Why short stories?

 

I write a lot of short stories. People will ask, and often do, why I don't focus on novels? That's where the money is, right? 

I have news for you. The money is with people like Stephen King and Brandon Sanderson. It is not with you or with me, and if that's why you are writing, you are wasting your time. Give up, get a decent job, and forget writing. 

Now if you are serious about writing, and it's what you enjoy doing with or without money, then you might still ask me why I don't write novels. The truth is, I plan to write novels. I just haven't yet.

So why short stories? The answer is actually really practical. 

- Writing short stories teaches you the fundamentals. You will grow and grow quickly, find your niche and voice, and master the craft. Imagine having two dozen short stories that show your progress as an writer instead of one crappy novel.

- Short stories are a lost art form, sort of. It used to be that writers made a decent living by penning a short story a week and sending them into magazines. But in time the novel took over. Still, short stories can be convenient, exciting, and they can give a reader a taste of who you are. It's a great way to market yourself.

- Short stories are making a comeback in the social media age. People are used to reading blogs, Facebook posts, and taking in information one small bite at a time. More and more books are being written by releasing the chapters with short stories and compiling them into novels.

- I can produce more content with short stories than with novels, and I can get more exposure with a wide range of genres and readers. 

So that's a few of the reasons I'm focusing on short stories. And if that isn't enough for you, let me point you to Stephen King, who got his start writing short stories and recommends writers master short stories and devote to them between novels. If there is anyone I want to give me advice, it's someone like Stephen King. Love him or hate him, he is who he is for a reason. 

If you want to check out one of my short stories, check out my self published short series, Mr. Risk, only on Amazon. 

And no, they aren't well edited because I'm broke, and you don't pay an editor several hundred dollars just to go over a 6000 word short story. 🤷‍♂️

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CG9NMGHT?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&storeType=ebooks