by Milo James Fowler
We
all want to be novelists, right? Have an agent, sign a book deal with a
big-time publishing house, see our work on the shelf at Wal-Mart. The
American (Writer's) Dream.
But
writing a novel takes time. And revising it takes a whole lot more. We
need something along the way to boost our creative energy and remind us
why we started writing that 300-page tome in the first place: to share
our work with readers.
That's
why I started writing and submitting short stories for publication
three years ago. No agent is necessary, you can build your audience and
compile publication credits, and you'll get paid for your work.
Some writers think they can't do both short and long fiction, that their stories are too big.
But many of my favorite authors have done both: Ray Bradbury, Stephen
King, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Allen Poe, and Alastair Reynolds. If they can
do it, so can we.
There
are so many short fiction venues available: monthly and quarterly
magazines, yearly print anthologies, online 'zines, and eReader
publications. Writing and selling short stories is an excellent way to
build a portfolio of your published work. Once you have a few credits
under your belt, you'll have proof that you can sell your work to paying
markets. Pay varies widely from token to pro, but there are other
benefits, such as exposure. Having your story published alongside a
well-known author in a themed anthology will introduce new readers to
your work. In addition, once the rights revert to you, the story can be
published elsewhere as a reprint, expanding your audience even further.
One
of the greatest benefits to writing short fiction is developing one of
the characters from your novel-length work to give the readers some
insight into his or her backstory. Or, you could do something like this:
I wrote 7 stories about Captain Bartholomew Quasar, sold 6 of them,
then had an editor approach me about writing a novel-length adventure.
I've sold other tales with recurring characters—Coyote Cal & Big Yap
(weird westerns), Mercer the Soul Smuggler (paranormal noir), Charlie
Madison (future noir), Brawnstone & Dahlia (urban fantasy)—and it's
been a blast to learn more about each one with every story I write.
Having
your short work published provides a HUGE boost in self-confidence.
Spending so much time working on a novel that may never see the light of
day can be demoralizing, but seeing even a flash fiction piece
published can boost your morale like nothing else. And if you're looking
for a community of writers struggling to make every word count, be sure
to stop by Write1Sub1.
We're spending the year in Ray Bradbury's shadow, writing and
submitting our short fiction weekly/monthly, and we're growing in our
craft along the way. Many of us write novellas and novels as well, and
we've found W1S1 to be a great way to stay on track as we pursue our
dreams.
Bio:
Milo James Fowler is a teacher by day and a speculative fictioneer by
night. His work has appeared in more than 60 publications, including AE Science Fiction, Cosmos, and Shimmer.
A San Diego native, Milo currently resides on the Pacific coast with
his beloved wife, and when he's not grading papers, he's imagining what
the world might be like in a few dozen alternate realities. Stop by
anytime: www.milo-inmediasres.blogspot.com And be sure to check out Milo's Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/milojamesfowler
