Electronic Publishing for Short Stories

[BookStop]

Do you think electronic publishing of shorter stories is a viable substition for paper printing? I've noticed lately everyone is doing it. Yes, it's been around awhile, but seems to be gaining in popularity like never before. Amazon, Fictionwise, & Mudania (is starting soon)... With phones now being PDA 's and computers, and everyone carrying them all the time, it seems like the market may finally be ready to really, really push epublishing.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I really don't think so - eBooks were hyped up a few years back and have completely failed to deliver any fraction of the expectations.

Frankly, it seems like the biggest audience for any kind of epublishing is the writers themselves - but at the exclusion of most of the consumer markets they really need to be aimed at.

2c.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i second brians comment. ebooks are cheaper, i imagine that's why people are having them. they hardly cost anything to do. but i don't think people will ever really take to them the same way. it's not easy to read on a screen, after all.

 

[Marky Lazer]

Reading off-screen isn't too good for your eyes. At least, I'm getting tired faster when reading off a screen.

 

[BookStop]

True- but what about short stories? Lots and lots of free ezines, and recently, cheap by-the-story purchases are available.

I'm a huge fan of short stories because you can read 'em when you only have a few minutes of time (yes, I read cereal boxes some mornings, not that I'm addicted or anything), and you can't find near as many short story anthologies or magazines as you can digital ones.

 

[the_faery_queen]

well ezines come and go really quickly. there are so many of them. quick to spring up, quick to die. i submit to them tho, i do prefer print mags, but there are less of them and they tend to be more fussy and not want email submits. ezines do which makes it easier i still dpon't like being printed on them, or reading on them, but i want the credit (and don't say not to the cash) and i tend to print them out to ahve a record

so yeah, can't see ezines beating print zines. they come and go so fast! but with short stories it is a benefit over novels, because its less to read online.

 

[C. Craig R. McNeil]

Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread but I thought the previous posters may be interested to know that I post a lot of short stories (very short - about 600 words) to my website which I use to try and attract people and hopefully get them to buy a copy of my book. I'm not sure how succesful it is but it serves as a archive of my scriptural doodles.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i post extracts of mine, and plan to put short stories up there that i've finished with it at least gives people a taster of style, right?

 

[C. Craig R. McNeil]

Exactly. Give people a taster and a feel for what you write and the idea is that they may be intrigued enough to keep reading and want more.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Certainly it's almost certainly a good idea to post what you can when writing - but my earlier cynical comments were aimed more at epublishing as a phenomenon to rival or even replace traditional publishing.

 

[Steve Jordan]

I started selling e-books on my site last year, as a (hopeful) precursor to getting a print contract and going mainstream. Although I won't argue with the points made here, I'd like to point out that a few of the complaints about e-books are subjective, and don't mean e-books will never be viable. I personally read more e-books than printed books these days, on a handheld computer, perfectly comfortably, and with zero eyestrain. Sure, reading e-books is different... but people get used to things like that.

E-books face the same uphill battle that digital music faced, before Apple and iTunes began to bring some semblance of order to the chaos. E-books also face multiple format, hardware, and security issues, but none of these are insurmountable. They're just being delayed primarily by publishers, who basically fear for their profits and (understandably) don't want to get into it.

I'm trying out an e-publishing model now, that seems to be popular among e-book purchasers, and makes it easier for people to buy my novels. I've also received good reviews, so at this point, lack of exposure is about the only thing preventing me from making serious sales.

I would certainly recommend e-publishing, to put out full stories, short stories, or excerpts. The only real challenge is getting people to your site, which takes a lot of effort and advertising... or a wicked viral campaign.

---
Steve

 

[Simon Haynes]

The cachet is still with the printed page. Getting published is a huge reward for effort, and most writers would rather end up with a hard copy than a url.

My first publication was in print, my second on the web. I know which one I still have a copy of.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i printed my online stories off so i have copies of both print and ezine. but i prefer to have a book in my hand. it's easier to market, for starters! you can do booksignings, you can show people an actual product. when it's online you don't have anything you can show or hold in the same way

 

[Simon Haynes]

I printed my e-pubs too, but when I wave a batch of A4 at someone they're a lot less impressed than if I throw a bound book at them.

 

[Steve Jordan]

If all you want is physical proof that you've written something... that's fine. However, e-books do have the advantage of being able to reach further and faster than the printed page, for less cost. My very first sale was to a man in Spain, with me based in the Washington, DC area, whom I never would have met if not online. I have since made sales around the world.

Sure, I wouldn't mind getting published by major publisher. But before I wade through years of slush piles, contracts, multi-editings and proofs (or spend hundreds to thousands in vanity-pressing), I can get my book out online in the meantime, and people can see it now.

(BTW, I've made a few bucks in the process, all profit.)

 

[SpaceShip]

Maybe one day! But I still think the bound book is still the better option. It's always available without having to be plugged in, switched on, etc and much safer when read in the bath!

PS - welcome to the Chronics Simon Haynes. Hope to see you in the corridors.

 

[Simon Haynes]

Sure, I wouldn't mind getting published by major publisher. But before I wade through years of slush piles, contracts, multi-editings and proofs (or spend hundreds to thousands in vanity-pressing), I can get my book out online in the meantime, and people can see it now.

True, although the topic was Short Stories. There are many paying print markets for short fiction, and as you work down the list it becomes a little easier to get accepted for publication.

For novels there's always the desire to get one out there so you can forget about it and start work on the next.

 

[Steve Jordan]

There are many paying print markets for short fiction, and as you work down the list it becomes a little easier to get accepted for publication.

Sure, but that doesn't mean you should ignore another viable market, online publishing. Just because it's "cutting edge" and not "traditional" doesn't make it bad. Every system has to start somewhere. And that goes for novels or short stories.

 

[Simon Haynes]

You're talking to someone who spent several months developing an ebook reader for Windows, and still tinkers with it four years later ;-)

I'm happy to read off the screen, and I don't have anything against ebooks. In fact, the SF mag I help to run recently started offering a PDF version alongside the print one, since it costs a fortune to post the mag outside Australia.

But if you offered an author the same advance and royalties for either an ebook or a printed edition of their book, they'd mostly choose the latter.

 

[Steve Jordan]

I get that people like to see a printed book. I wouldn't mind seeing one myself, some day. But my point is, you can do both. Why not do both?