Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums - View Single Post - Questions you always wanted to ask a published author

Teresa Edgerton · 15th March 2005, 08:04 PM

To answer your first question: it doesn't appear to be any easier to get a short story published than it is to get a first novel published. There really aren't any more venues and there are at least as many (probably more) short story writers trying to break in as there are novelists. On the other hand, I do know writers who have been very successful with short fiction who can't seem to sell a novel to save their lives.

So I think it depends in part on where you think your real strengths lie. Some people just seem to have an affinity for writing either short or long. If you truly believe that your short fiction is as good or better than your book length fiction, then I would say go with the short stories, if only because you can write more of them and therefore have a better chance of piquing some editor's interest somewhere along the way. (People have been known to get published simply by wearing an editor down with repeated excellent submissions that said editor almost bought.)

But if your book-length fiction is truly your best work, if those are the stories you can really throw yourself into, then go with that. You want editors and agents to see your best efforts, and your best efforts tend to come when you follow your passion.

To answer your second question, there are only a few reasons that I know of for using a pseudonym: Because you think that being known as a fiction writer will somehow hurt your credibility within your other profession or within your community. Because you write in more than one genre and you don't want readers to be confused about what kind of book or story they are buying. Because your publisher is one that likes authors to use "house names" that belong to the publishing house, so that the author can't up and leave the line taking all their readers with them (this happens a lot with romance authors). Because letting readers know your true gender may put them off (again this usually applies to romance authors). Because you are a midlist writer looking to make a fresh start.

If none of these apply to you, I wouldn't bother with it, because from what I hear it can be a real inconvenience.

15th March 2005, 08:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
Teresa Edgerton Ink-stained Wretch Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: California Posts: 4,486	Re: Questions you always wanted to ask a published author To answer your first question: it doesn't appear to be any easier to get a short story published than it is to get a first novel published. There really aren't any more venues and there are at least as many (probably more) short story writers trying to break in as there are novelists. On the other hand, I do know writers who have been very successful with short fiction who can't seem to sell a novel to save their lives. So I think it depends in part on where you think your real strengths lie. Some people just seem to have an affinity for writing either short or long. If you truly believe that your short fiction is as good or better than your book length fiction, then I would say go with the short stories, if only because you can write more of them and therefore have a better chance of piquing some editor's interest somewhere along the way. (People have been known to get published simply by wearing an editor down with repeated excellent submissions that said editor almost bought.) But if your book-length fiction is truly your best work, if those are the stories you can really throw yourself into, then go with that. You want editors and agents to see your best efforts, and your best efforts tend to come when you follow your passion. To answer your second question, there are only a few reasons that I know of for using a pseudonym: Because you think that being known as a fiction writer will somehow hurt your credibility within your other profession or within your community. Because you write in more than one genre and you don't want readers to be confused about what kind of book or story they are buying. Because your publisher is one that likes authors to use "house names" that belong to the publishing house, so that the author can't up and leave the line taking all their readers with them (this happens a lot with romance authors). Because letting readers know your true gender may put them off (again this usually applies to romance authors). Because you are a midlist writer looking to make a fresh start. If none of these apply to you, I wouldn't bother with it, because from what I hear it can be a real inconvenience.