Publishing Story Collections and Anthologies: Success Strategies for Authors and Publishers

In this book, Rayne Hall shows you the professional way of publishing a collection of short tales, how to choose, organise, edit and present them, how to reach audiences and persuade readers to buy this book.

You'll learn

• How to find fantastic stories
• Which themes have the greatest potential for success
• Creating guidelines for contributors
• How to select the right submissions
• Phrasing rejections and acceptances
• How to structure the contents, which tale to place at the start and which at the end
• Editing techniques
• How to use teasers to hook readers
• If, when and how much to pay the contributors
• What to put into the publishing agreements
• Pitfalls to avoid
• How to secure book reviews, guest post slots and social media attention

You'll get a look at the best ways to present an book showcasing your writers' group, and how to publish an anthology to raise funds for a charity.

Is a collection the same as an anthology? 'Collection' is a broad category which includes 'anthology'. If you gather several stories in a book, it's a collection, regardless of the number of authors involved. Only if the stories are by multiple authors, it's an anthology. So, an anthology is a collection, but not every collection is an anthology. While most chapters in this guide apply to either, some equip you with the specific skills you need as an anthology editor.

Rayne Hall has worked in publishing for 40 years, and during this time she edited many anthologies - some in the employ of publishing houses, others for her my own publishing business, Rayne Hall Ltd - and also collections of her own works. ln this guide, she shares her experiences so you can learn from them without needing to make your own mistakes.