Now that summer is officially over and temperatures are cooling down in areas around the world, it's time to get your writing flowing again, especially if you've been lax like me. I don't know what all I did before the fall season hit, but I know my writing suffered this summer.
One thing though that didn't suffer was my chance to meet and talk with people who have a story to tell but are afraid to dip their feet in the writing waters Are you afraid to dip your feet too--go out on a limb and produce a short story or poem?
There are so many ways to share a short story or poem besides a novel or Chap book. Writing for an anthology is one possibility. Not only is it a great way to get published, but you wouldn't believe how many readers, with little time on their hands, would rather purchase an anthology.
What is an anthology? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an anthology is a collection of writings (such as poems or short stories) by different authors.
Many anthologies revolve around a particular theme, but not all. The length of a short story for anthologies varies depending on the rules set up by the group or person creating the anthology. Anthologies I've submitted short stories for have requested writers limit their word count between 2,500 to 4,500. Although I have seen requests for up to 7,500 words. Accepted stories usually run between 8 to 9 pages in length.
I'd suggest submitting your story early since there's a limited amount of short stories accepted for submission. One anthology I read several years ago contained stories by 29 authors. But two anthologies I submitted stories for accepted only 19 authors, and another just 11.
If you have short stories or poems you'd like to submit but haven't seen any advertisement concerning anthologies for your area, don't despair. Just Goggle Anthology Submissions.
This past year I submitted stories for two anthologies, one in Minnesota and one in Florida. Both anthology creations ran into different problems. The Minnesota anthology, mysteries involving food, had too many submissions and as luck would have it mine wasn't selected. But here's the good news. The organizers of this anthology decided to do a Part Two book with the same theme and asked if they could still use my story. The Florida anthology this year was accepting stories of any genre as well as poems, and they didn't have to revolve around Florida. The problem this group ran into was not receiving enough submissions, meaning it probably wouldn't be produced. So, when an e-mail arrived this past week showing the cover of the new Florida anthology, I was pleasantly surprised.
As a writer, I've found writing one short story is a lot easier than whipping up a novel, and it doesn't require as much time. You never know when a short story you've written might fit perfectly with a new anthology being produced. Over the years I've written many short stories to share in writers' groups never thinking they might be used at a later date for an anthology. Luckily, I saved them. Within the past two years, I've been able to make use of two stories I had tucked away.
If you've got a story to tell, don't put it off. The one you write and submit to an anthology may just catch an agent's eye.
Until Next Time
This is Marlene Chabot
Author of Short Stories and Novels
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