tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post2516441236136173648..comments2024-03-29T05:07:06.873-04:00Comments on Pimp My Novel: The Long and Short of ItUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-7693649429355408882011-07-06T15:36:22.940-04:002011-07-06T15:36:22.940-04:00Great post. Short stories are a great exercise for...Great post. Short stories are a great exercise for honing your craft.J. H. Bogránhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11139508453464446992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-48262166303484338972011-06-24T08:18:46.281-04:002011-06-24T08:18:46.281-04:00Is it just me, or are half these posters pimping t...Is it just me, or are half these posters pimping their short stories? Way to market, dudes.John Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10388001342649276789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-6179028352146073762011-06-23T19:37:57.247-04:002011-06-23T19:37:57.247-04:00eBooks are one exception. Here's another one:...eBooks are one exception. Here's another one: short stories under a single topic, especially in the youth market. "Tales of the Supernatural" etc. These can be single-author works. My books "Ghost Cats of the South" and "Ghost Dogs of the South" are collections of short stories on the specific topic and, though regional titles, they have sold well.GhostFolk.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942600698461250382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-55754059719811788252011-06-23T09:34:42.713-04:002011-06-23T09:34:42.713-04:00Great post. However, I must take issue with the ve...Great post. However, I must take issue with the very beginning. I think this is ABSOLUTELY appropriate advice for genre writers. If you're in the SF genre, it's a good thing to have been published in Asimov's or F&SF. If you're a Romance writer, maybe Penthouse would be a good note on your bio. (Or maybe not?) Getting your writing out there, in any form that lets people read it, is a good thing. And getting a short story published in a magazine means you've already made the cut on at least one level, for one story. This is absolutely good advice, for any author, not just mainstream.Jacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13923175310269099458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-17674038291631090042011-06-23T00:16:33.191-04:002011-06-23T00:16:33.191-04:00I recently started submitting short stories to lit...I recently started submitting short stories to lit journals, because I've heard that's the traditional route to getting an agent. Not to mention it gives me an excuse to buy lit journals as part of my research for deciding which ones to submit to; the journals often have great stories. I especially like the stories in Glimmer Train and Paris Review. The writers in those journals make me think of the amazing actors who perform in tiny theaters in Chicago; they're often so so much better than the A-listers who get all the attention.Neurotic Workaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775298184138766683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-41718227500262507632011-06-22T19:03:03.761-04:002011-06-22T19:03:03.761-04:00I understand that all you say is true, and I'v...I understand that all you say is true, and I've heard it from many others. But I find it to be sort of unhelpful advice for someone writing a novel. Unless that someone is the kind of writer who can churn out short stories while also slogging away at a novel (and working full time and having a family). But I generally find that I can only focus on one type of writing at a time. Also, the markets you're talking about are very hard to break into. So while it may be a good idea to send out stories if you have them, my advice to myself has been, "If you want to be a novelist, you need to finish that novel, and make it damn good." If you've written (and revised and revised) an 80,000 word novel, you've put a fair amount of time and effort into your writing.<br /><br />I'd love to see more markets that accept novel excerpts. That, I'd buy into.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-88805204101616494792011-06-22T18:47:15.784-04:002011-06-22T18:47:15.784-04:00This is a timely post, Eric. Thanks.This is a timely post, Eric. Thanks.Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-91249816596854017032011-06-22T15:47:20.029-04:002011-06-22T15:47:20.029-04:00Fodder for another post: Awards for short stories,...Fodder for another post: Awards for short stories, which ones carry any real weight, and which ones aren't worth the space they take up in a query to mention (e.g., *Pushcart Prize nominee*)...Phoenix Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03290349031002504007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-35052084088409539892011-06-22T14:57:03.426-04:002011-06-22T14:57:03.426-04:00Wow. Who knew? I mean, I know short story collecti...Wow. Who knew? I mean, I know short story collections don't traditionally sell well. No one wants the "quick" version of a story--at least, almost no one. Ebooks though... There's food for thought.Crystal Collierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03912469552483168148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-67955981866901254642011-06-22T14:37:42.206-04:002011-06-22T14:37:42.206-04:00I'm a big fan of Jesse Ball at the moment - af...I'm a big fan of Jesse Ball at the moment - after reading his story in the Paris Review (a year or two ago): http://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/5825/the-early-deaths-of-lubeck-brennan-harp-and-carr-jesse-ball <br /><br />that made me search him out for his later novels (Samedi the Deafness, The Way Through Doors, and a new one on my too read list, I forget what it's called), and I wasn't disappointed. Not that I'm a literary agent by the way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733835506387656648.post-60648910531344580842011-06-22T14:23:19.608-04:002011-06-22T14:23:19.608-04:00I second that motion. Although, I also must admit ...I second that motion. Although, I also must admit that in the ebook market - short stories also does really well. I buy a lot of them as well as they are a great way to be exposed to new authors.LM Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com