I hate to be a damp squib, but I've been through this with a writer's group and it tore us apart. I recommend caution with self-publishing.
Collaborative Short Story Collection
- Thread starter ratsy
- Start date
I hate to be a damp squib, but I've been through this with a writer's group and it tore us apart. I recommend caution with self-publishing.
Can you tell us a little more without breaching any confidences, prizzley? (This is exactly why I thought it ought to be raised as a potential problem if anyone was thinking of taking it on -- as Hex has already said, one way risks being a touchy-feely bonding exercise with an uneven selection of stories, the other risks upsetting people.)
Sad tale. We were a very new group. Some of us much more experienced writers than others. Not everyone wanted to be published. An anthology was suggested, and a majority were enthusiastic. Everyone who wanted to join in was invited to submit their work to a website where others could comment. Only three of us did and only those three commented. Our submission deadline passed and was reset several times.
Eventually (months later) the group member who had initiated the idea suggested that all the pieces submitted so far were too long. That member hadn't submitted or commented. Furious emails flew. Accusations were made. Three members of the group left and the anthology never materialised.
I wouldn't risk it again in any company. I'd rather keep my writing friends.
But I'm not saying it can't be done. Maybe do it for fun first and see what develops.
Eventually (months later) the group member who had initiated the idea suggested that all the pieces submitted so far were too long. That member hadn't submitted or commented. Furious emails flew. Accusations were made. Three members of the group left and the anthology never materialised.
I wouldn't risk it again in any company. I'd rather keep my writing friends.
But I'm not saying it can't be done. Maybe do it for fun first and see what develops.
Ah hurhurhur. Um. Can we think about it?
Maybe, like prizzley says, start it off for fun and learning and then see what we get? We could ask for an (anonymous) group of judges to judge the stories at the end and see if they're publication standard? Or decide then if we want to publish them?
I'm happy to help -- if others are.
I'd suggest aiming for something short (1000-2000 words) rather than longer, which means if there is a book or a website or something in the end, readers will be able to sample writing from many people without being overwhelmed?
I also think all the critiquing and the submission should be anonymous -- so if we do this, people send their stories to one central person, making sure their name isn't on it, and that central person passes the story to a critiquer, who will also be anonymous.
That way, no one will feel it's personal. I hope.
We should also all have to agree:
(1) to be happy with critique (although anything too negative can be complained about and the critiquer will be prodded with a pointy stick)
(2) to keep our critiques constructive
(3) to recognise our story mightn't make it to the final compilation -- and not to moan about that -- although that's a long way off and if we do it this way we'd try very hard to include everyone, I think it's important that people understand it mightn't happen.
And a theme... any thoughts? Any comments on the above? Any additions or volunteers?
Maybe, like prizzley says, start it off for fun and learning and then see what we get? We could ask for an (anonymous) group of judges to judge the stories at the end and see if they're publication standard? Or decide then if we want to publish them?
I'm happy to help -- if others are.
I'd suggest aiming for something short (1000-2000 words) rather than longer, which means if there is a book or a website or something in the end, readers will be able to sample writing from many people without being overwhelmed?
I also think all the critiquing and the submission should be anonymous -- so if we do this, people send their stories to one central person, making sure their name isn't on it, and that central person passes the story to a critiquer, who will also be anonymous.
That way, no one will feel it's personal. I hope.
We should also all have to agree:
(1) to be happy with critique (although anything too negative can be complained about and the critiquer will be prodded with a pointy stick)
(2) to keep our critiques constructive
(3) to recognise our story mightn't make it to the final compilation -- and not to moan about that -- although that's a long way off and if we do it this way we'd try very hard to include everyone, I think it's important that people understand it mightn't happen.
And a theme... any thoughts? Any comments on the above? Any additions or volunteers?
allmywires
Well-Known Member
I actually wouldn't mind being part of the organisational side (my inner control freak coming to the fore). I've never actually tried to write a short story before (except the first thing I ever wrote, which was in Year 9) so I'm not sure whether I'd want to take part but yeah, definitely down for the behind-the-scenes part.
Rather than having stories and critiques sent out individually, I'd suggest you set up a website which only the organiser can access to add/change pages, though all those interested could access it to read (the address to be passed by PM/email only so it isn't available for just anyone to find eg here on a thread).
That would go some way to providing anonymity (though style over a 2000 word piece would almost certainly provide clues for regulars here) as eg if amw was organising, Hex would send her story to amw by mail, amw would put it up on the site, on a page of its own; anyone with access to read the site could critique/comment, but that critique would have to be sent to amw to appear (and she could hold it back if she thought it too negative/offensive). That way everyone can see both each story and all the comments, as in Critiques here, and therefore could comment on the critiques if need be. That might then avoid the problem of person A finding person B's story uncongenial and therefore critiquing harshly, when person C might love it and provide more/better help, and vice versa, since sometimes if someone loves a story he/she might not see flaws that someone less enamoured can pick out to improve it.
When you had everyone's stories all written, critiqued and amended, you could then set up a vote as to which should be included if you were all still keen on the idea of publishing at that stage.
As to websites, I know Gary offers free sites for Chrons members, but I don't know how that works regarding actually making them. I think Anya and Mouse have sites which are free for people to create their own sites from templates, and I know Moonfruit.com also has a free option though from memory I think it's restricted as to the number of pages you can have. (I'm pretty au fait with that site builder so could help in the setting up if needed -- it has some drawbacks but is pretty easy to use after you get used to it.)
Anyway, I'm watching the whole venture with interest, but I'm not throwing my hat into the ring quite yet, not least as I need to finish my fantasy, so even if I could squeeze the time to write a short, finding time to do my share of critiquing would be more difficult.
That would go some way to providing anonymity (though style over a 2000 word piece would almost certainly provide clues for regulars here) as eg if amw was organising, Hex would send her story to amw by mail, amw would put it up on the site, on a page of its own; anyone with access to read the site could critique/comment, but that critique would have to be sent to amw to appear (and she could hold it back if she thought it too negative/offensive). That way everyone can see both each story and all the comments, as in Critiques here, and therefore could comment on the critiques if need be. That might then avoid the problem of person A finding person B's story uncongenial and therefore critiquing harshly, when person C might love it and provide more/better help, and vice versa, since sometimes if someone loves a story he/she might not see flaws that someone less enamoured can pick out to improve it.
When you had everyone's stories all written, critiqued and amended, you could then set up a vote as to which should be included if you were all still keen on the idea of publishing at that stage.
As to websites, I know Gary offers free sites for Chrons members, but I don't know how that works regarding actually making them. I think Anya and Mouse have sites which are free for people to create their own sites from templates, and I know Moonfruit.com also has a free option though from memory I think it's restricted as to the number of pages you can have. (I'm pretty au fait with that site builder so could help in the setting up if needed -- it has some drawbacks but is pretty easy to use after you get used to it.)
Anyway, I'm watching the whole venture with interest, but I'm not throwing my hat into the ring quite yet, not least as I need to finish my fantasy, so even if I could squeeze the time to write a short, finding time to do my share of critiquing would be more difficult.
That's rather beyond my limited skills (I'm fighting Joomla just now, and it hurts). If anyone could do that, though, it would be brilliant.
The other alternative, which is kind of similar in that it lets multiple people critique things, is using the Critters approach where everyone gets all the stories emailed to them. The disadvantage is some stories get many more critiques than others.
I'm off on holiday for a week (yippeee!) but I'm happy to help when I get back.
The other alternative, which is kind of similar in that it lets multiple people critique things, is using the Critters approach where everyone gets all the stories emailed to them. The disadvantage is some stories get many more critiques than others.
I'm off on holiday for a week (yippeee!) but I'm happy to help when I get back.
allmywires
Well-Known Member
I've just started a wordpress blog and that seems fairly easy to negotiate, though I'm not sure whether commentors would need accounts to reply and whatnot. I don't mind doing that side of things though.
I think, looking at this, and given that I really am not prone to a good short story, I'm out. But I'm happy to help with critting, or even proofing at the end if a fresh eye is needed. I don't have a lot of time - I've decided I'd like my shiny new wip ready for Brighton, so that's putting me under a bit of time pressure, and work is manic for a while during that - but I crit quickly and have no probs with that end of things. 
Glitch
#452
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,800
Personally I wouldn't set a theme. A genre/sub genre yes.
As for websites. If you want, I can write/host you a secure site with user access control. I don't have time for anything complicated, but I can give you member only access, ability to post text (stories, comments), workflow (ie holding items for administrator approval). That should cover the basics of what you're trying to do.
I don't want to participate story wise. Happy to help from a technical standpoint.
I think a loose-ish theme might be good -- it would serve to give cohesion to a disparate set of stories and styles. I'd certainly prefer that to a specified genre, anyway, as I always find that part of the 75 worders the most problematic. I've no ideas for either, though.
As to moonfruit, I've just checked and the free option has a limit of 15 pages, which at a page per story is a bit restrictive perhaps. The other limit is 20MB, but I've no idea what that means in terms of words. But if Glitch can do the complicated necessary, that looks the best way to go!
I've no ideas for either, though.As to moonfruit, I've just checked and the free option has a limit of 15 pages, which at a page per story is a bit restrictive perhaps. The other limit is 20MB, but I've no idea what that means in terms of words. But if Glitch can do the complicated necessary, that looks the best way to go!
Just throwing my name in, too. I am happy to help and also would probably attempt an entry. I also make a wicked Courvoisieur chocolate mousse for coffee breaks
I also would think a genre and loose theme would be pretty crucial (IMO).
pH
I also would think a genre and loose theme would be pretty crucial (IMO).
pH
Verse
Well-Known Member
Oh boy, do I have a good story for that.
Christopher Lee
Formerly BluePhoenix711
I've always thought a collection like the one I'm reading now, Dark Masques, would be cool to do with fellow chrons members. It's an anthology of horror shorts from various horror writers, from King to Bloch to McCammon. The anthology has collected a bunch of short stories, but apart from being the same genre they're all different themes.
We wouldn't do horror, of course; I'm one of the few on chrons who sticks strictly to that genre. But I don't see why it would have to stick to a specific theme. I'd get bored after three stories reading the same old crap over and over. (not that any of you would write crap, but you know what I mean)
We wouldn't do horror, of course; I'm one of the few on chrons who sticks strictly to that genre. But I don't see why it would have to stick to a specific theme. I'd get bored after three stories reading the same old crap over and over. (not that any of you would write crap, but you know what I mean)
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