Getting on the Publishing Trail

When I originally started writing, I never intended to have it published.  I was writing for me, to release emotions, since I didn't (and if I'm honest with myself I still don't) know how to deal with most emotions.  Then, I felt brave enough to let a few friends read a couple of my stories.  That was a pretty big breakthrough for me.  But still, I never really had any desire to sell any of my stuff.

Then I married an artist.  And she started selling some of her stuff (Granted, she produces much more than she lists and the sales aren't burning any barns.  Yet.), and this crazy notion got into my head that maybe I should sell some of my art, too.  Then came the "now what" phase.  I didn't have enough for a full book, and wasn't producing anything except a multitude of ideas (many of which I forget by the time I can write them down - or I lose the slip of paper I write them on), so I kept pushing it off.

Then I found that I can publish on my own through Amazon for the Kindle for free, so I started thinking of the basic concept I'd publish with.  Since the vast majority of my stories and story ideas are all short or ultra short, I should focus on short story compilation books.  I don't concentrate on any single genre, so maybe I should split the stories into categories and concentrate on a compilation story for each genre.  Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery, Drama (basic fiction that doesn't fit into the other three genres).  I then set about doling out stories to each book and had a pretty good idea of what goes where.

But still, I didn't do any work on anything new.

Then I found out about Smashwords, which will publish to just about every other electronic book medium except Amazon and also for free.  So, I could have my books for sale for the Kindle, and also for Nook, Apple Itunes, and a couple dozen other places.  Then I started reading in forums about pricing books and approximate number of words for each pricing scheme and I realized that I could put six of my stories that are already completed in the same short compilation novel and price it at about $0.99 or $1.99.  If I get good results, I'm pretty sure that will get me motivated to start putting my pencil to paper again (yes, I do all my first drafts the old fashioned way).

So, I'm putting the following stories in a short compilation book for less than a dollar:  Mary's Painting, Sins of the Father, The Fall, Cat's Eye View, The Viewing, and The Journey.  The only thing they have in common is that they're all darker stories.  I still need a title for the compilation, but as soon as I get that and artwork to design the cover with, I plan to publish straight away.  Who knows, if I get another story finished before then, I might include it also.