Collection of short stories
Prince Richard Kaminski
short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
writer.
So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
someone, somewhere might be interested?
If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope that
one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
John V Ashby
>I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
>short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
>more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
>However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
>interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
>writer.
>
>So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
>someone, somewhere might be interested?
>
Advice I heard last week is that there is a resurgence of interest in
short story collections in the UK market (which is where you are).
I'd have thought that five was still too few, unless they are long short
stories, and that you should be aiming to provide 70 000 words plus
in total, enough, in other words, to fill a book-sized volume.
Are these general fiction or genre? Some genre shorts might be easier
to place.
Don't abandon magazine publication, though. A couple of those stories
placed in the right market might just be the lever you need to prise
open the editor's door.
john (but don't sign your query letter Prince)
Prince Richard Kaminski
John V Ashby wrote:
> In article <37789932...@hotmail.com>, Prince Richard Kaminski <dobun...@hotmail.com> writes:
> >I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
> >short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
> >more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
> >However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
> >interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
> >writer.
> >
> >So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
> >someone, somewhere might be interested?
> >
>
> Advice I heard last week is that there is a resurgence of interest in
> short story collections in the UK market (which is where you are).
Thanks for the reply, John. That sounds like good news.
> I'd have thought that five was still too few, unless they are long short
> stories, and that you should be aiming to provide 70 000 words plus
> in total, enough, in other words, to fill a book-sized volume.
One or two of them are quite long, haven't really done word counts on them because they're on paper.
> Are these general fiction or genre? Some genre shorts might be easier
> to place.
Well, I thought of them as general fiction although two certainly have strong ghost/horror elements in
them to the extent that they could be considered to belong to one of those genres (if they are
different).
> Don't abandon magazine publication, though. A couple of those stories
> placed in the right market might just be the lever you need to prise
> open the editor's door.
>
Right, thanks again.
>
> john (but don't sign your query letter Prince)
Of course not, I'm not that stupid. I'm promoting myself to King for that.
John Lemon
print--where you can get your stories published. I don't recall seeing
many, if any, anthologies of stories that hadn't first appeared in
periodicals.
<http://www.silcom.com/~jonlemon/B&WLitLinks.htm>
Regards,
John Lemon
Prince Richard Kaminski wrote:
> I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
> short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
> more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
> However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
> interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
> writer.
>
> So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
> someone, somewhere might be interested?
>
Rhiannon
>I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
>short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
>more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
>However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
>interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
>writer.
>
>So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
>someone, somewhere might be interested?
>
>If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
>can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope that
>one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
>
>Any advice greatly appreciated.
>
>Cheers.
Although I do understand where this mindset comes from, we all reach a point
where sending work to "just one more magazine" feels like a fate worse than
death, however, in my opinion, while it is not necessarily the "wrong" attitude,
it most definitely is not in your best interest. Any writer, whether it comes
from a passion for writing, to the more practical need to earn a living, will
"be bothered" to send their work out. In my own experience, that of writer
friends, and in reading about more well known writer's, it is very rare to
publish a collection of short stories that have not already been published
individually by the magazine markets.
My advice...find appropriate markets for them, dust them off and rewrite some if
need be, then bite the bullet, send them out, and put the book idea aside for
consideration further down the road. Approach this as you would a broken leg,
learning to limp then walk, before you can ever hope to run on it, small steps
at a time. Hope this helps.
Rhiannon
Skip Press
>I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
>short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
>more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
>However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
>interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
>writer.
No, it's totally impossible.
>So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
>someone, somewhere might be interested?
No one would be interested. You're a prince, so they hate you already.
>
>If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
>can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope that
>one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
You're right. You can't be bothered, so why bother. Depending on the paper
you used, I'd suggest putting the stories beside your toilet and using the
pages as necessary.
--
All the best,
Skip Press, The Duke of URL
Writers' Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors etc.
http://www.primalife.com/book.asp?ID=76151484
Write What You Want: http://www.cmonline.com/boson/nonfiction/howto/howto.html
suze hall
> I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
>interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
>writer.
Absolutely correct.
>
>So would this be an entire waste of time
Yes.
>, or is there some hope that
>someone, somewhere might be interested?
Not in a collection from an unknown author. Particularly when there has
been no previous magazine or periodical publication.
>If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories?
Go and buy a copy of The Writer's and Artist's YearBook, read it,
compose a decent query letter, buy a lot of stamps.
> I
>can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope that
>one of them will publish it.
Ah. Scrub that last bit then.
> Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
Yes. Jack London papered an entire room with rejection slips, and so
have plenty of other decent writers.
Suze
Joyseymour
>I have been digging through my old stuff, and noticed that I have three
>short stories, which I consider to be quite good. I could write a couple
>more, with a view to trying to get a book of short stories published.
>However, I have heard that it is practically impossible to get anyone
>interested in a book of short stories unless you are an established
>writer.
Yes, I've heard that as well. Only I wouldn't say practically, I would say
virtually, or totally. It just doesn't happen.
>
>So would this be an entire waste of time, or is there some hope that
>someone, somewhere might be interested?
Probably not.
>
>If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
>can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope that
>one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
Well, I think it's the wrong attitude. There are any number of good magazines
that take stories from unknown authors. If you want to see your stories
published, perhaps you should be bothered to send them out. Certainly getting
a story published in "Story", "The New Yorker" or "Atlantic Monthly" would be
quite prestigous, and might generate interest in your book of stories.
Assuming we're talking Literary Fiction here.
>
>Any advice greatly appreciated.
>
>Cheers.
>
My advice would include getting someone to critique your stories, to give you a
second opinion.
joy
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 6:14 NAS
Prince Richard Kaminski
Rhiannon wrote:
> Although I do understand where this mindset comes from, we all reach a point
> where sending work to "just one more magazine" feels like a fate worse than
> death, however, in my opinion, while it is not necessarily the "wrong" attitude,
> it most definitely is not in your best interest. Any writer, whether it comes
> from a passion for writing, to the more practical need to earn a living, will
> "be bothered" to send their work out. In my own experience, that of writer
> friends, and in reading about more well known writer's, it is very rare to
> publish a collection of short stories that have not already been published
> individually by the magazine markets.
>
> My advice...find appropriate markets for them, dust them off and rewrite some if
> need be, then bite the bullet, send them out, and put the book idea aside for
> consideration further down the road. Approach this as you would a broken leg,
> learning to limp then walk, before you can ever hope to run on it, small steps
> at a time. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the good advice, Rhiannon, I appreciate it. I've only ever submitted one
of those stories, which was about three years ago when I was living in Japan. I had
one of those writers' handbooks listing all the publishers and magazines, and I went
through the book and found the magazine which paid the most for its stories! The one
I sent was totally unsuitable for the magazine's style, but there you go. They sent
me back a nice, personally written rejection slip. That's the only time I've ever
submitted fiction for publication. Not that that incident put me off at all, I've
just never bothered. I know this is a terrible attitude, but I'm just naturally
lazy. Lazy about writing, and lazy about submitting.
The only thing I can write without any effort at all is Usenet posts. Anything else,
and it's like dragging a millstone around with me, and requires a Herculean effort
just to get started. Obviously, I haven't got the right personality to be a
successful writer, only to be a Usenet kook ;)
Thanks again Rhiannon. I really will try and get up off my butt one of these days!
Prince Richard Kaminski
John Lemon wrote:
> Here is a list of several hundred literary publications--on-line &
> print--where you can get your stories published. I don't recall seeing
> many, if any, anthologies of stories that hadn't first appeared in
> periodicals.
> <http://www.silcom.com/~jonlemon/B&WLitLinks.htm>
>
Several hundred???!! Thanks a lot!! That'll keep me busy for a while!
Seriously, thanks. It would take ages to find out that sort of thing by
myself.
Prince Richard Kaminski
Joyseymour wrote:
> Well, I think it's the wrong attitude. There are any number of good magazines
> that take stories from unknown authors. If you want to see your stories
> published, perhaps you should be bothered to send them out. Certainly getting
> a story published in "Story", "The New Yorker" or "Atlantic Monthly" would be
> quite prestigous, and might generate interest in your book of stories.
> Assuming we're talking Literary Fiction here.
Sort of, although as I mentioned in the reply to another poster, some of it might
fit into the ghost/horror genre. I don't really consider them genre stories, if
only for the reason that I never read genre stuff myself, so I don't know how I
could have written it. I presume all the above are US magazines. I'm a Brit. Do
they publish Brit stuff?
>My advice would include getting someone to critique your stories, to give you a
> second opinion.
Thanks for the reply, Joy. I've given you my opinion on your above comment in my
reply to another post of yours.
J.A. Hitchcock
>
>> Here is a list of several hundred literary publications--on-line &
>> print--where you can get your stories published. I don't recall seeing
>> many, if any, anthologies of stories that hadn't first appeared in
>> periodicals.
>> <http://www.silcom.com/~jonlemon/B&WLitLinks.htm>
John, this is absolutely wonderful - thanks so much for sharing this!
JAH
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Alan Hope
Prince Richard Kaminski <dobun...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
<37789932...@hotmail.com>...
> If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
> can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope
that
> one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
Not at all. Put them in a drawer and wait for a publisher to beat a
path to your door. Why should you be the one to do all the work?
You're a writer, and you've written. They're publishers, let the
bastards publish. You don't take your own farm animals to the
butcher's shop, do you?
AH
Prince Richard Kaminski
Alan Hope wrote:
> Prince Richard Kaminski <dobun...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
> <37789932...@hotmail.com>...
>
> > If this is not a valid option, what should I do with the stories? I
> > can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the hope
> that
> > one of them will publish it. Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
>
> Not at all. Put them in a drawer and wait for a publisher to beat a
> path to your door.
You're right. Especially now that publishers have had a chance to witness
and be dazzled by my scintillating prose on this forum, the queues
outside my front door will not be long in coming, I am sure.
> Why should you be the one to do all the work?
Exactly. I'm a bloody writer, not a sender of begging letters. "Please
publish this, oh most honourable wise anonymous slush pile reader for a
multi-national company". Why the hell should I? I doubt if Shakespeare
had to go about it like this.
> You're a writer, and you've written.
You know, I'm beginning to like you after all.
> They're publishers, let the
> bastards publish.
Let them? You just try to *stop* them!
> You don't take your own farm animals to the
> butcher's shop, do you?
Actually, I don't own any farm animals. But if I did, I wouldn't have
them murdered at all. Why would I?
> AH
Wasn't there a famous Austrian person with these initials, I seem to
recall from my history lessons. How appropriate.
be...@kerch.com
> > I can't be bothered to send them to hundreds of magazines in the
> > hope that one of them will publish it.
>
> Ah. Scrub that last bit then.
>
> > Or is this the wrong attitude to take.
>
> Yes. Jack London papered an entire room with rejection slips, and so
> have plenty of other decent writers.
Note too, oh Prince, that you said in another post
"The one I sent was totally unsuitable for the magazine's
style, but there you go. They sent me back a nice, personally
written rejection slip. That's the only time I've ever
submitted fiction for publication. Not that that incident put
me off at all, [...]"
Well, it seems to have put you off after all; you've never submitted
anything else, have you? Come on, when you get a personally written
rejection from a major magazine, that's as good as the editor grabbing
you by the ears and shouting "THIS DOESN'T SUIT US BUT SEND US
SOMETHING ELSE!! WE LIKE YOU!!"
If you sucked you'd get a form "Thank you for your submission which re
regret does not meet our needs at this time."
Sounds like you've done the first two of Heinlein's steps to writing
success: you wrote, and you finished it. Now for steps three and
four: put it on the market (i.e. submit the damn things) and KEEP it
on the market until it sells. If it comes back, go to the next market
on your list and send it out again.
And pay attention to what the rejections say.
--berry (now to see if I can follow my own advice...)
Prince Richard Kaminski
be...@kerch.com wrote:
> Note too, oh Prince, that you said in another post
>
> "The one I sent was totally unsuitable for the magazine's
> style, but there you go. They sent me back a nice, personally
> written rejection slip. That's the only time I've ever
> submitted fiction for publication. Not that that incident put
> me off at all, [...]"
>
> Well, it seems to have put you off after all; you've never submitted
> anything else, have you?
I'm talking cause and effect. The rejection wasn't the reason for not
submitting anything else. It was just apathy.
> Come on, when you get a personally written
> rejection from a major magazine, that's as good as the editor grabbing
> you by the ears and shouting "THIS DOESN'T SUIT US BUT SEND US
> SOMETHING ELSE!! WE LIKE YOU!!"
Well, the letter said things to that effect too.
> If you sucked you'd get a form "Thank you for your submission which re
> regret does not meet our needs at this time."
Yes, I know. I've had some of both kinds for non-fiction submissions. But
in the end, it doesn't make much difference. If you propose to someone and
they say, "Bugger off you repulsive little toad", or "I really like you a
lot, but basically, I think we're not compatible", each one has the same
result. (And no, I haven't ever proposed to anyone or had this said to
me!).
> Sounds like you've done the first two of Heinlein's steps to writing
> success: you wrote, and you finished it. Now for steps three and
> four: put it on the market (i.e. submit the damn things) and KEEP it
> on the market until it sells. If it comes back, go to the next market
> on your list and send it out again.
>
> And pay attention to what the rejections say.
Yeah, thanks. Well, I should do something really. *sigh*
Cure for apathy, anyone?
Erin789
publication with his anthologies. However, it does help to be published. But
I would try anyway. In fact, I have the same idea as you do.
Erin
" If I could not create, I would die." - V.C. Andrews
Http://www.angelfire.com/ab/writersweb/home.html
http://www.angelfire.com/de/Horrorhaven/index.html
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http://www.angelfire.com/de/Reviews/index.html
Alan Hope
Prince Richard Kaminski <dobun...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
> > AH
> Wasn't there a famous Austrian person with these initials, I seem
to
> recall from my history lessons. How appropriate.
Very funny. I can make a word with the initials PRK, by adding only
two letters, I see.
How appropriater.
AH
Prince Richard Kaminski
Alan Hope wrote:
And how revealingl that you choose to ignore the entire weight of my
serious points, and concentrated only on a flippant bit I tacked on to
the end.
be...@kerch.com
> Yes, I know. I've had some of both kinds for non-fiction submissions. But
> in the end, it doesn't make much difference. If you propose to someone and
> they say, "Bugger off you repulsive little toad", or "I really like you a
> lot, but basically, I think we're not compatible", each one has the same
> result. (And no, I haven't ever proposed to anyone or had this said to
> me!).
Ah, but a marriage proposal is different. The partner is rejecting
YOU. Once you strike out that's pretty much it.
Editors do not reject writers. They reject stories. That one you
submitted? The editor accepted YOU but rejected THAT story. You can
try again with a different story. Editors expect this, even welcome
it.
> Cure for apathy, anyone?
Post here and we'll nag you into action :-)
--berry (and maybe I'll get my outline done too...)
Alan Hope
Prince Richard Kaminski <dobun...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
> And how revealingl that you choose to ignore the entire weight of
my
> serious points, and concentrated only on a flippant bit I tacked on
to
> the end.
Exactly. You're giving me nothing to work with here. Make a bit of an
effort.
AH