Do our short stories find the reading public?

[Angela Zeman]

Yesterday Michael Haskins wrote a blog about short stories, in the middle of which he asked if our short stories were actually reaching readers. I can't get his question off my mind. We do see more anthologies out there, and lots of net mags, but he has a great point--who really reads them?

He wondered if, because of the little or no marketing done by the publishers, writers are generally the only ones aware of these publications. (Michael, if I misunderstood, please correct me.) What do others think about this? Is there a solution?

[I. J. Parker]

Well, umm, AHMM has a circulation of about 150,000. Many of their sales are by subscription. EQMM is, I think, even better at it. That means the stories do reach people. There are many readers who prefer their reading matter in smaller doses. I believe that my stories will find a publisher eventually, but at the moment, my agent tells me that publishers are not buying. Still, there are anthologies and collections listed on amazon. Some are best sellers. Perhaps I'm not sufficiently famous. But from fan letters, I've learned that readers of novels are not necessarily the same ones as readers of short stories. Some of the people who write to me about getting hold of an oop story were not aware that I'm also writing novels.
The problem with writing for a magazine is that the story lives only for that issue. After that it is pretty much as dead as if it had never been written.

[Angela Zeman]

You're right. I forgot about AHMM and EQMM. Of course, they buy only a few stories per month. Their circulation numbers used to be roughly triple their current numbers and they sell mostly by subscription. Few newsstands carry them anymore--well, newsstands aren't as plentiful as they used to be, either. But AHMM and EQMM can be hard to find even in bookstores (my friends in Indianapolis and Dallas complained about this, I don't know this first hand.)

Your point is good, but I actually was thinking about the anthologies and web magazines.

[R. Barri Flowers]

Hello, Angela:

Actually I think there are less anthologies being published these days, with many editors indicating that sales are hard to come by, even when collections include bestselling authors.

That notwithstanding, I do believe there is still a market for well written short stories and anthologies with a strong hook, such as the THRILLER anthology, published by MIRA.

Similarly, the upcoming American Crime Writers League Presents: MURDER PAST, MURDER PRESENT, in which I'm coeditor, features historical and present day murderous tales to sink one's teeth into and has some terrific mystery authors associated with it.

The Amazon Shorts Program offers its vast customer base short stories in various genres, written mostly by well known novelists. I have several mystery shorts in the program and consider it a great way for readers to sample your work for little cost; while providing authors a nice platform for promotion of their short stories and novels.

Still the realities of today's times and shrinking marketplace means that short story authors must put greater effort into promoting their stories and anthologies to reach as many readers as possible.

With the power of the Internet and individual contributors making good use of their own book signings, websites, newsletters, any short stories or collections can find a certain degree of success--including possibly some award winning stories.

[terry bowman]

I've just started adding short stories to my repertoire, so this is all new to me. I started a blog to get some feedback. I think the stories are okay, but it's still a work in progress. How does one start out to get short stories published?

[Shannon Chenoweth]

I think there is a readership out there for them. I myself do read them, more and more lately. Are they more difficult to get a reader to pick up? Maybe. I know that anthologies in comics can be a difficult sale, it is possible the same could be said for short stories collections. AHMM and EQMM are exceptions to that I like to think, but I don't know their numbers. I'd be curious to find out though, especially since I'm interested in getting into that market with my writing.