Nine Good Reasons (and One Bad One) Why Independent Novelists Should Write Short Stories

By Gamal Hennessy

Most authors I know (both independent and traditional) see the novel as their main creative outlet. It has the substance, gravitas and size to mark it as a major achievement. Few of them focus on shorter works as a beneficial aspect of their craft. (I include both short stories and novellas into this discussion See Just How Long is a Novel and How Much Should it Cost?)  I feel that independents, even more than traditional authors can get enormous benefits from writing short fiction. I've identified ten virtues of writing shorter stories that cover the business, craft and lifestyle of writing.

Business Virtues

1) Production benefits: Independents have several aspects of the production process that they have to be comfortable with in order to get their work out into the world. The best way to understand the nuances of pre-production, production, post production and launch is to get in there and do it. (See The Four Stages of Novel Production) There is a natural discomfort that comes from trying to understand all these moving parts when the 'test study' for your publishing education is the 120,000 word manuscript that you've worked on for two years. That hesitation is reduced when the “test subject” is a 15,000 word short story that you wrote in a month. You would still try to produce the best book possible, of course. But the emotional cost of each inevitable mistake would be less damaging to your psyche.

2) Cost benefits: One of the major costs in independent publishing is editing (See How to Find an Editor without Going Insane). The editing cost for a 120,000 word book can easily be $2,000 or more. The price is often based on word count, so a 15,000 word story might only cost $240 under a similar pricing model. This lower price offers flexibility on two fronts. First, you're more likely to try different editors if you know the cost associated with each one isn't that much. Second, the release of each book won't take such a huge chunk out of your limited personal budget. There is an increased cover cost for multiple books (See the Mystery of Cover Design) but there are ways to keep those costs substantially lower than your editing costs.

3) Sales benefits: The popular wisdom about independent publishing is that the more products you have in the market, the easier it is for readers to find you and the more success you'll have in the long term. The problem with that is that it might not be feasible to get 10-15 novels out in a reasonable period of time. Releasing 10-15 novellas on the other hand is a more manageable production plan (See What's Your Publishing Plan?)

Craft Virtues

4) Playground for Ideas: If you're playing with a certain characters or scenarios for a larger work, but you're not sure if you want to tell that story over an entire novel, then a short story can help you explore the narrative potential. If you get to the end of the short story and you're itching to write more, go ahead. If the idea fizzles after 10,000 words, then you can avoid wrestling with the concept for 30,000 to 40,000 words before you realize you've written yourself into a space that you can't get out of.

5) "Extra" ideas: I often come to points in my novels where minor characters suggest stories that won't fit into the main narrative. At other points they hint at something in their backstory that deserves to be explored. Instead of trying to cram it into the story where it might not fit or forgetting the idea altogether, I often use that idea as a separate short story to satisfy my creative detour without derailing me from the main plot.

6) Building blocks: I work under the concept that the chapter of a book is a mini story in its own right that includes a beginning, turning point and end (See Analysis of Story Structure Part 1: The Chapter). The only difference between short stories and chapters is that the chapter needs an internal consistency that also serves the broader book. Writing short stories is great practice for manipulating the individual elements of a novel that can be strung together to complete the story in the same way a season of a TV series is made up of discrete episodes. 

Lifestyle virtues

7) Project management: Cooking dinner for two is less intimidating than cooking for twenty. A 15,000 word project is less intimidating than a 150,000 word project. Breaking your creative work into smaller chunks might get you to a place mentally where you are more productive. This is even more beneficial if you use your short stories to build a larger novel.

8) Greater sense of accomplishment: When I look on my author page on Amazon, I feel better when I have more titles up there. The bigger catalog gives me a sense of progress and productivity that inspires me to write more. I don't know if I would get the same sense of accomplishment if I only saw my novels.

9) Creative freedom: When you know all your writing isn't tied up in one project, you can take risks. You can explore different genres, perspectives and ideas. You can push concepts farther than you normally would without sacrificing your main books. These might be stories that you never even release, but the creative freedom that they give you will come back and make your main stories even better.

The Vice of Short Stories

If there is a downside for releasing short stories, it is their length in relation to their price. With many independents selling full novels for $2.00 less, some readers and writers might reject the idea of selling 15,000 words for $.99. While I might disagree with the $.99 novel concept, I understand the economic problem it creates. 

My solution is to release a series of short stories in an anthology that is cheaper than the cost of all the individual stories. For example, I released an anthology of related short stories called Smooth Operator in 2013. The book contained five short stories and one novella for a total of 65,000 words. If I released each one individually, the price of the set would have been $7.99. I released Smooth Operator for $4.99 or 40% off the individual story cost. It's still more than the $.99 novel, but I don't believe in selling full novels for a buck.

Your turn

Do you write short stories in addition to or instead of writing longer novels? Do you do it for some or all of the reasons I listed, or do you have another rationale? Please share in the comments below. 

Have fun

Gamal

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My New Novella Broken Glass is Now Available for Free!

I’m currently offering a new crime thriller novella for free on Smashwords.

Broken Glass

Russ Warner works as a bartender to the bankers and brokers on Wall Street. He has to deal with arrogant wealthy customers every night, but Alex is the worst of them.

One night, the two men argue over a woman and storm out of the bar. The next morning, one of them is dead. Who’s the killer and how is this common disagreement tied to a much larger conspiracy?

If you decide to read it, please let me know what you think by writing me a review. Every opinion helps, whether it’s good or bad.

Have fun.
Gamal

Read a Little Urban Horror and Your Train Ride Will Never Be the Same

A new urban horror story from Nightlife Publishing goes on sale this week. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the special story I’ve written for Halloween.

Spare Some Change

Martin is young, arrogant and drunk when he decides to harass a homeless man on the train. But he doesn't realize the power that the old man wields in the tunnels. He can't escape from the wrath of the deranged torturers who want to punish him for the sins of everyone who has ever abused them. Will he be able to live through their brutality and see the outside world again?

Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Nightlife Publishing title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.

Have fun.

Gamal

Your First Look at Must Be the Music

The new erotic anthology from the Nightlife Publishing goes on sale in a few days. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the story.

 

These two erotic stories are dedicated to the DJ.

 

In Let the Music Play, a man looks for love behind the turntables and finds himself lured by a beautiful woman into a risky liaison.

 

In Dance for Me, a DJ spins tracks for his lover, but what happens when his music inspires her to dance with another man? 

 

This title goes on sale on Amazon on September 4th. Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Nightlife Publishing title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.

Asset Management and Sharing Secrets is Now on Sale

Sex Lies and Spies is offering two new stories on Amazon today.

We are offering one espionage story in Asset Management and one erotic story in Sharing Secrets.

Amazon Prime users can download the books for free. If you are in the press, a blogger or a book reviewer & you'd like press copies of my August books please let me know.

Asset Management: ($1.99)

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.

Sharing Secrets: ($.99)
There are two seductive daydreams in this collection:

The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.

Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.

Be sure to check out our other crime, erotica and espionage stories for your Kindle, iPad and smartphone.

Afraid of the Dark (Crime fiction)

Bedtime Stories (Erotica)

The Replacements (Crime Fiction)

Have fun.
Gamal

I Reject Sexual Violence

Sometimes it pays to be a very small business.

Last week was a perfect example. My business development department (Me), sat down with my advertising department (Me) to talk about the results of the new ad campaign.

Business Development: So how are things going?

Advertising: Well, I’ve got good news and bad news…

BD: What’s the good news?

Ads: The good news is that market awareness for the brand has gone up 380% in two weeks.

BD: That’s fucking awesome. So what’s the bad news?

Ads: The bad news is that the vast majority of our growth has been among demographic groups associated with misogyny and sexual violence. Based on the sampling, the marketing department (Me) thinks that people like the FB page because they think our material is about sexual violence, particularly against women.

BD: But that’s not our message! There is no sexual violence in our products. Everything we put out is sex positive and if anything it portrays women from a position of sexual power.

Ads: I’m not disputing that. I’m just telling you what marketing is getting from the data.

BD: Can we be sure about that assessment?

Ads: Nope. But management (Me) doesn’t want to take any chances. We already got that angry letter from that university doctor at launch, remember? The PR department (Me) doesn’t want the Sex and Violence brand to blow up in our faces, so we’re going to scrap it. Management wants us to rebrand the series, tweak the ads and get out in front of this thing before things get out of hand.

BD: Fine. But can all that be done before the August launch? We’ve already got two books in the pipeline and the launch date is Friday.

Ads: It’s not a problem. The creative department (Me) is working on a new tag line and new graphics. The PR department is changing all the bios and I’m going to change the ads as soon as everything is in place. We should be set by the start of business Monday, as long as we don’t get any push back from Facebook.

BD: Fine. So what do you need me to do?

Ads: Go get editorial (Me) to write a blog post about the name change and find a way to make it entertaining…

BD: What’s the new name?

Ads: We’re calling it Sex, Lies and Spies. Later on we’ll shorten it to SLS, but we’ll probably wait for Christmas to do that.

BD: We’ll it’s not as catchy as Sex and Violence…

Ads: It’s not as toxic either and it probably won't get us into any trouble. So get going. We need to have this done before the 26^th…

So here we are. Let me restate this just to be perfectly clear; some of the stories I write contain explicit sexual scenes. Some of the stories I write contain emotional, physical and psychological violence. But there is no sexual violence in my work. My affection and admiration for women is too high for me to abuse women, even in fiction.

Luckily, my company is small enough to make changes without too much trouble. This is one instance when having a split personality is actually helpful.

Have fun.

G

Sample Pages for Asset Management and Sharing Secrets

If you’d like to get an early sample of my August releases, you can download the PDF’s from the links below.

Asset Management: ($1.99)

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.

Sharing Secrets: ($.99)
There are two seductive daydreams in this collection.

The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.

Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.

The full versions officially go on sale July 26 for Kindle. Amazon Prime users will be able to download the books for free.

Have fun.

Gamal

Your First Look at Sharing Secrets

The new erotic anthology from the Sex and Violence series goes on sale next week. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the story.

There are two seductive daydreams in this collection.

The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.

Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.

This title goes on sale on Amazon on July 29^th. Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Sex and Violence title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.

Have fun.

Gamal

Your First Look at the Asset Management Story

The new thriller from the Sex and Violence series goes on sale next week. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the story.

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.

This title goes on sale on Amazon on July 29^th. Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Sex and Violence title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.

Have fun.

Gamal

First Impressions

The Sex and Violence store has been opened for about a week at this point. Although the books will be on sale as long as Amazon is in business and my experience as a professional writer is in its infancy, there are a few things that I have already learned. There have been some good things, some bad things and some lessons that I have learned. I’d like to share them with you now.

Positives

1.       I set a start date of June 29^th and I’m happy to say that the whole project launched on time. I was able to create the website, set up three online stores, set up a FB page and populate all of it with content. When you consider that every other business venture I have ever attempted has been delayed, pushed back or dumped altogether, this is a big accomplishment.

2.       The Amazon.com store is fantastic. There have been no hiccups or issues with the service or the availability of the books. Amazon isn’t really helping me sell the books yet, but that’s really not their job. That’s my job.

3.       I sent an email invitation to 2,500 people last Friday. So far, 500 people opened it. That means 500 people are roaming through the world who know I’m selling thrillers and porn. That might not seem like a lot, but with email marketing the most you can reasonably hope for is a 12-15% open rate. The fact that I got almost double that is impressive.

4.       Once I sent the email some people even wrote back to congratulate me on my new venture. That felt good. There isn’t really much to say after that except Thank you.

5.       A friend of mine who has an online radio program invited me for an interview. Publicity is always good and I’m not a man who turns down the invitation to talk, so that’s a win/ win. More details on the radio interview will be posted soon.

6.       A young lady who read Bedtime Stories and gave me the following verbal review:  “Your erotica is very voyeuristic. I felt like I was in the room with you looking over your shoulder as I was reading it.” I think that’s what I was going for. Score one for the writer.

7.       Other writers on Author’s Den really like my profile picture. That’s understandable, considering how sexy my legs look in that particular shot.

Negatives

1.       In the first week, I’ve only sold a ½ dozen copies. Boo.

2.       In the first three weeks, I have only been able to get 1 dozen likes on FB. No bueno.

3.       So far I have sent out two dozen review requests to independent book critics. All of them were ignored or rejected. Ouch.

4.       I found out the hard way that there is no way to contact top Amazon reviewer directly to request a review

Lessons Learned

1.       I am quickly coming to the conclusion that trying to get online reviews might be a waste of time. This might be accurate, or I might just be bitter because I can’t get a review.

2.       FB ads might be a better bet to generate sales, but so far even though 40,000 people have theoretically seen the ad, only 4 people have clicked on it and no one has bought anything. If you ever see one of my ads on FB, please let me know. I’d like to get independent proof that my ads are actually out there.

3.       If you are an independent writer, your “writing” time is divided in the following manner: DIY publishing is 40% back office work, 40% marketing, 15% research and 5% actual writing. I clearly need as assistant and a sales team. If any of you have any ideas on how to get that for free, I would be happy to steal your idea.

I’m sure I have a long way to go and a lot more to learn about the art and business of writing, but so far the positives outweigh the negatives. I can’t really ask for more than that.

Have fun.

G

And So It Begins...

I am happy to announce that the Sex and Violence Series launches today with three new short stories:

Afraid of the Dark $1.99

Bedtime Stories $.99

The Replacements $.99

 All three titles are available for the Kindle and Nook Apps.

If you decide to read these launch titles, please feel free to review them and leave comments. Feedback can only make my work better, especially if you think they are perfect.

Have fun.

G

 

Sample Pages for the Replacements Now Available

If you’d like to get an early sample of my new story The Replacements, you can get a PDF here.

The Replacements Description: Three young men travel from the suburbs to the city in search of forbidden pleasure. They think they are prepared to commit a crime, but are they ready for the surprise that their dealer has set up for them?

The full version goes on sale June 29^th in the Amazon, Nook and Smashwords store for $.99.

Have fun.

Gamal

Sample Pages for Bedtime Stories Now Available

If you’d like to get an early sample of my new compilation Bedtime Stories, you can get a PDF here.

Bedtime Stories offers two erotic dreams. In Sleeping Beauty, a thoughtful lover tries to comfort a tense and tired woman without waking her up. And when angry words of rejection are coupled with hungry acts of passion some people know how to enjoy the Mixed Signals.

The full version goes on sale June 29^th in the Amazon, Nook and Smashwords store for $.99.

Have fun.

Gamal

Sample Pages for Afraid of the Dark Now Available

If you’d like to get an early sample of my new story Afraid of the Dark, you can get a PDF here.

Afriad of the Dark

Eve Elder has millions of readers in 2017 and she lives for their attention. Her latest story uncovers a government conspiracy, mass murder and a tortured soul who might not let her live long enough to write it.

If you like the sample, you can buy the full version goes on sale June 29^th in the Amazon, Nook and Smashwords store for $1.99.

Have fun.

Gamal

First Look at the Replacements

The third book in the Sex and Violence Series goes on sale June 29th!

The Replacements: Three young men travel from the suburbs to the city in search of forbidden pleasure. They think they are prepared to commit a crime, but are they ready for the surprise that their dealer has set up for them?

Like Sex and Violence on Facebook for free samples of this book and news on other upcoming releases.

Have fun.
G

First Look at Bedtime Stories

The second book in the Sex and Violence Series goes on Sale June 29th!

Bedtime Stories offers two erotic dreams. In Sleeping Beauty, a thoughtful lover tries to comfort a tense and tired woman without waking her up. And when angry words of rejection are coupled with hungry acts of passion some people know how to enjoy the Mixed Signals.

Like Sex and Violence on Facebook for free samples of this book and news on other upcoming releases.

Have fun.
G

First Look at Afraid of the Dark!

The first book in the Sex and Violence Series goes on Sale June 29th!

Eve Elder has millions of online readers in 2017 and she lives for their attention. Her latest story uncovers a government conspiracy, mass murder and a tortured soul who might not let her live long enough to write it.

Like Sex and Violence on Facebook for free samples of this book and news on other upcoming releases.

What is Sex and Violence?

I’ve been writing short stories since 1998 without a good way to sell them. Now there are so many Kindles, IPads and Nooks out there that selling e-books make sense. Now I have enough experience running my own businesses to be comfortable self publishing. Now I might even be egotistical enough to expose my creativity and face the inevitable consequences.

Sex and Violence is going to be a series of monthly short stories that deal with…you guessed it, sex and violence. These are the themes that occupy my mind most of the time. Almost every voluntary activity I do has a connection to one of these states. Sex and violence also seem to spark the most emotion and controversy in society. It is the underlying basis of what drives us. We are constantly running towards one and away from the other. They are the physical expressions of our most extreme opposites; love and hate, pleasure and pain, life and death. If I’m going to write about something that holds my attention (and hopefully yours) I can’t think of two better topics.

My plan is to release three stories on June 29^th, so you can get them for the Fourth of July holiday. After that, I plan to release two stories a month. One story will be erotic inspired by writers like Anias Nin, Lonnie Barbach and Oscar Wilde (that’s the Sex part). The other story will be a neo noir style of fiction similar to films like Seven, the Usual Suspects and Chinatown (that’s the Violence part). I can only hope something I write is as good as any of those.

I plan to sell on all three major platforms and keep you up to date on my progress on this site. I might also share thoughts on the creative process, review the work of other writers and randomly vent here, but I’ll try to keep the venting to a minimum.

Thank you for exploring Sex and Violence. I hope you enjoy the experience. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have questions, comments, criticisms or ideas.

Have fun.
Gamal