? Do you have any advice for someone considering it? While I'm not sure how friendly my genre is to the short story collection (I write fantasy, and I haven't seen a lot of single-author short story collections of fantasy fiction), but I do have an awful lot of shorts, and several of them would tie together well in a potential collection.

eqb · Oct 22, 2009

The advice Michael Swanwick gave to me was "Wait until a publisher approaches you about doing a short story collection. Until then, it's not worth it."

He went on to say, "And not just any publisher, but one with a good reputation." He mentioned Prime Books and Nightshade Press. To that, I'd add Subterranean Press, Small Beer Press, and Lethe Press.

You'll notice these are all small presses. My agent said that large publishers aren't publishing short story collections unless the author is well-known. Even then, it's usually tied to a novel publication.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 22, 2009

Fantasy actually has a fair number of collections out there, but short story collections are usually comprised of stories that have already been sold to magazines, so the first step is getting the short stories published individually.

And because short story collection seldom sell well unless the writer has a recognizable name, most collections are by writers who also have some novel sales.

Robert E. Keller · Oct 23, 2009

I haven't seen any evidence that it's worth trying to sell a short story collection unless you're well established in the industry through novels, and I did research it. There's always that one exception (like Eragon) that someone can point to over and over again, but really, some things are such long shots they can really waste a writer's time.

Izz · Oct 23, 2009

eqb said:
The advice Michael Swanwick gave to me was "Wait until a publisher approaches you about doing a short story collection. Until then, it's not worth it."

He went on to say, "And not just any publisher, but one with a good reputation." He mentioned Prime Books and Nightshade Press. To that, I'd add Subterranean Press, Small Beer Press, and Lethe Press.

You'll notice these are all small presses. My agent said that large publishers aren't publishing short story collections unless the author is well-known. Even then, it's usually tied to a novel publication.

This.

I have seen some collections from SF writers who don't have novels (or i haven't been able to find evidence of novels), but those are usually collections of stories that have sold to pro mags and those semi-pro mags and zines that people lust after (like Weird Tales, etc) or/and been nominated for awards, and are usually collections of *years* worth of work. Can't say i've seen any come out recently that aren't tied to novel publications, though.

Honestly, Mumbling, i'd focus more on hitting all the reprint markets you can (i'm assuming you're talking about stories you've sold here) before thinking about putting a collection together.

MumblingSage · Oct 25, 2009

Okay. A little disappointing, but okay. I have a series of short stories (that is, each story is a standalone, but the same characters reappear) that is/are currently making the rounds to appropriate markets. I'd have liked to get them all together between the same two covers someday, but that'll have to wait, if it ever happens.

Thanks, everybody, for the information and advice.

Giovanni_Spada · Oct 27, 2009

Thanks for asking this question!

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I love sword 'n' sorcery fiction, and most of the greats (Howard, Lieber, Wagner, etc) wrote short stories, not novels. So, when I started to write, I too started putting out short stories.

What makes things worse is that my idea of a short story is 10,000 words, so finding a market to sell the individual tales to is a bit difficult.

I was thinking of putting together a group of the stories and trying to get them published, but based on the above, that sounds like it's not going to happen. :-(

Robert E. Keller · Oct 27, 2009

Giovanni_Spada said:
Thanks for asking this question!

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I love sword 'n' sorcery fiction, and most of the greats (Howard, Lieber, Wagner, etc) wrote short stories, not novels. So, when I started to write, I too started putting out short stories.

What makes things worse is that my idea of a short story is 10,000 words, so finding a market to sell the individual tales to is a bit difficult.

I was thinking of putting together a group of the stories and trying to get them published, but based on the above, that sounds like it's not going to happen. :-(

Not necessarily. I was talking about the current state of the market, but the market is subject to change. I suggest you keep submitting short fiction to the best magazines you can find. If you're going to max a story out at 10,000 words, just make sure you actually need all those words. Truthfully, unless you write in a very concise style, you can probably cut out 5000 words without losing much of anything that matters. I recently took a 3000 word story that was already tight and carved it down to under 1000 words (had to go through it a few times and make some tough decisions, but I got the job done).

To have a shot at selling a collection, you'll want to get most of the stories published in paying markets. That could take a while, and by then the concept of short story collections might be big--or short fiction might offer more prestige than it currently does. If that time comes, you'll be well prepared to take advantage of it.

Unimportant · Oct 27, 2009

eqb said:
To that, I'd add Subterranean Press, Small Beer Press, and Lethe Press.

I'd also add Apex Press. They did a collection of Jennifer Pelland's short stories that is really nice.

eqb · Oct 27, 2009

MumblingSage said:
Okay. A little disappointing, but okay. I have a series of short stories (that is, each story is a standalone, but the same characters reappear) that is/are currently making the rounds to appropriate markets. I'd have liked to get them all together between the same two covers someday, but that'll have to wait, if it ever happens.

If the stories are connected with characters, world, and an overall plot, you might try marketing them as a fix-up novel, instead of a collection. Even so, try to get a number of those stories published in high-profile magazines before you do that.

Unimportant said:
I'd also add Apex Press. They did a collection of Jennifer Pelland's short stories that is really nice.

Yes, definitely. (Can't think why I forgot to mention them.)

I have Jen's book actually. Very nice production values.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 28, 2009

Giovanni_Spada said:
Thanks for asking this question!

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I love sword 'n' sorcery fiction, and most of the greats (Howard, Lieber, Wagner, etc) wrote short stories, not novels. So, when I started to write, I too started putting out short stories.

What makes things worse is that my idea of a short story is 10,000 words, so finding a market to sell the individual tales to is a bit difficult.

I was thinking of putting together a group of the stories and trying to get them published, but based on the above, that sounds like it's not going to happen. :-(

Well, ten thousand words is a novelette, and while the market for such is very limited, they do exist.

The best advice I can give is learn to write shorter stories.

MumblingSage · Oct 28, 2009

Giovanni_Spada said:
Thanks for asking this question!

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I love sword 'n' sorcery fiction, and most of the greats (Howard, Lieber, Wagner, etc) wrote short stories, not novels. So, when I started to write, I too started putting out short stories.

What makes things worse is that my idea of a short story is 10,000 words, so finding a market to sell the individual tales to is a bit difficult.

I was thinking of putting together a group of the stories and trying to get them published, but based on the above, that sounds like it's not going to happen. :-(

For you, I'd suggest Rogue Blades Entertainment--they are looking for S&S short story collections. Although do as the others suggest and try getting some in good markets first (RBE also does anthologies, for a start).

I'd go for RBE myself, only my fiction is a little different from their sort--not quite as much hack-and-slash action, with more focus on character development. I'll take it one day at a time.

Giovanni_Spada · Oct 28, 2009

MumblingSage said:
For you, I'd suggest Rogue Blades Entertainment--they are looking for S&S short story collections. Although do as the others suggest and try getting some in good markets first (RBE also does anthologies, for a start).

I'd go for RBE myself, only my fiction is a little different from their sort--not quite as much hack-and-slash action, with more focus on character development. I'll take it one day at a time.

Thanks for the reminder. I'm aware of RBE, but I've never submitted anything to them.

I'm kind of in a similar situation to you, though, in that I don't write traditional swords 'n' sorcery. It's more like rapiers 'n' repartee, with the occasional lengthy discussion of art or philosophy.

In other words, Conan it ain't.

JrFFKacy · Nov 2, 2009

I was thinking of putting together a group of the stories and trying to get them published, but based on the above, that sounds like it's not going to happen. :-(

In my opinion, almost anything CAN be sold. It's just having enough patience to find the place to sell to, waiting through the submission process, then getting rejected a zillion times before you find the place that wants to buy your work that makes it hard to sell some pieces.

eqb · Nov 2, 2009

JrFFKacy said:
In my opinion, almost anything CAN be sold. It's just having enough patience to find the place to sell to, waiting through the submission process, then getting rejected a zillion times before you find the place that wants to buy your work that makes it hard to sell some pieces.

No.

That may hold true for a single short story, but not for colletions.

Unless you are talking about selling to a no-name, no-distribution, micro-press that will eat your stories and show nothing for the effort.

Remember, my friends, there is such a thing as being published badly. It really is worse than not being published at all.

eyeblink · Nov 2, 2009

eqb said:
No.

That may hold true for a single short story, but not for colletions.

Unless you are talking about selling to a no-name, no-distribution, micro-press that will eat your stories and show nothing for the effort.

Remember, my friends, there is such a thing as being published badly. It really is worse than not being published at all.

Well, I've been published by a small press. That was Elastic Press, which won two British Fantasy Awards as Best Small Press in its existence. It published four original anthologies (three of which won BFS Awards, including the one I edited) and twenty-seven collections, including mine. One of those collections, Chris Beckett's The Turing Test, won a major short-fiction prize (the Edge Hill Prize) against non-genre competition.

Reputable small presses do exist. You just have to find them - and of course they do have to like your work.

Robert E. Keller · Nov 2, 2009

eqb said:
No.

That may hold true for a single short story, but not for colletions.

Unless you are talking about selling to a no-name, no-distribution, micro-press that will eat your stories and show nothing for the effort.

Remember, my friends, there is such a thing as being published badly. It really is worse than not being published at all.

Indeed, there is such a thing as being published badly. But there's even a level below that, in a dark, stench-filled pit where writing careers not only stagnate but suffer the acidic burn of damage by mere association. Where does one go to find themselves in such a publishing nightmare? I'll give you a clue: It's not Pennsylvania Avenue. So yes, in some cases it's far better to remain unpublished.

eqb · Nov 2, 2009

eyeblink said:
Reputable small presses do exist. You just have to find them - and of course they do have to like your work.

Absolutely. I've been published by small presses, too. PS Publishing and Lethe Press are both small presses, and both have won awards. I'm proud and delighted they bought my work.

But the post I quoted seemed to imply you just had to find a place that wants your work. That alone is not a good criteria.

MumblingSage · Nov 5, 2009

If the stories are connected with characters, world, and an overall plot, you might try marketing them as a fix-up novel, instead of a collection. Even so, try to get a number of those stories published in high-profile magazines before you do that.

Just wondering: how much difference is there between a fix-up novel and a short story collection? Would publishers that wouldn't accept a collection be interested in a fix-up?

eyeblink · Nov 5, 2009

A fix-up means that the stories are more or less integrated so that it reads like a novel - more so than a collection of linked stories.

A well-known recent fix-up is Charles Stross's Accelerando, originally a series of nine shorts published in Asimov's.

Henri Bauholz · Nov 20, 2009

Yesterday, I started sending out queries to agents about a collection of linked short stories. I have sent out four so far with one rejection received on the same day that the query was sent out. I have been running through the info agents have posted online to see who is interested in short story collections. (There are quite a few who are listed as being interested in short stories) Will post again concerning this matter.

My blog

Jamesaritchie · Nov 20, 2009

Henri Bauholz said:
Yesterday, I started sending out queries to agents about a collection of linked short stories. I have sent out four so far with one rejection received on the same day that the query was sent out. I have been running through the info agents have posted online to see who is interested in short story collections. (There are quite a few who are listed as being interested in short stories) Will post again concerning this matter.

My blog

I think you'll find that just about all agents interested in short stories, or short story collections, will want previously published stories. There's just not much of a market, and even less money, in anything else.

jack scoltock · Nov 28, 2009

my anthology

I did with Virtual Tales and they are considering my second anthology. My present anthology is called, The Fist Communion and it contains 35 of my stories that have been published in newspapers, other anthologies etc. You should gave them a call. www.virtualtales.com. They are NICE people.
Jack

Ken · Nov 28, 2009

... may be wrong about this, but seems like short story collection by authors used to be much more common 50 odd years ago. Shame they still aren't. I like short story collections, by authors. Seems though that I'm the only one who does, judging by what's on the shelves these days.

eqb · Nov 28, 2009

eyeblink said:
A fix-up means that the stories are more or less integrated so that it reads like a novel - more so than a collection of linked stories.

Interesting tidbit. My agent recently told me to avoid the term "fix-up novel" when talking to SF/F publishers. They still buy them, obviously, but they prefer to call them novels.

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