Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums - View Single Post - Anthologies, collections and other things too short.

scalem X · 3rd December 2007, 07:13 PM

Inspired by the other topic on horror stories, I come here to explain to you why anthologies don't sell (as much as novels) and why that is a problem for publishers. (I know I'm not right 100% it's just an opinion, but just to get things started.)

The problem why anthologies and the likes sell less than novels and why that's a problem is I think the size. Most anthologies are as large as novels. Take as a standard that they feauture about 10 to 15 stories and each story is about the tenth or a fifteenth of a novel.

This means that for some reason people publish short stories and make the collections look like novels.
Now as a buyer, I'll have the idea of buying a book of stories for some more than the price of a novel (anthologies seem to be slightly more expensive). The book is as large as a regular novel and in general there is no difference. The only difference is that when you buy a book and finish it, you can say it's either bad or it is brilliant. With a collection, you'll always have weaker and stronger stories. Therefore people are more likely to recommend novels than short stories. (that's why anthologies will sell less than novels of the same size and because they are in the same market and cost the same to be produced, it's easy to see the weaker brother. Yes anthologies that look like books, are the size of books and cost more than books sell remarkably less *Shock-horror*)

Now is there a future for short fiction? Is it doomed to remain as something which writers read/write in magazines as a step up to get better at writing?

Personally I think the publishing industry is making the mistake of seeing short stories as 'stories that are too short to be novels'. They add them in collections that are too large. You can with some effort read a book in one try. Try this with an anthology and your mind will give up. That is because each short story is a story. You don't start a book by another author, the same hour or day you've finished a novel. Same goes for short stories. You can read two or three at most and then your mind needs some rest.

Therefore I they'd do well in publishing three or four stories together instead of the 10 to 15 they're doing now. It would be nice to have something to buy something new and decent at a bookshop for just 2-3 pounds.

Anyway with this post there's also a poll about anthologies/collections.

3rd December 2007, 07:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
scalem X I am, the scallywag Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 1,415	Anthologies, collections and other things too short. Inspired by the other topic on horror stories, I come here to explain to you why anthologies don't sell (as much as novels) and why that is a problem for publishers. (I know I'm not right 100% it's just an opinion, but just to get things started.) The problem why anthologies and the likes sell less than novels and why that's a problem is I think the size. Most anthologies are as large as novels. Take as a standard that they feauture about 10 to 15 stories and each story is about the tenth or a fifteenth of a novel. This means that for some reason people publish short stories and make the collections look like novels. Now as a buyer, I'll have the idea of buying a book of stories for some more than the price of a novel (anthologies seem to be slightly more expensive). The book is as large as a regular novel and in general there is no difference. The only difference is that when you buy a book and finish it, you can say it's either bad or it is brilliant. With a collection, you'll always have weaker and stronger stories. Therefore people are more likely to recommend novels than short stories. (that's why anthologies will sell less than novels of the same size and because they are in the same market and cost the same to be produced, it's easy to see the weaker brother. Yes anthologies that look like books, are the size of books and cost more than books sell remarkably less Shock-horror) Now is there a future for short fiction? Is it doomed to remain as something which writers read/write in magazines as a step up to get better at writing? Personally I think the publishing industry is making the mistake of seeing short stories as 'stories that are too short to be novels'. They add them in collections that are too large. You can with some effort read a book in one try. Try this with an anthology and your mind will give up. That is because each short story is a story. You don't start a book by another author, the same hour or day you've finished a novel. Same goes for short stories. You can read two or three at most and then your mind needs some rest. Therefore I they'd do well in publishing three or four stories together instead of the 10 to 15 they're doing now. It would be nice to have something to buy something new and decent at a bookshop for just 2-3 pounds. Anyway with this post there's also a poll about anthologies/collections.