Author interview: Annie Bellet

How did you become interested in short stories?
A teacher in the 4th grade got me into writing short stories.  So I guess I was an early convert to the short story form.  I love reading them and have since I was little, so I guess it is only natural that I write them, too.

As an author, do you think writing short stories is worthwhile?  Why?
Yes. Very, very worthwhile.  Short stories are tougher to write then they look, but the rewards are also better in terms of craft and experimentation.  I can take a technique or an idea and explore it in a short story while only investing a relatively (compared to a novel) small amount of time and effort.  Short stories give me room to play and try out ideas and characters that aren't right for a longer piece.  

What types of short story promotion have worked for you?
Selling to magazines seems to be the best route, but I'm not sure you'd call that promotion exactly.  I think the low price (.99 cents to 1.99 each for my individual ones) is a draw.  I don't really promote them.

What types of short story promotion have not worked for you?
I'm just not a big promoter, but I imagine lying about the length (I've seen people get angry in reviews because something wasn't identified as a short story) would be a bad thing to do.  All my short stories and novelettes/novellas are marked as such.  I want people to know exactly what they are buying, after all.

Do you consider 99 cents to be a fair price for a standalone short story?  Why or why not?
I do. A good short story still takes many hours of work and a lot of craft and ability.  A good short story provides an hour or more of entertainment and a nice taste of what an author writes.  A dollar or two doesn't seem like too much for all that.  I happily buy short stories and collections.  It's a good way to get to know an author's work without investing the time to read a novel.


Check out Annie's work on Amazon

Comments

  1. Alain GomezApril 21, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    What type of magazines have you submitted short stories to?

    ReplyDelete
  2. James EveringtonApril 21, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    I can confirm, lying about length is bad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James EveringtonApril 21, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    Just realised what I actually said in my last post...

    I can confirm I was talking about *story* length. Blush.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alain GomezApril 21, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Lol. It's a touchy subject either way.

    ReplyDelete

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