# How do you prefer to buy short stories? As singles or bundled in collections?



## Nancy Fulda (Apr 24, 2011)

I was just wondering how the kindle readers feel about short fiction.  Do you read them at all?  If so, do you prefer to buy stories individually or to buy them grouped in an anthology?


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## ColinJ (Jun 13, 2011)

I love a good short story. Something you can read during your lunch break at work. 

I'm a huge fan of Robert E. Howard and his stuff was almost exclusively short fiction. Same with a lot of the old pulp tales.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

Nancy Fulda said:


> I was just wondering how the kindle readers feel about short fiction. Do you read them at all? If so, do you prefer to buy stories individually or to buy them grouped in an anthology?


Bundled.


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

I reads lots of short stories, and I buy them both bundled and singularly.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm not a big reader of short stories in general. . .but I have picked up a few of the free shorts as they come up.  I'm am extremely unlikely to pay for a single short story and I'm also unlikely to buy a collection of shorts by one author.  I have occasionally purchased an anthology by multiple authors.


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## SJCress (Jun 5, 2011)

I try to buy (and um, sell) bundled. I love short stories but I think I only tend to buy a single or two together if I really trust the source to be entertaining. For instance, I believe the only singles I have right now are Neil Gaiman's  

Actually, how short are you talking? I'd give someone new a $0.99 shot for 5k words or more.


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

I buy short stories, generally bundled but I'll buy them as singles too depending on the breaks.  For instance:

Looking to see if Jack Ketchum had anything new out on Kindle, I ran across a listing for "Midlisters" by Kealan Patrick Burke, a novella for which Ketchum did an intro.  Tried it, liked it, bought Burke's short story collections and a few of his singles, and will soon be buying the rest.  (And one of those singles, "Empathy," is one of the scariest stories I've read in quite a while -- if you're the type who won't pay 99 cents for one short story, make an exception here, because it's worth it.)

Stumbled across James Everington while looking for new Ramsey Campbell; bought his collection THE OTHER ROOM and will buy his new single short story some time this week.  Looking for Raymond Carver, found Neil Schiller's OBLIVIOUS (Everington's review helped there too).

Most of these are bundles, but if I run across a good one I'm more than happy to buy singles.  But it doesn't surprise me that more people seem to prefer bundles.  When novels and collections from indies are going for 99 cents, quite a few readers may feel like they're not getting good weight if they buy a single.  

My own experience: I've got an ebook of three stories out there and a more recent single.  The first has sold about 40 copies since October; the second has sold almost zip since it went up in April.  In the future when doing short stories, I'll wait until I've got at least 5 or 6, bundle them, and have one up on Smashwords as a larger free sample.  Even sales of my 3-story ebook were almost non-existent until I put one of the stories out free on Smashwords.  I doubt my experience is unique.  Ebook readers are more than happy these days to try out indie writers, but that may not apply so much to single short stories, where the minimum price of 99 cents could be buying them novels and collections instead.  It's a shame that a single can't be priced at 25 cents, with some sort of word limit to keep the same effect from kicking in at the lower price point.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Bundled.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Collections


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## kiyash (Jun 9, 2011)

Hey for everyone who's answered "singles," how do you find them? I'd buy singles if I knew of good sources. And, not to go too OT, but if you had a choice to read a single story free online, or pay .99 - 1.49 to read it on kindle, which would you be more likely to do?


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

I like collections. And I prefer single-author collections to anthologies.


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## Nancy Fulda (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks everyone.  This is really helpful information!

SCiofalo, I'm thinking stuff in the 4-10k range.  I have several 7000-8000 word shorts that I've considered putting up as stand-alones.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Collections, primarily single-author.

Mike


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## India Drummond (Nov 1, 2010)

Bundled, both single and multi-author collections. For some reason, I won't buy a single short story. I think I just read so fast that it hardly seems worth the time and effort to choose, then download it.


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

I'm with ColinJ as a huge fan of Robert E Howard, and the old style pulps in general.

I generally read collections, but will read singular shorts as well.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

kiyash said:


> Hey for everyone who's answered "singles," how do you find them? I'd buy singles if I knew of good sources. And, not to go too OT, but if you had a choice to read a single story free online, or pay .99 - 1.49 to read it on kindle, which would you be more likely to do?


For me, I find them through the small press grapevine. I keep on eye on any short works that come out of my publishers (MuseItUp and Mundanias). Also, I keep an eye out on Double Dragon and Smashwords. Finally, I keep a lookout for Canadian authors who are publishing their backlists. Some have won awards with their short stories (i.e. Douglas Smith, Brent Knowles), so it's really great when these folks put up their works (therefore I keep a look out).

If you like SF, Brent Knowles (Digital Rights) and Rebecca Senese (Beyond Reach) are single-title shorts (they are novella-length, so not really short). If you like collections of SF&F, Douglas Smith (Chimerascope) is one of best SF&F collections I've read. "Shadows of the Emerald City" is an anthology I recommend if you like horror, dark, and twisted...and The Wizard of Oz.

Re: reading. I generally don't read stories online for free. I'm happy to pay for the ability to download the file.


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## kiyash (Jun 9, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> For me, I find them through the small press grapevine. I keep on eye on any short works that come out of my publishers (MuseItUp and Mundanias). Also, I keep an eye out on Double Dragon and Smashwords. Finally, I keep a lookout for Canadian authors who are publishing their backlists. Some have won awards with their short stories (i.e. Douglas Smith, Brent Knowles), so it's really great when these folks put up their works (therefore I keep a look out).
> 
> If you like SF, Brent Knowles (Digital Rights) and Rebecca Senese (Beyond Reach) are single-title shorts (they are novella-length, so not really short). If you like collections of SF&F, Douglas Smith (Chimerascope) is one of best SF&F collections I've read. "Shadows of the Emerald City" is an anthology I recommend if you like horror, dark, and twisted...and The Wizard of Oz.
> 
> Re: reading. I generally don't read stories online for free. I'm happy to pay for the ability to download the file.


Thanks Krista! I'll check out the SF writers you recommended. It's really helpful to know how shorts make it from writer to reader (and I know there are many paths). It's also very cool to know which reviewers and presses people trust for quality short fiction.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I hesitate to buy a short story alone. I don't know why. So I guess I prefer anthologies.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

For me I like them bundled. I think there is something psychological to this. If I see a short story for .99 and a bundle of 3 for 2.99, I'm more likely to go for the 2.99. It's the same price for both but with the second I've deemed it novel length and more worth the 2.99. Yeah it's a little odd but this sort of logic usually is.


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## greenpen (May 30, 2011)

ilyria_moon said:


> Bundled.


Put together as a collection


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## Wren Emerson (Jan 15, 2011)

I love collections. Buying short stories as singles seems like it would clutter up my Kindle too much.


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

kiyash said:


> Hey for everyone who's answered "singles," how do you find them? I'd buy singles if I knew of good sources. And, not to go too OT, but if you had a choice to read a single story free online, or pay .99 - 1.49 to read it on kindle, which would you be more likely to do?


Usually, I look at the "also bought" bar on Amazon. They know me better than my closest friends it seems 

I feature/review single short stories on my blog all the time: http://bookbrouhaha.blogspot.com/


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

Nancy Fulda said:


> I was just wondering how the kindle readers feel about short fiction. Do you read them at all? If so, do you prefer to buy stories individually or to buy them grouped in an anthology?


I love short fiction. I have no problem at all paying for what I want. I've purchased both singles and collections. Much depends on if the story concept intrigues me or not.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I'm not a big reader of short stories in general. I'm extremely unlikely to pay for a single short story and I'm also unlikely to buy a collection of shorts by one author.


Ditto. Far more likely to read an anthology.


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## buyonamazon (Jun 19, 2011)

A.S. Warwick said:


> I'm with ColinJ as a huge fan of Robert E Howard, and the old st
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd have to say I'm in the same boat as you both. Collections are so much more satisfying.


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## AlexS. (Jun 16, 2011)

I much prefer the anthology! I'm reading a great zombie anthology right now. Zombie stories aren't the most literary in the world and the short story works wonderful for them. A single story, however, just flies by and leaves me a little empty! MORE!


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## JMcGhee (Oct 31, 2010)

When I do get short stories, I prefer them bundled.  That way I get to stay immersed in the world(s) as long as possible.


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## RobynB (Jan 4, 2011)

This is a fascinating thread. It sounds like most people want the bundles instead of stand-alone shorts (and I know Joe Konrath has mentioned this phenom in some of his blog posts). I enjoy 'em in all ways: by themselves, in single-author anthologies, and in multiple-author anthologies. I also love novels, like _Olive Kitteridge_, where each chapter is a stand-alone story, but each story is linked by a common thread.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I don't read a lot of shorts but I prefer them in themed collections. Doesn't matter if they are single author or anthologies, but I like for there to be a theme. About the only guy I'm buying as single shorts is Christian Cantrell but that is because I think he puts them up as soon as he writes them. I find most novel writers are only middling at shorts, but if they are little expansions to their novels then they can usually make it work. The biggest problem with single author collections is that I'll get partway in, get distracted by something else, and never come back as the experience sorta concluded and wasn't enough to hook me before. With an anthology there is at least the possibility that I'll keep reading just because the next author may be completely different.

Economically I don't think there is any question that a collection works better for the reader than seperate singles, but the $.99 impulse buy threshold is not to be underestimated.


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## J. Gunnar Grey (Jun 20, 2011)

I don't read a lot of shorts either, but when I do, it's much more likely to be an anthology. That's a great way to find new authors, and I like the experience of different writerly voices in one read.


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## CRParks (Jun 18, 2011)

I like my shorts bundled in single-author collections. The decline of short stories in recent years has rather saddened me - 'Where I'm Calling From' by Raymond Carver and 'Selected Stories' by Andre Dubus are both tremendous anthologies. And here, just for the heck of it, is my favourite Carver story:

'A Small Good Thing'


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## Adam Kisiel (Jun 20, 2011)

I prefer to buy a single one for the start, and if i like it, then buy bundled.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I much prefer them bundled together in a collection.


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## Farrell Kramer (Jun 7, 2011)

Bundled, in a collection. Now reading:



Great stories. Kinda makes me want to read the first volume one of these days...


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

I'd be more tempted to buy a bundle. The killer combo would be 99c for a bundle.


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## Neil Clarke (Mar 14, 2011)

I prefer magazines, anthologies or collections. I'll buy single stories if I'm already familiar with the author's work.


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## kellymcclymer (Apr 22, 2010)

India Drummond said:


> Bundled, both single and multi-author collections. For some reason, I won't buy a single short story. I think I just read so fast that it hardly seems worth the time and effort to choose, then download it.


I've been trying to decide how to put up some previously published short stories of mine, and couldn't decide, so I jumped in to read this thread. Your logical rationale struck me as exactly how I feel...thank you! Now I know what to do -- a bundle of themed short stories. Now, I just need to decide on the price...


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

I would have said bundled - either single author collections or magazines.

However, when I looked at my Kindle collection, I seem to have an awful lot of single short stories - I guess you could never buy those in print - so my (new) answer is both.

Given the choice I would buy a single-author collection, but you don't always get the choice. I'm less keen on mixed-author anthologies. Sometimes you discover some great new writers, but often there are lots I don't like.

I publish single shorts myself, and I will bundle them into collections of 5 and 10 as I go along. Mine are selling well, but I think they will do better when (a) I have more for the reader to pick from, and (b) have collections out too. 

I don't know why more writers don't do that - give the reader as much choice as possible, let them buy the stories the way they want to.


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## GBear (Apr 23, 2009)

Bundled.

I also always buy complete albums for my iPod, never singles. I'm not sure why, and I wonder if it makes me old-fashioned? I have the feeling that people who grew up with online music are more likely to purchase single songs. Does this correlation betweeen my music and short fiction behaviors apply to those answering this question and, if so, do you think it's age-related?


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Maybe people who prefer singles are scared of commitment...


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

kiyash said:


> Hey for everyone who's answered "singles," how do you find them? I'd buy singles if I knew of good sources. And, not to go too OT, but if you had a choice to read a single story free online, or pay .99 - 1.49 to read it on kindle, which would you be more likely to do?


I follow a few authors that I like (although it is only a recent trend for singles to be coming out.) So for example, Todd McAulty, but he mostly appears in BlackGate, not yet singles. Nancy Fulda, whose shorts I've read over the years, now has several out in Kindle and a collection. I guess I find them by reading a few issues of ezines such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, BlackGate and Darwin's Evolutions (Full disclosure, has published one of mine.)

BUT. I still vastly prefer collections and rarely buy singles.

To answer the last part of your question, I'd probably read it online. But some authors do post a story free to their blog and offer it for 99 cents on Kindle.


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## ajbarnett (Apr 11, 2011)

I prefer collections - as long as they're cheap. Can't be doing with itsy-bitsy stuff. If I read a short story and its good, I want to read another by the same author - and don't want to spend time searching. Let me just carry on with the next one.


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

AlexS. said:


> I much prefer the anthology! I'm reading a great zombie anthology right now. Zombie stories aren't the most literary in the world and the short story works wonderful for them. A single story, however, just flies by and leaves me a little empty! MORE!


A rare literary zombie story. Celebrated enough to be found in the biggest contemporary short fiction anthologies (Scribner), Sea Oak by George Saunders: http://www.barcelonareview.com/20/e_gs.htm

I don't like that one as much as I like Kelly Link's The Hortlak: http://kellylink.net/magic-for-beginners/magic-for-beginners-sample-stories/the-hortlak


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## Arthur Mackeown (Jun 12, 2011)

Surely a single short story, even a very good one, is going to be way over-priced. In a bundle (that's a new term for me) you get far more stories for the price of one. You can check out the quality of the work by requesting a free sample.


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## mikelewis (May 31, 2011)

I buy both singles and anthologies - sometimes the short appeals for a quick read.

I have 7 short stories available individually and a collection that has 8 shorts and 2 pieces of flash on the kindle.

Curiously, the individual shorts have sold better so far, but they have only been up for 2 weeks.

Mike


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