Quick question about getting published (will publishing poems & short stories help?)

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Shadow Dragon

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Well, I'm taking a little break on my novel and plan to work on some poems and short stories that take place in the same world as my novel series. Just out of curiosity, if I get some of the poems and the short stories published, does that increase my chance of getting the novel published?
 
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No. The only thing that will help to get your novel published is your novel.
 

Cybernaught

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If you start to gain some notoriety and your name starts garnering a readership, it might open some doors for you, like perhaps having an agent wishing to represent you.

In the end, the novel itself is going to be the deciding factor, but having a proven track record will be beneficial.

But the most important thing it does is gets you experience with publishing and writing. You'll be taken a little more seriously.
 

katiemac

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If you start to gain some notoriety and your name starts garnering a readership, it might open some doors for you, like perhaps having an agent wishing to represent you.

In the end, the novel itself is going to be the deciding factor, but having a proven track record will be beneficial.

But the most important thing it does is gets you experience with publishing and writing. You'll be taken a little more seriously.

Ditto.
 

dpaterso

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It's something to include in your query letter, assuming the magazines that publish your short stories are major. At the very least it says, "I can write a coherent sentence."

-Derek
 

Toothpaste

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It can help, but you don't NEED the credits. I had none, and things worked out just fine. If you enjoy writing poetry and short stories, if you want to see them published, then it definitely won't hurt. But don't spend time on them if the only reason you write them is to get a novel published. It isn't necessary.
 

Gillhoughly

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If you get payment for poetry and short stories, those count on your writing resume. This includes small press and magazines like Ellery Queen and Jim Baen's Universe.

This tells me that another editor thought your words were worth buying.

Non-paying markets, vanity, POD, reverse vanity presses (Publish America--stay away from them BTW), most e-magazines, most e-publishers who pay royalties only don't count. Stay away from Poetry-dot-com, too. It's a scam op.

Fan websites and self-publishing on your own website absolutely do not count.

College literary magazines can count for the prestige value. If Yale or Harvard publishes your work it's a good thing to mention on your cover letter. If you're in the community college newsletter, not so much.
 
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Juliette Wade

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I started writing short stories in my novel universe because I wanted to know about the backstory of particular characters. It definitely helped me with that, and in so doing helped me see how to improve the novel itself. Then I found that trying to write short stories was really helping my ability to look at stories from a structural perspective - improving my craft, just as the folks here have said.

None of the stories I wrote in that universe have been published, and at this point I don't really expect them to be. This is because they are so integrated into the universe, and the universe is so large and complex, that they don't stand alone well. However, that experience did get me into writing other short stories, and that is where I got my first professional publication. I still think of the novels as independent of any reputation I get from short stories, but in the end it may help me get more attention as I go forward.

I'll just wait and see.
 

JeanneTGC

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What Gillhoughly said. LOL

My agent only cares if the short is paid. If it's paid, then it means the editor felt it was worth shelling out money to buy it, and it goes on the resume to the editors at the publishing houses.

Unpaid, barring it being unpaid in something terribly prestigious, doesn't count at all.
 

Fenika

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A similar (but very heated) thread recently found in Writing Novels
 
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