Helpful Guide to Venture into the World of Anthology Contribution (How-To)

Let’s face it: breaking into the writing world can be difficult. It’s an overcrowded market where few are noticed. Traditional publishers focus mainly on their high-profile clients while self-publishing still holds a stigma (although that is changing) of not being authentic. This in part is due to vanity presses, and the poor quality (amateur cover art, poor grammar, lack of editing, etc.) of some (not all) self-published novels. Agents are hard to acquire, and many writers abandon the traditional routes or tire of waiting and decide to carve their own path. Some writers find one way to do this is have their work published in an anthology.

An anthology is a published collection or assortment of music/songs, poems, stories, and/or literary works. A new or unestablished writer may find anthologies appealing because they give writers a way to establish writing credits and build a following. Being published in an anthology financially may be more viable than attempting to independently self-publishing. But before publishing in an anthology, there are many important considerations a writer should ask himself/herself.

Before beginning, there are several disclaimers I want to make. First, this post is not to bash anthologies. Anthologies are great. The reason for my writing this solely is to help new writers make informed choices. After working diligently but getting nowhere then having an opportunity to publish in an anthology might make a writer pounce on the chance. But stopping for a moment to consider before rushing into an agreement may be the best thing a writer can do for his/her career.

Second, this post is for writers seeking to publish in an anthology with other writers and not for writers who are planning to publish a collection of their own works. Some of the considerations listed herein may be useful for a writer who simply is compiling a list of his/her writings to create an anthology. If so, wonderful. However, most will be useful to those writers who are submitting stories or poems to anthologies that will host other writers.

Third, this list of considerations is not all-inclusive. There are plenty more questions that could and should be asked. Feel free to add to this list in the comment sections. Also, this list is in no particular order of importance. Not every consideration will apply to every writer or to every anthology.

Now, with the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get started.

How well does the writer know the other writers in the anthology? This is important for many reasons. First, as a writer one probably has spent months perfecting his/her story or poem and may have invested money for professional editing if this service wasn’t provided by the publisher of the anthology. One would hope, every work is a quality piece free of glaring grammatical errors and typos. But is it? Have the other contributing writers invested in their own work to make it top quality?


Are the other writers dedicated to helping market the anthology, or will they sit back and allow one or a handful of writers do all marketing footwork? Has a marketing plan been discussed as a group, or is each writer expected to develop a plan? Profits from sales are split. How will one writer feel if he/she learns that he/she is spending several hours daily marketing and is generating sales only to have those funds divided with other writers who have done nothing in the way of marketing.’


How big are the fanbases of the other writers? How long have they been writing? How many published works do they have? Will publishing in this anthology help expose the writer’s work to a broader audience? Some new writers or lesser known writers may not have much of a following. If this is the case, they may benefit from being in an anthology with well-established writers. However, for a more established writer, the benefits may be less.


How many authors will be contributing? This isn’t something that only affects financial payout and exposure. It also may affect purchases. For example, say there are sixty contributors. There may be so many writers included in the anthology that it makes a print book extremely expensive. Expensive books from new authors is never a good thing. Furthermore, there may be so many writers included that a reader may not realize a particular writer has contributed. An author may become lost in the vast number in the anthology. Furthermore, if the stories in the beginning of the anthology fail to impress or disinterest readers, they may stop reading and never get to the stories in the rear of the book.


Are the fanbases of the other contributing writers close to the writer’s targeted audience? This may be of lesser importance, but it’s still something to consider. Suppose many of the contributing writers are SF and have a large following but one writer is historical romance. The SF writers’ readers may not be interested in reading a historical romance. Thus, they may pass over the story—or worse, write a negative review because they disliked it. One may question how a scenario like this could occur since all anthologies are genre-related. However, that is not the case. Some anthologies are themed based with works in multiple genres. This could be positive in that it may attract readers who normally wouldn’t be exposed to more than one genre.
Additionally, a writer will need to ask if being published besides other writers will hurt his/her reputation or brand. What is this all about? Say, for example, one author writes children or Christian fiction. If the anthology has adult erotica, the child author or Christian author may be criticized and experience difficulties with future publishing in the child or Christian realm. Instead of enticing new followers, it may alienate established followers.


Are there famous authors in the anthology? This is definitely a plus when considering exposure. However, it also means readers may have high expectations and compare to the other authors. Is a writer prepared to have his/her work compared to the other contributing authors?


How well does the publisher communicate with writers? Is a contract involved? Are the terms clear? How are payments divided? Is a payment plan schedule listed? Have there been complains of writers not getting paid? How is payment made? Who retains the rights and ownership of the content? Ask the writers who have published in the anthology or with the publisher. Look on the website to see if they list the contract terms or have a sample contract provided. Many publishers will have this listed somewhere on their site.


Will publishing in an anthology limit what or how a writer can use his/her characters in future works? For example, suppose a writer creates a story about a character named Captain Xavier Potter, and this character is a mutant wizard superhero with a shield that must save the world from a facially disfigured villain. (Yes, I went there.) The writer may want to use this character in a series of adventure books. Will having this character in an anthology prevent future use of this character by having exclusive use for the duration of publication? (It is important to read the contracts carefully.) If later the writer wants to pitch this series to another publisher, is this other publisher willing to accept not having a completed series sort to speak.


What is the qualification/expertise of the publisher? Is the publisher competent? How many anthologies have the publisher printed? How long has the publisher been in business? What is the publisher’s reputation? Will the publisher ensure that the final product is a quality product? Will the publisher orchestrate an overall marketing plan? Have there been complaints from readers? Answering these questions can save a ton of headaches. Research, research, research. Avoid being scammed or having your hard work being published in a place that it is doomed for failure.


Are there fees that publisher will require to be paid (e.g., monies towards cover art, promotion, printing, copyright, etc.). Some fees that a small-press publisher ask may be legitimate. Just because a publisher asks for payment does not mean it is a scam. The best way to determine if the fees are legitimate is if the publisher makes a full disclosure upfront of these fees and provide details of how the funds will be used. For example, a small-press or indie publisher may ask each participating writer to split the cost of a book trailer. It would be a one-time fee and a specific, reasonable amount. Another good rule of thumb when answering these questions is the ask other writers and research the publisher. It is important for a writer to make a distinction between what are fees from a legitimate publisher and what is a vanity press. Basically, with a vanity press, writers pay to be published. If one is unsure of what a vanity press is, by all means, do not use the Wikipedia definition, as it lists self-publishers, publishers-on-demand (POD), and vanity publishers as one entity. Instead, search sites like Writers Beware for a more accurate definition.


Another closely related consider is if the anthology call for submission truly legit or is it the waste of a writer’s time? Some anthologies are published by groups of friends. There’s nothing fraudulent about that. But sometimes, this can be a shady way for a select group to make money at the expense of others. For example, an anthology is slated to publish ten short stories and has an open call for submissions. What isn’t revealed is that seven of the ten slots are already filled with the publisher’s buddies. The “open call” is an underhanded way to generate interest and advertise the publication to hopeful participants. The publisher might “suggest” that previous volumes of the anthology or the works of writers (the publisher’s friends) be read (and the only way to read them is to purchase them) in order for the hopeful participate to familiarize himself/herself with the general types of works accepted in the anthology for publication. If the same writers are appearing in every volume of the anthology, writers making submissions may want to ask why that is. It could be that these writers are top-notched, and their writings simply outshine all of the competition. Or it could be that some anthologies have an automatic inclusion of some writers. There’s nothing unethical or deceitful about that policy. It only becomes questionable when it is presented/advertised that all submissions will be weighed and measured equally.


Will the time and effort spent writing and marketing for the anthology be better spent working on an individual/solo project/book? Writers are busy, and the writing process can be time-consuming. After weighing the pros and cons of anthology publishing, some writers might find that their better interest is completing their novel or constructing their own anthology.

Don’t forget to visit Creole Bayou again. New posts are made on Wednesdays. If you have any questions or suggestions about this post or any others, feels free to comment below or tweet me at @dolynesaidso. You also can follow me on Instagram at genevivechambleeauthor or search me on Goodreads.

Copies of all my books are available in paper, eBook, and audio on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. The links are listed in my Writing Projects page (http://bit.ly/2iDYRxU) along with descriptions of each of my novels or stories.

Life’s Roux: Wrong Doors, my steamy romantic comedy which was released this week, is available at Red Sage Publishing. To order, follow the link to http://bit.ly/2CtE7Ez or to Amazon at http://amzn.to/2lCQXpt.

My new book, Out of the Penalty Box, a fiction romance is now available for pre-order at a bargain price at http://amzn.to/2Bhnngw. It also can be preordered on iTunes, Nook, or Kobo. For more links where to purchase or to read the blurb, please visit http://bit.ly/2i9SqpH.

Don’t have much time for reading or in a hurry? Check out my microfic, “Country Club Charades” in Fake For You at https://www.hottreepublishing.com/fla... that also was released this week.

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