A Question of Short Stories

29 Replies

I like to write short stories.  I guess you can tell since I write quite a few of them, perhaps an average of two a week, if we count the 100 word Friday Fictioneers stories.  Sure, 90% of the stories I write and post here are very 1-dimensional “flash fiction” stories.  They are quickly written, very short and have very little meat as far as characterization, plot depth, sub-plots, etc.  That doesn’t mean I can’t take them and flesh them out.

Back at the beginning of the year I self-published my first book, Seasons of Imagination.  It is a collection of short stories.  All but 4 had been “published” in some form on my blog, but they were all also greatly revised before making it to print.  That is, what I posted on my blog was little more than a first/rough draft while I went through at least five more drafts in the nine months between the time I made the final decision on which stories to include in the book and when I clicked “publish”. (FYI – After deciding on the stories, I deleted them off of my blog)

Since the cutoff date back for stories to include in Seasons of Imagination at the beginning of April in 2016, I have written some of my favorite works of short fiction.  I think my writing has grown.  I hope so, at any rate!

Of course I don’t just write short stories.  This year I self-published my first novel, The Fireborn and I have several novels in the works.  Currently I am finishing the third draft of The Halley Branch.  I also have two other rough drafts that I am sitting on, plus a short book aimed at 8-year-olds. And I have ideas for two other books that have been in my mind for years but I just haven’t had a chance to write them out.

Here is my thought.  I am going to shop The Halley Branch around early in the year, but if I don’t have any takers by summer, I will most likely self-publish.  If I do self-publish, I was thinking of having another book of short stories as being the next one up.

So, here is the question, or the questions.  I know short story collections aren’t that popular, though Seasons of imagination sold triple what The Fireborn sold (not include those I gave away or those I bought myself).  Is it OK to put out a new book of short stories every other year?  How about every fourth book with two novels between?

What are your feelings on short story collections?  What about short stories by not-so-famous authors (totally and completely unknown authors!)?  What are your thoughts?

–

One last note – Although my WIP, The Halley Branch, and the next novel, The Old Mill, are very different in most ways, they have a lot of similarities – they are both New England ghost stories with a lot of history behind the ghosts.  Because of this, I want something between them, either another novel (which I have a very, very rough draft for) or the short story collection.

29 thoughts on “A Question of Short Stories”

  1. Pingback: Stories, Stories, Stories | Trent's World (the Blog)

  3. amanda

    I love short story collections. However, I tend to do most of my short-story-reading online, vs hard copy anthologies. When I sit down to really spend some time reading, I usually want to read something longer. However, if I am on break at work, or only have a few minutes, I might jump on to a short story blog or website and read something.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I do spend a lot of my reading time reading short stories on blogs, so I understand. And yes,most of my “off line” reading is with longer works. That was one reason I wasn’t sure about short story collections. From my limited self-publish experience, though, I’ve had about twice as many people pay for my book of short stories as paid for my novel.

      Thanks for the input.

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  4. Bliss Winters

    Short stories always feel weird to me. However it’s a good type of weird. It’s somewhere between confusion and musing. Especially in the case of making points that comment on social commentary I find short stories incredibly powerful because of the direct nature. I think sometimes it’s good to take a break and look at the more simplistic side of things. Not all literature is an elaborate Dickens piece and it doesn’t have to be.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      For a long time it had seemed like short stories were getting less and less popular. With the biggest outlet, print magazines, going away, where do people see them, beyond picking up an anthology made by a favorite author. But recently I’ve noticed that they are as popular as ever. Everyone who responded to this post were very positive about short stories.

      A good short story can pack a lot of punch in a small space. I hope their popularity continues.

      After all of the responses here, I will start weeding through my stories and pulling the best together for a new collection.

      Thanks for your input!

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  5. alexkilcannon

    I love, love, love short stories and am always on the hunt for collections and anthologies in any genre. I often check if favourite big name authors have put out any new collections. I’ve also discovered a few newish authors this way, enjoying a short collection or appearance in an anthology and then googling them to find out what else they’ve published.

    For me, it’s a great way to discover new voices out there.

    Collection every couple of years? Wouldn’t be over the top for me!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks for the input! Reading everyone’s responses to this question has convinced me to do another short story collection as soon as I finish my WIP.

      Anyway, if you are looking for a very new author, I can recommend a book of short stories ;)

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  6. Candy Lebby

    Short stories are incredibly popular from what I’ve seen. Attention spans seem to decrease by the minute nowadays and short, effective pieces are definately the rage at the moment. I love Roald Dahls short story collections, Ambrose Bierce, and Hemmingway. All have a special place in my bookcase. I plan on publishing mine too. When I’ve got enough together to form an anthology. Anyway, enough blabbering. Good luck with it. You’re a great writer. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. catwritespoetry

    I prefer short stories. I really enjoy writing them too. Every word counts, and you have to get to the point! It’s nice, you get the whole experience in one go which really allows for a deeper understanding. They tend to be a lot more powerful, so if you want to really pack a bunch with a good point, short stories are a good way to do it.

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  8. Corina

    I love short stories. I don’t think you have to worry about having short story collections “too often” or more than novels. You never know when someone will pick up one of your novels because they liked your short stories!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I talked to some people off line who thought I was crazy for thinking of doing another short story collection so soon, but I get what you are saying. I most likely will go that direction. Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. Writing Sparkle

    I think short stories are great for a number of reasons. Personally sometimes I want something that doesn’t require a huge commitment to get through but that is still a decent and enjoyable story. I also think that it is a good way to try reading a new author. There are a number of other reasons ranging from being easier to fit in my bag when I have to sit at the doctor’s office to studying the way a good author can pack a punch in a short space… Oh, and another is that when I am waiting for that next big novel by an author that I am following and they put out a short story collection as an in-between it helps the wait.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Those are all very big pluses for short stories and short story collections. Funny things is, not including the stories I read on blogs (I read a lot of them!), I don’t read as many short stories as I used to. Of course a lot of that has to do with how many short stories I read on different blogs. I should pick up more collections…

      Thanks for the response!

      Liked by 1 person

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    2. angiebirk

      I agree with this completely! ^^ I quite enjoy short stories much more than novels because I tend to find myself in situations where I am able to read a quick bit but don’t want to make the commitment to start an entire novel because who knows when my name would be called and it’s not “socially acceptable” to tell a receptionist, “One moment please. Only six more pages in this chapter left.” … 😦😂 I truly do enjoy short stories more than longer fiction though.

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      1. trentpmcd Post author

        I can see a lot of advantages to short stories, but the emphasis is always on the new novel. One problem today is that so many authors are putting out multi book series. I have a hard enough finding time to commit to a single book, and here is someone asking me to read 7? But series are very popular. I am pretty much convinced that I’ll do another book of short stories after my WIP.

        Thanks for the feedback!

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        1. angiebirk

          I agree with you about series! Another thing I have a hard time with when it comes to series is that I always LOVE the first one but then somehow my enthusiasm just dies off in the second book and I hardly ever finish a third book. It seems for me that the longer a story goes on (serialization) the less sense it makes to me… Too much backstory further into a story (second and third books) confuses me. 😕

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          1. trentpmcd Post author

            I’ve only read a few and it seems hit or miss. Sometimes the authors do a great job of having the long range plot arch while still making each book interesting on its own. Other times, not so much.

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  11. dawnkinster

    I’ve read a few books of short stories, and enjoyed all of them. I liked that if a particular story didn’t catch my interest I could just move on to the next one. I didn’t have to invest so much into any one story. Though I have to say I don’t read collections of short stories very often, I do think the above commenters might be correct that the attention span of readers is shortening.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I do think attention span is shorter. I think one of the things, though, is that short stories used to appear in so many print magazines and papers, that with the downfall of those mediums, they are not “in the wild” as much. But I have heard that there have been an uptick in books. Unless I get someone to pick up The Halley Branch, I may do another book of short stories next…

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  12. Rosemary Carlson

    Everything I read says that shorter novels, short stories, and novellas, even serials are now catching fire. They may be the wave of the future. Why? Everyone’s attention span is shorter because of social media and people have become more “visual.” Also we read from mobile devices so much. In the Orient, they do almost all their reading on their phones and want stories that fit on phone screens. They love serials. If you shop your short stories in the right way, you may be writing and selling them at just the right time!

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I have heard that people are much more open to short stories these days, so perhaps you are right that I am hitting it at a good time. I’ve put out three serial novels on my blog and actually had a few people read every chapter. But the number of people who actually read from beginning to end was very small, particularly compared to the number that will read a one off short story, even if it runs into the thousands of words.

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. Marilyn Armstrong

    I think short stories are doing better than they used to. I know that I’m busy enough that I’m more inclined to read a short story than a whole book and am often grateful for the brevity. And if you are self-publishing? Do whatever works for you!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I have heard that short stories are more popular now than they were. You still don’t see a lot of books of them, but I guess it is a growing market. As you said, if I self-publish, I can do whatever I need to do to make myself happy, it’s just that I had mentioned it to a few non-blogging friends and they thought I was crazy to want to put out another book of short stories so soon.

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