Happy December!
2021 was the year of anthologies for me as a writer. I had stories come out in two different anthologies (and another two are on their way come 2022!). This month I'll be comparing and contrasting my experiences with both for you.
In Standing Fast: Stories in the Last Brigade, I have a dystopian survival story. While I read a ton of young adult fiction, I find that as a writer I end up writing in all kinds of genres. Nonetheless, this genre was one that I hadn't tried before. But when a long-time writer friend asked me to join the ranks of his anthology, I readily agreed.
He set all the parameters including the word count and genre. Because these stories take place in a world that he was already built, I had to do a bit of research to make sure that my story could fit into a previously established setting. Then, a different writer friend gave me the title idea, and from there a story of a girl trying to survive her colorless world emerged. I had a couple of months to work on the draft before the final version was due.
The contract for this project came from my previous publisher, so there wasn't too much to go over in that department as it was very similar to the one I signed for my debut novel, The Curse Breaker. I got my author copy in a pdf form a bit before the anthology came out in book form, and it was a lot of fun to see what the other writers (many of who I didn't know before) came up within this universe.
Participating in anthologies like these are a great way to meet new writing styles and names, as well as challenge yourself to fit into a certain theme/setting.
Malfunction Junction was a completely different experience. Partly because I'm in it as a writer as well as an editor, and partly because I was much closer to the overall construction of the anthology. As a group, we came up with the idea of doing an anthology and were just about to publish it when Covid hit. We decided to take a break for a bit before resuming the project.
We used a much looser theme to tie these stories together. All of the stories have something to do with Memphis, Tennessee (which is where we all have lived/currently live). In this case, our love of a singular place (with its quirks) is what brought this project to fruition.
Both of my stories in this project take place in the modern world with elements of fantasy. Many of the stories have some hints of fantasy, but a couple of them do not. The writing time for this project was much longer, but we spent time giving each other feedback on the submitted stories.
Working on anthologies like these are great if you have a group of writer friends and you want to learn more about the overall process of putting something like this together. It will also give you a great excuse to put on an author's night at your local book shop.
If you have more questions about the process, I'd love to answer them. Comment below.
Until next time. Happy writing!
2 comments:
I've been involved with several anthologies and mostly found them to be a very positive experience. Two were for Christmas collections with a previous publisher where I got to explore secondary characters in original short works and the third was through a group of PNR writers with previously pubbed books. Both upped all around sales. I've also participated in non-fiction projects re writing topics. As long as all participants are clear on the parameters and are on board with PR efforts, it's a win-win to attract new readers. I also enjoy reading anthologies (especially with short works) to find new authors to enjoy.
Thanks for sharing, April. I've had several opportunities to work on an anthology. Yet with my own series, I've never had the time to shift gears and write a story for the group. I'm always in awe of other writers who are able to do so. All the best!
Post a Comment