Short Story Collections – A Good Investment?

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author

word-cloud-compressorI realize it’s been a few days since my last post, but I’ve been busy working on a short story collection. At present, the collection is out to beta readers which has given me time to toy with cover designs (via Canva) as well as consulting with profession designers.

This is my first foray into self-publishing, and while I’m excited about the prospect, I’ve also discovered the process can be costly, especially when you factor in ISBN’s, Editors, and cover designers (if you choose to go the professional route).

Which brings me to my question – Is it a worthwhile investment?

Short story collections are a huge category on Amazon, ranging from literary, romance, erotica, Christian to crime. You’ll find collections and singles from classic authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald,  Mark Twain, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few and a large selection of Kindle Singles and Kindle Short Reads listed by reading times (from 15 minutes to 2 hours or more). How cool is that?

In doing my research, prices ranged from free to $9.99 for the Kindle version with other formats running as high as $22.47.

Now, I’m no Fitzgerald or Hemingway and probably won’t break even for a long time to come, but it’s not about the money – it’s about sharing my stories.

I’ll tell you more about my short story collection in the coming weeks but in the meantime, here’s a hint.

“Darkness dwells within even the best of us. In the worst of us, darkness not only dwells but reigns.” ― Dean Koontz  (Tweet This).

What do you think? Short story collections- are they a good investment?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

20 thoughts on “Short Story Collections – A Good Investment?”

  1. When (although some days it feels more like “if”) I publish, it’s going to be a collection of short stories. I have several anthology works I have toyed with (same city, universe, person/team over the course of several stories). For some reason I just can’t wrap my head around a longer story (over 10k words) and that’s frustrating but instead of being frustrated I’m just going with it and sticking to what I know I can do (and maybe one day I’ll get something longer, who knows).

    So, short story collections, to me, are all the rage. I say go for it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Pingback: How to overcome the blank screen syndrome – jean's writing

  3. I’ve wondered the same thing. I think in any self-published work you have to go into it knowing you may not get your money back. It is more a labor of love. Unfortunately, you can have the best product out there but the marketing strength of others will keep it buried.

    Like

    Reply

  5. I have no idea whether it’s a good investment or not but if it makes you happy to share your stories, I say go for it. I’m gonna learn from your efforts and live vicariously through you for a while until I finally get something ready to put out there. Good luck.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. I’m not sure they can be called an investment as such. But they are very useful as practice for longer work. All the editing and presentation skills needed for a novel you need for a short story collection. In my view anyway! Very best of luck with it. Put me down for a copy when it’s ready x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Sheila M. Good, Author Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.