Book Brouhaha

Yes, it's true that short stories will probably never outsell the novel.  And anyone brave enough to publish one has to face the risk of the dreaded "would have been good if it wasn't so short" review.  But give this genre a little credit!  There are some plus sides.  For one thing, they allow one to explore multiple genres .  Another often overlooked pro to short stories is that they adept quite well to film.  The criticism most often made about movies based on novels is that the movie changed the book.  The eloquent descriptions and beautiful detail that make a book memorable usually have to be cut out or changed in order to translate to a two hour on-screen event.  Interesting sub-plots become an optional luxury. But short stories thrive on the imagination.  The best ones merely create framework so as to let the reader fill in the blanks.  This works especially well when translated to the screen.  The director and script writer...

Summary: If You Go Into The Woods is a collection of two unsettling short stories. The title story is set in Caslav, a small town 60 miles east of Prague, Czech Republic. Jiri Beranek is drawn to a nearby forest, captivated by birds hidden high in the trees. Each time he enters, his desire to see the mysterious creatures is checked by his fear of the dark. When he finally forces himself to go farther, he finds a new reason to be afraid. This story was first published by The Delinquent (UK) then selected by Short Story America for inclusion in their anthology of their best stories of 2010. The bonus story - The Reset Button - is set in Stockholm, Sweden in the depths of winter. Linus Eriksson, a divorced bachelor living alone in his small one-bedroom apartment, is a man with a memory problem: instead of not being able to remember anyone, nobody can remember him. This story is brand new, exclusively available in this e-book. Review: The two short stories in this collection, If You...

Your past short story writing history - I've been writing short stories for over ten years. I've had a number of short stories published in anthologies including three in Level Best Books' Crime Stories By New England Writers (Volumes 2, 4 &5). I've also published short "romatica" stories in e-collections by Ravenous Romance. Date you electronically published your first story : I published my first collection of short stories,  My Last Romance & other passions  in paperback in 2006 and in e-format in 2009. Amount of effort you put into advertising your short stories - medium - I list them on my web site and blog and have them listed on Goodreads and other author sites but that's about all Genre(s) - crime/horror and romantic/love stories The average length your individual short stories tend to be - they vary from 1500 words to 15,000 words. Amazon sales data -  From February thru the present I've had 2 short story collections (8 stor...

Your past short story writing history -  None, except school long ago, of course. Other than some non-fiction articles, I haven't done shorter works. Date you electronically published your first story - I published my first novel in February 2010. The first (and only to date) short story mid-April 2011. Amount of effort you put into advertising your short stories - Pretty much none. You reviewed it when I answered your post on KB, and I mentioned it on my own blog. Genre(s) - The short story is western historical romance. My novels are that and cozy mystery. The average length your individual short stories tend to be - My short story is 6,000 words. Amazon sales data         All data for one short story, 6,000 words.         Partial month of April (first available and first sales April 13): 56         May: 125         June: 117      ...

Your past short story writing history - I began writing short stories as a kid and really worked on it in college. For my grad-school thesis, I wrote a short story collection. Some of those stories are in Evolvement, my chapbook-length story collection. Date you electronically published your first story - Dec. 31, 2010 Amount of effort you put into advertising your short stories - I put in a fair amount of effort for the first few weeks. I didn't spend any money on advertising except for one KB Book of the Day ad that will appear next month. I did other things, like press releases, blogs, tweets, etc. Now, I don't do much and I kind of just let it happen. Genre(s) - literary The average length your individual short stories tend to be - 2,000 words Amazon sales data February=1 standalone (0 sales) and 2 mini-collections (4 sales) March=1 standalone (0 sales) and 2 mini-collections (1 sale) April=1 standalone (0 sales) and 2 mini-collections (2 sales) May=1 standalone th...

Number 6 is my favorite....

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on all the things working against me as a writer.  One thing I definitely have working for  me is my sense of the long term.  Oh, I definitely get frustrated from those no sales days.  But I always have an ever-present sense of the long term.  This is really something that was instilled in me from over twenty years of playing the violin.  It's further amplified by the fact that I now teach the violin.  You think the writing process is slow?  Try learning a musical instrument. I think a lot of independent writers fall into the trap of losing long term focus.  We're constantly chanting "this is a marathon, not a sprint."  But what does that really mean in your mind?  Are you saying that but actually thinking "if I advertise enough, next month with be my big break"? In order to really be effective as a teacher, you really have to be tuned in to the little things.  If you simply compare this...