I've been writing for a number of years and accumulated quite a bit of poetry along with a few short stories. I was thinking of self publishing my own anthologies but as an unknown, should I go that route or try to submit my work for consideration as part of someone else's anthology? Has anyone published an anthology and was it a worthwhile exercise (in terms of ease of coordination, marketing and income generating)? I've had one short story and one poem published in magazines (both non-paying) but nothing major so far.
Some feedback please? Decision-making time is here!
Well what I do was find Facebook groups that wrote in the particular genre I wrote at the time. Though the pecularity being the anthologies I'd pick now have less genre elements than they used to.
I think it amounts to what's right for you. Do you prefer your story being with others, or having a bunch of stories of your own buffer each other?
I'm not sure decision making time really is here.
Why would you not pursue all avenues? You're an unknown. If both options are something you'd be down for, why shut off potential paths to sucecss?
Gale, generally "anthology" is used to describe a collection of stories/poems from several different authors. If it is all your own work, "collection" or possibly "chapbook/book" would be the more common term.
So I think your question is: Should you self-publish your collected poems and stories, or submit your poems and stories to various magazines and anthologies?
The answer really depends on your goals. Honestly, neither is likely to generate income (particularly with poetry). To have success as a self-published author, you really need substantial marketing skills, and/or have a fairly established name. From what I've heard and read, it's pretty easy to self-publish, and there are various platforms to do so.
If you want to be read more broadly, or establish a name, you are better off submitting to anthologies and magazines to get your work out there, in my opinion. It's a tough road and takes commitment, but if you are interested in seeing where you stand, improving your work, and doing this long term, it can be a valuable experience.
No way to do both?
Always try to publish with a magazine or online publication first, IMO, and for pay, if possible. I know poetry is tougher to get a paycheck, but there are a lot of cool places out there. Also, it's VERY hard to get a book of poetry published, even a chapbook. A good friend of mine is a poet and very few good presses publish a ton of poetry these days, and even then, not many copies (100-500 usually). So, if it was me, I'd check out a place like Duotrope.com and send your work far and wide, give it a year, and then self-publish (or submit the book/chap to contests, where you usually pay a FEE, or to small presses) where the bulk of the poetry should already have been published.
Hope that makes sense. Good luck!
(It's a similar situation for short stories.)
