Author interview: Richard Daybell

How did you become interested in short stories?
I wrote short stories before undertaking a novel.  For several years, I wrote primarily short humor -- satirical pieces.  I guess they'd be considered nonfiction, but barely.  Short fiction was the next logical step, and I really enjoyed the freedom it gave me.  Because I love the Caribbean, I began using it as a setting for a lot of the stories.


As an author, do you think writing short stories is worthwhile?  Why?
For the pleasure, yes.  For publishing, it's certainly become tougher through the years.  I was lucky enough to sell stories to a few pretty good markets.  American Way and Hemispheres, two inflight magazines, published several.  Neither uses fiction anymore.


What types of short story promotion have worked for you?
The only promotion I've done for my short stories, beyond marketing to magazines, is for my collection, Calypso: stories of the Caribbean, featuring 15 of my stories.  


What types of short story promotion have not worked for you?
I don't yet know what works and what doesn't.


Do you consider 99 cents to be a fair price for a short story?  Why or why not?
Certainly.  A collection of short stories most often sells for much less than that per story. A magazine with a short story sells for a couple of bucks and you get all that other stuff.  And the inflight magazines that featured my stories were free.


Check out Richard's stories on Amazon
Or check out his blog

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