In which I discuss my experience with self publishing SFF short stories.
Hey, y'all! #Worldcon76 is on, but not all of us could make it. So I thought it would be fun to for those of us staying home to join in the fun by hosting some #NotAtWorldCon panels. I'm going to kick things off by discussing my experience with self publishing short fiction. 1/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
In general, self publishing short stories has been a positive experience for me. It all began a few years ago when I published my short fiction collection, TIDE OF SHADOWS AND OTHER STORIES. You can read my in-depth thoughts on Medium: https://t.co/5nLdm5eXiW #NotAtWorldCon 2/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
The gist, though, is that I believe readership outpaces the number of paying markets for short fiction. I've discussed this with @tyschalter in the past, and one thing seems clear: we spend a lot of our day on social media and reading news/non-fiction articles. #NotAtWorldCon 3/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
There's no reason that this same behaviour can't apply to short stories. There's no reason that voracious SFF readers can't wake up each morning and search out new short stories for the day. Read one at breakfast, share another with a coworker over lunch. #NotAtWorldCon 4/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
The major difference is SFF short fiction's historical relationship to the monthly/bi-monthly publication of 'zines. The Internet changes all that, though, and platforms like @curiousfictions, with its open publication method, are breaking down preconceptions. #NotAtWorldCon 5/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Of course, that's not to undervalue the work of the editors of today's SFF 'zines, or to dismiss the value of having strong, curatorial/editorials voice that help shape the top-end of SFF short fiction. But I think there's room for more than that. #NotAtWorldCon 6/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Strong editorial voices also means strong editorial tastes and biases. This is evident in projects such as @FiresideFiction's #BlackSpecFic reports. The latest is here: https://t.co/GPia7MgMb7 #NotAtWorldCon 7/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
There are many editors who are making a specific, concentrated effort to bring new voices forward, and to give platforms to authors from traditionally marginalized backgrounds that have been misrepresented throughout the history of SFF short fiction. #NotAtWorldCon 8/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
But, it's not enough. There are too many amazing stories, and too many brilliant stories that slip through the cracks as long as we rely on editors as gatekeepers. #NotAtWorldCon 9/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
It's folly to believe that only the stories plucked out of the slush pile by editors are worthy of reader's eyes. #NotAtWorldCon 10/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
And that's where I believe self publishing comes in. Self publishing has come a long way from its roots as a condemned platform for vanity projects. Tools exist now that didn't exist 5-10 years ago. #NotAtWorldCon 11/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Thanks to tools like WordPress or Medium, writers can be publishers. Thanks to tools like social media, writers can be marketers. Writers no longer have to rely on third parties to create space for their voice. #NotAtWorldCon 12/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
I come from a blogging background. I won a Hugo Award for my work. No one ever told me what to do, the only gatekeeper I faced was my ability and desire to work my ass off. I don't see any reason why self publishing short stories has to be different. #NotAtWorldCon 13/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Sure. That might mean that some rough gems slip through the cracks, but that's okay. Not every story needs to be perfect. Some stories are beautiful because they contain a heart that can't be tamed by the traditional values of a "publishable" story. #NotAtWorldCon 14/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Writers have a tendency to hold their work close to their chests—I think for fear of being judged, or of jinxing their work. This opaqueness makes writing short fiction daunting and lonely. That's one reason I love the #ShareYourRejections hashtag so much. #NotAtWorldCon 15/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Pull back the curtain on writing short fiction will create a more vibrant, exciting, and encouraging community. We shouldn't be afraid of showing off our stories that haven't been plucked from the flock by an editor. #NotAtWorldCon 16/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Stories deserve to be read. They should never feel like flags of failure. Because, the fact of the matter is that they're not all rough gems in need of polishing—a lot of great stories don't manage to find homes at traditional markets. And that's a damn shame. #NotAtWorldCon 17/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Self publishing is a way for authors to take control of their work. Own their self-worth. It's a way for authors to experiment with stories that don't have a hope of finding a home at a 'zine. It's a way for voices to reach the readers that need them most. #NotAtWorldCon 18/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
A great follow-up thread from @tyschalter about the digital landscape and what it means for traditional publishing and self publishing. #NotAtWorldCon 19/https://t.co/VnSXhIfAF0
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
So, now I want to talk a bit about my direct experience with self publishing short fiction—the good and the bad. #NotAtWorldCon 20/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
To begin, I'm not advocating for every writer to just slap any story they create onto the Internet just because they can. I've got lots of stories that are just BAD and I have no desire to publish them. Some I haven't even subbed to traditional markets. #NotAtWorldCon 21/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Maybe they're flawed at their core. Maybe they're more the result of a writing exercise. Maybe I'm not excited by them past the first draft. Maybe they're too personal. Whatever. I trunk 'em, and that's fine. #NotAtWorldCon 22/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
But others stick with me. Or, they're good, but there's not a market out there that fits. Or, I wrote them for fun, and my goal is to have fun publishing them. Lots of reasons not to give up on a story. #NotAtWorldCon 23/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
When I have a story that I think is worth sharing, I start thinking about the audience—who will enjoy it? Is it doing something narratively that I don't often see? #NotAtWorldCon 24/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Sure, "On the Phone With Dragons" is about elderly wizards. Not a lot that around, and I think readers would like it. "Youngblood" didn't have a lot of literary aspirations, but it's an all-out popcorn flick-style adventure that a lot of readers enjoy. #NotAtWorldCon 25/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
I could look at both of those stories and recognize *who* would love to read them. Even if the audience is small—perhaps too small for a traditional 'zine to justify the expense of buying the story—it still exists. #NotAtWorldCon 26/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
And now here's the nitty-gritty, the actionable stuff that *you* can follow and apply to your own work if you decide you want to explore self publishing your short stories. Just because it's self published doesn't mean it can't feel like a pro story. #NotAtWorldCon 27/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
1. Polish that story until it shines. There's no one who's going to fix the story but you, so you've got to work extra hard to iron out the kinks. #NotAtWorldCon 28/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
2. Find a good group of readers who can help you. Bless the ones that can straddle the line between Cheerleader and critic—@gaileyfrey has saved an uncountable # of my stories. #NotAtWorldCon 29/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
3. Polish it some more. Remember, you're not trying to hit a publication schedule, so there's no rush. #NotAtWorldCon 30/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
4. But don't spend too much time on it. As writers, we have a tendency to cling desperately to our darlings. At some point, you have to say, "Good is good enough," and move forward. #NotAtWorldCon 31/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
(Now, here comes the part that will work for some writers and not others because it requires monetary investment. If it doesn't work for you, that's okay.) #NotAtWorldCon 32/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
5a. Hire professionals. A good copyeditor is worth their weight in gold (and would side eye a cliche like that) and their work will go a long way in making your story feel professional and polished. #NotAtWorldCon 33/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
5b. If you can—find an artist who can provide accompanying art for your story. This isn't cheap, and likely only works for writers who have some method to fund their self pub'd short stories, but it's a nice cherry on top of your story. #NotAtWorldCon 34/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
6. Pick a platform. Maybe it's your blog. Could be Patreon. Could be Medium. Whatever the case, there are lots of options. Choose the one that works for you. #NotAtWorldCon 35/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
6 cont. I like Medium for a lot of reasons:
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
– Its text editor is top notch and easy-to-use;
– Its designers/developers have already done the hard work in making the layout/typography of your story pleasant to read;
– It's mobile-friendly. #NotAtWorldCon 36/
7. Come up with a plan to share your story. I'll be honest, I'm still not quite sure how to do this effectively, so if y'all have any advice, I'm all ears. And if my current methods suck—let me know that, too. #NotAtWorldCon 37/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
8. Move onto the next thing. Publishing a story and then constantly refreshing your stats page and Twitter mentions waiting for readers to arrive is demoralizing. Have your next project ready, and pour your energy into that. #NotAtWorldCon 38/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
10. (Bonus) Be a signal booster for other cool projects—from friends or just writers you admire. Spread the love, and help other writers get noticed. It'll make you feel better, and there's a trickle down effect that will eventually boost your own story. #NotAtWorldCon 39/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
This is a good time to pause and says that I've had a number of wonderful opportunities to work with editors on my stories. There's a collaborative element to such a relationship that doesn't exist with self published work. #NotAtWorldCon 40/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
As writers, we can often be poor judges of our work. It's true. But, we also shouldn't be ashamed of work that hasn't better vetted and approved by one of a small number of gatekeepers. #NotAtWorldCon 41/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
As @somesillywowzer points out in this #ShareYourRejections tweet, there is more to the submission game than simply writing the best story you can. It's a game. Publishing's not a meritocracy, as they say. #NotAtWorldCon 42/https://t.co/JCPAYNnTfd
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Of course, all this said, I want to make clear that I have nothing against traditional publishing. I know a countless number of wonderful, passionate, brilliant, tireless people who work in the industry and publish amazing work. #NotAtWorldCon 43/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
But, I think we live in an age where traditional publishing and self publishing of short stories can coexist—the market for short fiction is not saturated. Readers are yearning for more. Just look at the success of @tordotcom's novella line. #NotAtWorldCon 44/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Readers are voracious. We just need to give them more stories. #NotAtWorldCon 45/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Some more thoughts on short fiction and publishing from @WendyMetcalfe1. #NotAtWorldCon 46/https://t.co/46QpUHNSyP
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Now, let's talk about the other side of the coin: marketing your work. The bottom line is that it's really fuckin' difficult to get people to read your stories. Really hard. #NotAtWorldCon 47/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Time and attention are the currencies we're dealing with here—and there's so much drawing attention away from any given project that it can be difficult to stand out without overwhelming community support. Especially in today's socio-political climate. #NotAtWorldCon 48/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
From what I can tell, it's hard enough to get people to pay attention to your stories when they're published in traditional markets. A flurry of attention seems to gather around a few stories each month, and everything else slips through the cracks. #NotAtWorldCon 49/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Some of this, I think, is attributable with the monthly/bi-monthly publication schedule that traditional magazines hold to. Instead of releasing a story a week, thus giving it time and space from the other stories in the issue, they all come at once. #NotAtWorldCon 50/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Self published projects are even more difficult to promote. Bottom line is that readers don't pay attention to authors crowing about their own work. In one ear, out the other. You've got to luck into having a few influential readers signal boosting your story. #NotAtWorldCon 51/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Here are some numbers to chew on (pretty and not so pretty). #NotAtWorldCon 52/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
"On the Phone with Goblins" is about two retired wizards fighting crime from their retirement home. Since publishing it (on Medium and then Curious Fictions) it's been read 1.4k times. Not bad for a story no editors wanted. #NotAtWorldCon 53/ https://t.co/px237DbbpY
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
On the flip side, I released "Youngblood" two days ago and it's had… 52 readers. That's… not good. It's a great story. Readers love it. I spent a lot of time formatting it, making it look professional. I paid for copyediting, and got original art. 52 views. #NotAtWorldCon 54/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
Is it dinosaur fatigue? Maybe. But @UncannyMagazine's dinosaur issue and the @robodinofiction both prove that there's a market for dinosaur stories. Is it because it's #WorldCon76 week? Probably. Whatever the reason, it's been slow to find readers. #NotAtWorldCon 55/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
But, it's a long game. 52 readers is more than it would have had if I'd trunked it. Stat watching is a bad game. Onto the next thing. Would I have liked it to come out like gangbusters? Of course. Is it a failure because it didn't? No. It's a long game. #NotAtWorldCon 56/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
To sum up: Like everything in publishing, self publishing is hard, confusing, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding. By looking to the future, and challenging preconceptions about publishing, we can open the door for ever more diverse and interesting voices. #NotAtWorldCon 57/
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
If you've enjoyed this thread, please consider reading my latest short story, "Youngblood." It's LOST meets Jurassic Park—and has the sweetest raptor you'll meet this site of the cretaceous.https://t.co/0O0joV47XY pic.twitter.com/rYUywPqYv8
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
If you'd like to support my writing, you can find me on Patreon, Ko-fi, and @CuriousFictions:
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 16, 2018
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Thanks for listening. #NotAtWorldCon 59/59
Follow-up: @GaryGibsonSF joined the #NotAtWorldCon panel on self publishing short fiction with an insightful discussion on marketing and exposure for self published projects. Excellent stuff—this is an area where I still have a lot of learning to do.https://t.co/1RN4zlBZ7I
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 17, 2018
Follow-up: @the_ahtist brings up a terrific point about a huge, vibrant community of self publishers that goes largely ignored by many readers/editors/publishers: the fanfic community. https://t.co/2G1iBqx9hl
— Aidan Moher ???? READ YOUNGBLOOD RAWR (@adribbleofink) August 17, 2018
