[Scott Daniel]

I know single short stories, heck short stories in general, don't sell well. But I wonder if anyone on KB has experienced success selling just a single short? I'm in the process of updating mine - new cover, new blurb, just to see if it might help a bit. (Just to clarify, my current sig here is the old cover)

 

[MegHarris]

My bestseller so far is a short.  But it's an erotic romance.  I think that makes a big difference.  People are willing to buy short erotic stuff, definitely, but I'm not sure about other genres.

 

[jimbronyaur]

My opinion for shorts is...

They can sell...

BUT - what's the word count AND the price?

AND make sure in the description that you list it in clear terms that it's a short story (and I would even list the word count) - just so there's no confusion.

Nothing's more annoying than buying a short story you thought was a book...

But I do believe that shorts can sell.

-jb

 

[Lisa Scott]

My bestseller so far is a short. But it's an erotic romance. I think that makes a big difference. People are willing to buy short erotic stuff, definitely, but I'm not sure about other genres.

Ellen, do you think they'd also buy contemporary romance shorts? I'm getting ready to release a collection of five short romances (8,000-12,000 in length each) and release them individually as well. I guess I'll find out!

 

[MegHarris]

Lisa, I have no idea, but I would love to know the answer to that question.  Please do keep us updated on how you do!

And yes, I agree with Jim-- always mark a short story very clearly, with the word count and the label "short story."  That way readers know what they're getting.

 

[Scott Daniel]

Here's the new blurb:

Thanks to the LifeSync, a device that allows your past to be viewed in full detail, Beth Tanner must confront her long ago transgressions as her marriage hangs in the balance. Married to Jackson for more than a decade, Beth lives an ideal soccer-mom suburban lifestyle. But is it all based on a house of cards? Jackson must ultimately decide. This story is approximately 3500 words or 13 pages.


Thoughts?

 

[MegHarris]

I will say I've never tried to market anything that short.  Most of mine are at least 7000 words.  Which isn't to say that it won't sell, just that I haven't tried it.

 

[WestofMars]

I do well with Mannequin (which I had to take out of my sig due to size problems. Can anyone help?). It's on the cover that it's a short story... I make no bones about it. Heck, I don't WANT it confused with a longer work. While it's not  my best-seller (That's Trevor's Song), I'm happy with how it does, and I'm even happier that so many people get it. It's a subtle story, but people are connecting to Lynne.

 

[Scott Daniel]

New cover image. Better? Worse?

 

[Patty Jansen]

I tend to market stories over 5000 words. They do sell.

 

[Decon]

I am ready to upload my 12 single short stories which are currently published in Lunch Break Thrillers and vary from 5,000 words to 8,000 words.

I will then increase the price of Lunch Break Thrillers. All twelve will include American English and UK English for the customer to make the choice. I was even thinking of unpublishing LBT.

That said, I am not sure if I have the nerve to do it. I have uploaded them to smashwords separately and to Amazon de, but I have no sales data yet to make a final decision. The only definite, is that one of the short stories will be released next week with a German translation. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

Short stories as singles, or as compilations are never likely to crack the best sellers list.

 

[Decon]

I tend to market stories over 5000 words. They do sell.

Where do you market them? I just took a look at a couple your signature books and they don't look to short stories.

 

[SuzanneTyrpak]

My shorts are too short to sell singly. Dating My Vibrator (and other true fiction) is a collection of nine short stories at about 14,500 words. It sells at .99 cents. Right now I'm selling close to 1,000 per month--and it's on a number of bestselling lists. But it took about six months for the book to take off. At one point it was #200 in all of UK Kindle.

I'll be bringing out another collection of short stories soon--in a different vein: Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales, eleven short stories also about 14,500 words for .99 cents. My stories run from 100 word flash-fiction to about 3,000 words--so I offer them as short collections.

Blake Crouch puts out longer shorts as singles, and he does well with them.

Good luck!

 

[J.A. Marlow]

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[MartinLake]

I have had a little success with my collection of short stories, Pick and Mix.  I have a new collection out called Nuggets.  This will be available this weekend.

Martin Lake.

 

[aaronpolson]

I have oodles of shorts in collections of varying sizes, and just started a new experiment with my "zombie" stories. (Zombie is to horror what erotica is to everything else in terms of sales.)

I'm offering them as 99 cent "double shots" (two short stories); once I've published enough there will be an omnibus for a slightly higher price.

The first two:

End Times: an undead double-shot (zombie stories) (Undead Double Shots)

and

Hunger: an undead double-shot (zombie stories) (Undead Double-Shots)

My short novels sell better than the stories, but hell--I've written the stories and should offer them, shouldn't I?

 

[WestofMars]

Oh, well, if you are going to talk about collections of stories, my Demo Tapes books (there are three now! Triplets!) are collections of shorts. My readers demanded them. Who was I to say no?

 

[stepartdesigns]

My short story collection Trouble Down South and Other Stories is selling slowly. It is a collection of 12 stories of varying lengths. My short story Missus Buck is doing as well as the collection. Not a lot of sales, but I am happy with both. I do make it clear in the description that Missus Buck is a 6850-word short story so the readers don't buy it thinking it is a novel.

I have had over 15 reviews of Missus Buck, 3-, 4-, and 5-star reviews. The 3-star reviews state that it ended too soon and left them wanting to read more. I am happy with the 3-star review because they liked the story anyway--it was just not long enough. That seems to be the main issue with short stories.

Katrina

 

[stepartdesigns]

New cover image. Better? Worse?

I like this cover. Dramatic.

Katrina

 

[Mel Comley]

This is a timely thread as I'm hopefully going to be uploading a true ghost story in the next couple of weeks, it'll be approx 5000 words for 99 cents!