Friday, March 8, 2013

Do Short Stories Sell?

So far, in my experience, the answer to this question is no.

My novel, Eria, sold quite solidly for a first novel from a nobody (well, in my opinion at least). Not enough to quit my day job and live on a tropical island somewhere, but that was never my expectation. I was glad to have something out there, and for people to read it, comment on it, and hopefully like it.

My first short stories (or novella, I suppose), The Dragon's Spine, was much better than Eria - it read better, the interactions were better, and it was quite a solid piece. Sales were slow and awful. At one stage Eria was outselling it, despite the difference in pricing and the fact that Eria had been around for quite a while. It left me scratching my head.

Now with Dren out, I'm getting the same kind of sales as I had with The Dragon's Spine. Slow, almost non-existent.

Is it that there is so much stuff at 99 cents that people either fail to see things at that price? Is there still the idea that if it's that cheap there must be something wrong with it? Or is it simply that short stories, by themselves do not sell?

Any feedback would be appreciated.