The Importance of Writing Short Stories

By Stephanie Burkhart 

Break out the thesaurus and find an hour or two this month to get the juices flowing on that short story you always wanted to write – May is National Short Story Month. 

There are several different kinds of shorts. Flash Fiction shorts are usually 1,000 words or less, and depict a “telling” moment. 1 or 2 characters may be involved. 

A short story usually falls between 1,000 – 7,000 words and again, is centered on a “revealing” moment. With a short story, you can place that revealing moment in the beginning and play out the consequences, or at the end after a strong build up. 

A novelette comes in between 7,000 – 20,000 words. This length allows a writer to focus on one main character and the story. 

A novella is between 20,000 – 50,000 words. Like a novelette, the story is most effective when the focus is on one main character and one plot. 

Parables and fables are some of the earliest known “shorts.” Going back about 150-200 years, Washington Irving, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe not only mastered the craft of short story telling, but defined the era of writing a short story focusing on plot, character, and consequences. 

In the early 20^th Century, magazines like Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and Saturday Evening Post, created a demand for short stories and paid well – so well that F. Scott Fitzgerald took to writing short stories to pay the bills. 

The popularity of the short story tapered off a bit in the past 50-60 years, but has recently resurged after finding a new audience.

With the introduction of ereaders, downloading stories has never been easier. What short stories provide is a quick read with a satisfying ending. - at least, most are satisfying, but ereaders totally invigorated the market for short stories. How? Short stories usually command a lower price point making then a good impulse buy. Sites such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, are popular places for readers to feed their ereaders.  

Strategies employed by authors using short stories include using the stories as a “free” giveaway when readers sign up for e-newsletters or as a reward for winning a contest. Shorts can be used to promote a novel, or written to help keep the joy of writing alive. An author might consider using the Kindle Select Program. While you do give Kindle exclusive access to publish the short for 90 days, the 5 free days offered can help get sales off the ground. Due to their length, short stories have proven to wet a reader’s appetite for more works from an author. They’re a great way for authors to break out in a very competitive publishing world. 

Question: As an author, do you write short stories? Why or Why not? Do you find them helpful in promoting/marketing efforts? 

Reference for this blog: “Writer’s Digest,” May/June 2015, “Short Strategic,” by James Scott Bell, pages 23-27.

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. She served 11 years in the US Army and 7 years overseas in Germany. She adores coffee, enjoys coffee and likes taking walks.  She's also the den leader for her son's cub scouts den.  Her published children's stories include "The Giving Meadow," "First Flag of New Hampshire," and "Brady's Lost Blanket." 

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Creative Book Marketing Tips: Use Short Stories

When it comes to marketing your book, this is the time to leave no stone unturned. While you have likely used the traditional methods of creating promotional marketing materials, building a website, and even setting up a few social media profiles, you may want to try promoting short stories to give your readers a taste of the bigger picture.

With a simple Google search, you can turn up a number of short story websites specializing in your genre, I promise you that. In fact, if you’re an author that has had the pleasure of being published, then you’re probably quite familiar with digging around on the Internet looking for opportunities, right? So take this same approach with your short story marketing.

To backtrack a few steps, you do need to create a few short stories that will best exhibit your writing style. Short stories are a great marketing tool because they will give your readers a sample of your writing, and they can also be used to generate interest in your published book. No matter what your genre may be, whether it’s fantasy, women’s fiction, young adult, or even children’s literature, short story marketing can work wonders.

The point is to keep it fresh. If you’re submitting short stories to a publication or even posting them on your website, readers will constantly be on the lookout for something new. If readers start to visit your blog to read your short stories, they will continue to be attracted by the new, fresh content that you provide.

As a base, aim to keep your short stories at 1000 to 2000 words. If you want to promote your novel directly, you can also take an excerpt from your book and whittle it into a short story if appropriate. But many times, it’s just best to start from scratch.

One interesting approach to take is to stir up the interest of potential readers by writing a short story from the perspective of a secondary character in your book. This will get readers hooked on one of your characters, and they’ll have no choice but to buy your book to find out more about their favorite leading lady or man. Win-win.

The “long and short” of a short story marketing is that you can grow a loyal readership by flexing your creative muscles. Today, many readers are hesitant to buy into a full book if they don’t trust in the author. If you’re a new author that hasn’t yet made a name for yourself, then start cranking out a few quality short stories that you can publish online or give to your readers at no charge.

Short story marketing will establish your expertise in your genre and even provide you with new opportunities in your career!

Bethany Ramos is an author and full-time freelance writer with experience in Internet marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. She is passionate about writing captivating children's books and witty chick lit. For more information, you can visit her blog at http://chicklit-books.com/