This post is also available on Substack.
The short fiction market isn’t what it used to be, even though short stories are where a lot of writers cut their teeth. Compensation for short stories has remained pretty static for a long time, due to the lack of magazine circulation, digitization, accessibility, and competition with other forms of media.
But interest in reading short fiction hasn’t abated. I’d argue its appetite has only grown. Blink and three more fiction podcasts will appear in your feed. These range from corporate-sponsored audio dramas to self-produced anthology-style shows that function like magazines used to. Submit a story between a certain word count and have a narrator (often a volunteer) read your story out loud. I’ve had the pleasure to have this happen on a couple of occasions, and I hope to have it happen more this year.
A lot of writers I know are submitting to themed anthologies and contests a lot. They seem to be a popular avenue to find stories homes.
Everywhere you look, short fiction is being published. It’s a reader’s market out there. With so many options, many of them free for the reading (or listening), how’s one to choose a good short story? A good story can offer relief while waiting in a doctor’s office. It can provide a boost of dopamine during a boring lunch break. Too tired to read before bed? A short story is an easily digested bit of fiction, one that a old and new readers alike can always indulge in.
I love short stories for what they deliver. They’re a flash of emotion, a brief glimpse into another world. They don’t take much of your time, and they’re extremely rewarding. By analyzing these shorties, I hope to understand them better. These are stories that have stuck with me, and deserve a revisit.
I’ve already written a short post on “Pretender” by Soren Narnia, but I have a few other stories in mind. I will make sure all the stories are freely and legally available somewhere on the web, whether in text, audio, or both. The intent is to read the story before reading the analysis, as I will be spoiling the story in my posts.
Up next: “Again” by Ramsey Campbell. Listen to the story on Pseudopod.
The Night Bulletin 