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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: Carnifex:Pacifex on June 12, 2013, 06:41:34 AM
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As an aspiring writer, I have one big question, and am very appreciative of all answers:
I have many stories i'd like to get published, but at the moment, only two of them are fairly close to being finished, one is a short story, one is a full sized book on its own that has possibilities (though I didnt really plan on it) for a sequel.
my question is this: should I publish the short story first, or the novel-sized beastie?
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As an aspiring writer, I have one big question, and am very appreciative of all answers:
I have many stories i'd like to get published, but at the moment, only two of them are fairly close to being finished, one is a short story, one is a full sized book on its own that has possibilities (though I didnt really plan on it) for a sequel.
my question is this: should I publish the short story first, or the novel-sized beastie?
If you're going indie on amazon like me, I'd say most definitely put out the bigger work first. Not a lot of people pay for short stories when they can get full books for the same price. (0.99 is the lowest you can charge) On the other hand if they like your universe they'll probably be more interested in whatever else you have kicking around than otherwise.
my two cents.
Always follow the dream,
The Deposed King
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If you are planning to self-publish here’s what I would do (and technically, did do! ;D):
1. Build a blog or website for yourself if you don’t already have one. Post your short story there for free. By doing this, you are able to invite people to read your story and your writing style at no cost to them. I doubt I’m the only person who gets frustrated when I go on a place like Amazon and find short stories that are priced the same or higher than a lot of quality self-published novels.
2. After you’ve posted your short story, then announce your plans to release your novel. Give your readers a synopsis, the cover art, and maybe a week before you publish it, a sample chapter.
Like I said this is how I did it, but it’s just my opinion. Many other people have done it differently and have been successful. 8)
Deposed – I wanted to tell you that this morning I was looking at my book on amazon, and in the “Customers also looked at” section, Admiral Who was there. I thought that was pretty badass! ;)
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I only have experience with traditional publishing, so I can only advise on how I'd proceed on that route.
With traditional publishing, you will likely find it very hard to get a short story published unless you go looking for magazines or websites that accept short story submissions. Getting a short story published in an anthology often comes down to who you know and what books you already have published. It's highly unlikely that a publisher is going to publish a short story on its own, due to the costs involved and lack of expected return on investment.
So if you want to go with finding an agent or a publisher, I would recommend going with the novel.
Now, that said, what you could do, as Dresdenus suggested, is self-publish the short story first, then if it does well, refer to it in your query letters to agents and publishers. But, whether you go with self-publishing or traditional, if you do decide to self-publish the short story first, I would strongly recommend you hire a professional editor and cover designer. It'll cost you, but think of it as an investment; the more professional your work looks, even if you release it for free, the more likely others in the industry will want to work with you in the future.
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If you are planning to self-publish here’s what I would do (and technically, did do! ;D):
1. Build a blog or website for yourself if you don’t already have one. Post your short story there for free. By doing this, you are able to invite people to read your story and your writing style at no cost to them. I doubt I’m the only person who gets frustrated when I go on a place like Amazon and find short stories that are priced the same or higher than a lot of quality self-published novels.
2. After you’ve posted your short story, then announce your plans to release your novel. Give your readers a synopsis, the cover art, and maybe a week before you publish it, a sample chapter.
Like I said this is how I did it, but it’s just my opinion. Many other people have done it differently and have been successful. 8)
Deposed – I wanted to tell you that this morning I was looking at my book on amazon, and in the “Customers also looked at” section, Admiral Who was there. I thought that was pretty badass! ;)
aye, I was really considering this route, many thanks for the advice ^_^
Either way, I'll see where the market is once im just about to publish
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If you're going indie on amazon like me, I'd say most definitely put out the bigger work first. Not a lot of people pay for short stories when they can get full books for the same price. (0.99 is the lowest you can charge) On the other hand if they like your universe they'll probably be more interested in whatever else you have kicking around than otherwise.
my two cents.
Always follow the dream,
The Deposed King
can I offer it as, perhaps free on Amazon? Also, when I first saw you "Deposed King" , i thought you were making a Darksiders refference ^_^
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I only have experience with traditional publishing, so I can only advise on how I'd proceed on that route.
With traditional publishing, you will likely find it very hard to get a short story published unless you go looking for magazines or websites that accept short story submissions. Getting a short story published in an anthology often comes down to who you know and what books you already have published. It's highly unlikely that a publisher is going to publish a short story on its own, due to the costs involved and lack of expected return on investment.
So if you want to go with finding an agent or a publisher, I would recommend going with the novel.
Now, that said, what you could do, as Dresdenus suggested, is self-publish the short story first, then if it does well, refer to it in your query letters to agents and publishers. But, whether you go with self-publishing or traditional, if you do decide to self-publish the short story first, I would strongly recommend you hire a professional editor and cover designer. It'll cost you, but think of it as an investment; the more professional your work looks, even if you release it for free, the more likely others in the industry will want to work with you in the future.
true true.. and Im not terribly worried about profits....yet at leat....
Many thanks for the advice ^_^
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If you are planning to self-publish here’s what I would do (and technically, did do! ;D):
1. Build a blog or website for yourself if you don’t already have one. Post your short story there for free. By doing this, you are able to invite people to read your story and your writing style at no cost to them. I doubt I’m the only person who gets frustrated when I go on a place like Amazon and find short stories that are priced the same or higher than a lot of quality self-published novels.
2. After you’ve posted your short story, then announce your plans to release your novel. Give your readers a synopsis, the cover art, and maybe a week before you publish it, a sample chapter.
Like I said this is how I did it, but it’s just my opinion. Many other people have done it differently and have been successful. 8)
Deposed – I wanted to tell you that this morning I was looking at my book on amazon, and in the “Customers also looked at” section, Admiral Who was there. I thought that was pretty badass! ;)
Way to go DP! That's awesome. (Whispers) -Wait until you get your first amazon add to 'buy this' and its featuring your own book! It doesn't get much better than that-
always follow the dream,
The Deposed King!
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can I offer it as, perhaps free on Amazon? Also, when I first saw you "Deposed King" , i thought you were making a Darksiders refference ^_^
I think smashwords has the trick of how you get your book/shortstory up on amazon for free. Technically they only offer as low as 0.99, however they price match because you promised them you'd make their site the lowest price for your book. So if you go somewhere else and offer it for cheapter... free for instance they'll price match it. However I've been too afraid to try it due to fear of getting banned or something for sheer incompetance. That said the guy who wrote the wool series, has his first book out for free permanently. Not just the 5 days every three months for the amazon promo period (when you go amazon exclusive) that anyone can get.
Best of luck and remember
always follow the dream,
The Deposed King
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Way to go DP! That's awesome. (Whispers) -Wait until you get your first amazon add to 'buy this' and its featuring your own book! It doesn't get much better than that-
always follow the dream,
The Deposed King!
I would imagine that to have a unique kind, and a huge amount of satisfation at that moment. Sounds like I have a new goal
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I think smashwords has the trick of how you get your book/shortstory up on amazon for free. Technically they only offer as low as 0.99, however they price match because you promised them you'd make their site the lowest price for your book. So if you go somewhere else and offer it for cheapter... free for instance they'll price match it. However I've been too afraid to try it due to fear of getting banned or something for sheer incompetance. That said the guy who wrote the wool series, has his first book out for free permanently. Not just the 5 days every three months for the amazon promo period (when you go amazon exclusive) that anyone can get.
Best of luck and remember
always follow the dream,
The Deposed King
clever, but i can understand your choice there too.