The Return of Short Fiction
The common lament in newpub circles these past years has been that short fiction just doesn’t sell anymore. Longtime readers want novels, and younger generations only read serialized stories online.
So authors who love to write short stories were told to stuff them in trunks, use them as newsletter freebies, or stitch them together into novels.
But now, short fiction may be on the cusp of a renaissance nobody saw coming.
The Bookseller reports growing interest in short stories. Readers are getting excited about shorter books and slim fiction. Which raises an important question:
Why did short fiction lose commercial viability to begin with?
It wasn’t that readers always preferred longer novels. Short fiction used to be everywhere. Pulp magazines amassed huge readerships and launched authors who are still household names.
Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Ray Bradbury. All made their bones writing stories you can read in one sitting.
Then the industry killed the magazine market that gave short fiction distribution. Attention went to paperback novels, and authors changed focus accordingly.
So it’s not that readers suddenly started hating short stories. Instead, that form of storytelling lost its main delivery method.
But distribution models aren’t set in stone. And as of this writing, changes are underway that could bring short stories back into favor.
Read the full post on Substack.
SOULDANCER RETURNS, THE CYCLE CONTINUES
Ten years after winning the first-ever Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel, Souldancer returns with the definitive anniversary edition and an all-new companion novella, The Other Side of Fear.
The Kickstarter launches September 1, featuring early bird rewards and a crowdfunder-exclusive hardcover of the new novella.
Follow the Kickstarter now to be notified the moment limited rewards go live!