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Old 10-02-2010, 09:40 PM   #1
LoveReading
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Question on short stories

I'd like some advice on where to begin putting short stories out. First, are they popular and second, should you put a whole series of short stories together as a book rather than one at a time? Any advice would be appreciated.
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Old 10-02-2010, 10:04 PM   #2
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I, for one, love books with short stories. My favorite author, Jorge Luis Borges, never wrote long stories because, as he said, he was lazy and he couldn't see why an idea that could be expressed in five pages should be expressed in 500.
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Old 10-02-2010, 10:20 PM   #3
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Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Would you rather read a book of them? Do you ever just download one short story? I will also look up Jorge Luis Borges.
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Old 10-02-2010, 10:25 PM   #4
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I love Robert Bloch. He was a master with short stories that carried a punch.

I would much rather download a book with many short stories in it, than download a bunch of short stories individually........but thats just me.
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Old 10-02-2010, 11:05 PM   #5
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I'm a big fan of short stories.

I've released one short story by itself, and plan to do a few others the same way. I've no sales on the single short story, but it's only been 2 weeks.

I've also released a collection of flash fiction. That's actually sold a handful of copies in the few days it's been available. I plan to do more of those too.

I'm new at this ebook thing, so I'm experimenting.

-David
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Old 10-02-2010, 11:31 PM   #6
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It wouldn't hurt to collect a few into a larger collection - connected by genre, tone, theme or maybe even part of the same series. That way you can sell the shorter stories and still have it priced at Amazon's minimum of 99 cents.

I've heard conflicting reports about how well short fiction sells. I find my own collection sells pretty well - better than the novels, but at a lower price - but I think a part of that is because I can say "previously published" and "award nominated." It does make a difference to people - you might consider marketing the stories elsewhere first to gain a little cachet for them. (Also, when you publish a short story, your bio becomes an ad for your other work.)

To look for short fiction markets, I know of two sites:

The best is Ralan (http://www.ralan.com/ ) but it's almost entirely for sf, horror, fantasy, paranormal and related genres. I've found quite a lot on Duotrope in other genres, but I haven't been marketing in a while. http://www.duotrope.com

(Note, always check out the website of smaller and less established magazines to be sure they haven't closed or changed since they added a listing to ralan or duotrope.)

Camille
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Old 10-03-2010, 12:06 AM   #7
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Camille,
Thank you SO much for all the information. It was very helpful. Are the last three yours? If so, I will check them out.
Thanks again.
Pamela
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Old 10-03-2010, 12:50 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LoveReading View Post
Would you rather read a book of them? Do you ever just download one short story?
Yes and yes. I have read several (paper) books of short stories. I'm brand new in this ebook stuff, but today I downloaded a (free) short story. And like grandma says, I'd prefer to download an entire collection of stories rather than just one.
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Old 10-03-2010, 01:05 AM   #9
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Thanks desertgrandma... I'll check out Robert Bloch.... and David...good luck on your adventure as well. It helps to also hear how some of you would rather prefer a book than just one story. Thanks to all.

Last edited by LoveReading; 10-03-2010 at 02:27 PM.
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Old 10-03-2010, 03:19 PM   #10
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I have included a few of my (previously published) short stories in my book 'Something to Read on the Plane'. The market for short stories is not as bouyant as it used to be when most (women's) magazines carried a short story.
When I worked in a charity bookshop we found that books of short stories were not that popular as people wanted to 'get into' a book. And others felt that they may not like all the short stories in the book.
I hope your book does well, as it may pave the way for more.
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Old 10-03-2010, 04:32 PM   #11
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Hi Just4Kix,
Thanks for the input. I've heard that Amazon.com has some success with short stories and poems. I think I'll check that out too. Where can I find your book?
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Old 10-08-2010, 02:47 AM   #12
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Hi LoveReading,
You can see a free sample of my book on BookBuzzr.

http://www.freado.com/read/7524/some...d-on-the-plane

It's also on a Goodreads Giveaway until 22nd October

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...d-on-the-plane

or you can visit my website www.just4kix.jimdo.com

Quite a few buying options, including Amazon.

Hope you enjoy it.
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Old 10-08-2010, 12:02 PM   #13
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Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Just4kix View Post
Hi LoveReading,
You can see a free sample of my book on BookBuzzr.

http://www.freado.com/read/7524/some...d-on-the-plane

It's also on a Goodreads Giveaway until 22nd October

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...d-on-the-plane

or you can visit my website www.just4kix.jimdo.com

Quite a few buying options, including Amazon.

Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks so much. I will look forward to reading it!
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Old 10-08-2010, 07:53 PM   #14
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LoveReading: I have found that short story anthologies seem to go over best. My Dreamland Articles series is just one of those exploits into putting out a long list of short stories I've compiled. Originally the stories in book 1 and 2 of the series were little more than experimental pieces written as short stories to try out ideas, plot elements, writing styles, etc, etc. Enough people loved them that I released all of them, 12 stories at a time, as the Dreamland Articles anthologies. That might be an idea worth considering for your own books.
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Old 10-09-2010, 04:32 PM   #15
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The short story is my favorite form - classics, mainstream, science fiction, etc...

Frost and Fire by Ray Bradbury is my favorite SF short story...but I'm thinking "Rescue Party" by Arthur C Clarke may be edging it out.

My current favorite contemporary short story is "Wild Horses" by Rick Bass -- he's an amazing writer.

Markets for short stories are much more limited than they were in the past, many web-based publications these days and many fewer print pubs.

My advice is that if you write them or want to write them to just get with it, start sending them out and at some point in the future collect them into volumes.
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