L K Below waves the flag for Anthologies!

Welcome, to my blog, L K! It's great to meet you and I am really looking forward to reading your post. I haven't had a guest discussing anthologies before so I really hope this gives aspiring writers out there another avenue to consider. Over to you!

ANTHOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES
By L. K. Below

Every writer’s path is different. Some start with short stories, sending them to magazines; others work tirelessly on that one book, drafting and redrafting it until it’s perfect; and still more write everything under the sun, sometimes not even thinking of publication.

My start was with an anthology. “His Familiar Touch,” my paranormal romance short story, is now available in Paramourtal. And let me tell you why anthologies are a good place to start:

1) There are more contributors than just you. We all know that your friends and family are going to buy the book, but now -- thanks to your other contributors -- even if no one stumbles on the book and buys it, you’re still getting exposure. After all, their friends and families are sure to purchase a copy, as well. And I don’t know about you, but whenever I have a book, I like to peek through all of the stories. If the reader enjoys your story, they will likely search for more books by you.

2) Group marketing. In the publishing industry today, marketing is a group effort between the author and the publisher. Each author tries to reach a wide audience in the hopes of snagging their interest for that particular book, while the publisher tries to reach just as wide an audience to sell all of their books. With other authors contributing to a given book, the target will widen. Everyone has their own spheres, after all. 

3) You have an in! If a publisher hosts an anthology call and yours is accepted, you are essentially an in-house author. That means that (while not guaranteed), you will have a much greater chance of your next work being accepted. Especially if you were cordial and pleasant during the edits for your short story.

4) Even if you aren’t accepted for the anthology, your story might still be accepted with the company. Epublishers such as Samhain Publishing publish shorter works than purely novel-length. In fact, Samhain in particular states that if the editor for the anthology feels that your story doesn’t quite fit, (s)he might still pass it on to an interested editor to be published under their regular publishing program. Wouldn’t that be the best rejection you ever had!

5) Print. If you’re primarily an ebook author, this may be a good way to get your short story into print. Many ebook publishers bundle shorter stories to be released in a print anthology. And as much as (I’m sure) you like ebooks, there’s nothing like seeing your book on your shelf at home!

L. K. Below writes romance and speculative fiction. Under her full name, Lindsay Below, she publishes young adult books. Visit her online at http://lbelow.blogspot.com.

Want to win a signed copy of Paramourtal? Comment here or on any of the other stops on L. K. Below’s blog tour (schedule to be found on her blog) for a chance to win! Contest closes November 15th. Winner to be announced on http://lbelow.blogspot.com.

Great blog, L K and I couldn't agree more with everything you have said! I spent years writing short stories and submitting them to UK women's magazines without receiving a single acceptance. I began to think I couldn't write, had to give up etc but then I heard about epublishers and although my first acceptance was the novel I had been working on, I am positive I would have achieved success with a short story too!

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