The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell

by Rob Parnell

Includes an up-to-date listing of current short story markets and bonus free ebook. If you've ever felt that you had a story inside you - and wanted to know how to write and get it published, this book is for you. This book is intended for amateur and professional writers who may have lost their way. It guarantees inspiration, motivation, effective ways to counter 'writer's block' and provides you with easy, step by step instructions on how to write a short story that will sell.Rob Parnell is the respected author of 28 books on writing. Over the last eleven years Rob has taught over 100,000 students and subscribers from all over the world. His website, The Easy Way to Write, is considered one of the best writer's sites online.In The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell, Rob Parnell explains how the first and best way to progress in a writing career is to master the art of short story writing. Here's what he "I don't know about you but at school they told us short story writing was harder than novel writing. For a full time writer this statement is nonsense - but it does show how short story writing is respected and even regarded with some degree of awe."The good news is that I can teach you the easy way to create a very publishable short story - and very quickly."My short story writing course has been downloaded more than any other of my resources - something like 90,000 times in the last ten years. I've completely revised its contents and included an up-to-date listing of all the short story markets currently available to the aspiring short story writer."Plus, to help and encourage new writers, I've added a link to another of my popular courses, The Easy Way to Achieve Writing Success. It's a free e-course available from a link at the end of The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell.Here's what's included in this "A thorough examining of the art and craft of short story writing - and how to easily make money writing short stories for publication.PART MINDSET"We look at mental preparation and having the correct writer's mindset before we start. We examine time management, your self belief mechanisms, and goal setting. PART THE BASICS"Here we ponder the nature of inspiration and originality. How to come up with ideas, characters and subject matter for your stories. We also discuss more specific writing issues like genre, scope, style and how to deal with them.PART Construction Time"Here I introduce the 7-Step Story Generator, an easy way to come up with powerful short story ideas in less than ten minutes. In a whole new section I also show how to create instantly compelling characters."We delve in to character's agendas, their interactions, and the consequences of facing and overcoming obstacles. "Plus, how to use the 5-Point Plot Structure, and create compelling stories through the use of proper style and tone, the correct point of view, tense, and the all important twist at the end of your stories."For fan fiction and romance writers I explain the ‘1-2-3-Bang’ theory and other short story structures.PART WRITING YOUR STORY"Here we examine the opening paragraph and its importance, professional techniques like fast writing, self-editing, formatting and polishing the final edit.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2013

About the author

Rob is a creative dynamo involved in books, film and music.

Reviews

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when on holiday last month and just now writing my rave review. This book changed my life - literally. It's absolutely brilliant and a must read for anyone who wants to or does write short stories.

I highlighted 98% of this book on Kindle.I want to get the paperback to keep for ongoing reference too. It's so clever! All the advice is given simply, easy to digest and makes so much sense.

From what a story should end with to how to go about outlining the plot this is packed with useful tips and solid advice. Why do I rave?

After reading this book I wrote a short horror story, I applied a lot that I had learnt in this book. It's now being published in an upcoming horror anthology. 2 Editors read my story, one is publishing it and I'm a brand new writer. I've got a lot to learn and a long way to go but whether you've written shorts for years or just beginning.

Get this book!

Honestly? It's brilliant. 5 stars and a book I'll refer to over and over again. Life changing.

I bought and read the Kindle version of this book. All review opinions are my own and totally unbiased.

[Tom Britz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the way Rob Parnell talks about writing. He's not some airy pie-in-the-sky type of teacher. He's down to earth and tells it as he sees it. Writing is hard work, but not an impossible dream. He lays out a writer's plan that just about anyone with some drive and determination can achieve. This book is short and to the point and well worth the time to check it out.

[Sam Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is well-written, clear, and highly inspirational. Parnell is talented at making the aspiring writer feel as if dreams are within grasp.

Is there new information? The effort is clearly made to either present something new or to look at an old idea in a new way. Much of the time, this comes across as if he is talking directly to you, “No matter what you’ve heard, believe me, this works.”

Writer’s Digest editors used to (and might still) judge a submission for their magazine by the criteria: Does it have a take-it-to-the-typewriter quality? In other words, does the work contain advice that is immediately actionable by the writer? Is it step-by-step? There is some, especially in the second half of the book, but I would have liked more of this kind of content as well as examples.

Ultimately, each time I sat down, I looked forward to reading this book, and I will read more of Rob Parnell’s stuff.

[Danyelle La Pookette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this little book. It's a good overview of writing short stories and selling them. It is well organized and easy to read. There are some good tips and tricks for increasing the speed at which one types or writes a story, editing processes, and submission guidelines. There's a nice list of places (mostly magazines) where you can sell a short story.

I like how the writer has links to his website. There are also links to magazines' websites.

What it does not have is the details of writing a story. There isn't much "drilling down" on honing your craft. The focus here is adopting the right perspective, finding markets, and writing to order for those markets.

It's kind of funny how the author goes into detail on editing, but there are many typos in this book (and in the section about editing and proofreading).

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, good info, worth the money

I've grown skeptical of e-books over time. I've read way too many with spelling, grammar, and format issues that detract from what the author is saying. Mr. Parnell proves his professionalism in this book. It's well written, not sugar coated, encouraging, to the point with excellent info and advice. The list of resources at the end is a veritable treasure trove. Think of this as the "Cliff Notes" of short story writing. Quick and easy to read, very enjoyable.

[Lakita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great intro for the newbie or wannabe writer!

This book was a great intro to writing short stories. I learned a great deal and have the info I need to start writing. It’s a great book for those who are new to writing like me. I’m excited to get started. Glad I read this one!

[Mani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide to choosing to write the kind of short stories that will actually be in-demand by publishers, or even appeal to a wider readership so that you can sell them as a collection. Based on his extensive experience as a writer and writing coach, the author reveals some precious nuggets of wisdom for all writers.

[richard harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty to work with!

I have finished a creative writing module (for a degree), read many “writing tips” books — but nothing comes close to this. Superlative, straightforward, motivational. I’ve improved massively, I’ve been published for non-fiction but I’m still awaiting my fiction “break”. I feel it’s so much closer now: reading this book will help ANYONE.

[Reuben Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid and Concise

I really enjoyed how concise Parnell's book is. It offers helpful tips throughout and does not inundate the reader with unnecessary information. I did not care for him plugging his other books because his writing should speak for itself. However, this did not detract from the reading significantly.

[LaTonya Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Information

I give this author five stars for a easy guide to writing short stories. I especially like the idea of writing the ending of a story first because the twist is the reason why I enjoy so many fantasy books today.

[Kevin Legge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and informative.

This book was easy to read and informative. There are several grammatical and semantic errors, but they don't detract from the whole. I would purchase this author's books again.

[Tony Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good succinct advice

Enjoyed this book. Lots of good practical advice that I will put into practice. I like the structure idea as it's otherwise easier to find advice on novel structure than for short stories.

[Pat Stanford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Basic

This is a very basic "book" or rather a long essay. Nothing on structure of a short story versus an novel. Short stories are much different and that is what I was looking for and, apparently still am.

[Jane Freund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Rob Parnell's writing style as it's conversational and includes practical advice that can be put into action. I actually took the time to outline this book as I found so much helpful information.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. The author had some very practical advice but kept it uncomplicated for those just starting their writing journey. I ended up highlighting a ton of things in this book. Well worth the read and I will likely be seeking out some of his other titles.

Thanks Rob!

[Holli Keel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid information. Especially handy to have a list at the end of the book of sites that accept short story submissions.

[Al Macy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for new writers and a good review for those with more experience.

[Alejandro Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como sus otros libros para escritores, incluye recomendaciones muy prácticas y un tanto superficiales, pero reafirma algunas buenas ideas de la buena práctica del escritor.

[Angeline Gallant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

This book is very helpful for those who want to get into writing short stories. I've been writing novels for years but found there was a lot to learn.

[cnix · Rating 5 out of 5]

practical advice for a budding author

Thank you for the practical advice and straightforward thoughts. They will come in handy as I expand my non fiction creations to short stories.

[Charles Chettiar · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Jörg · Rating 3 out of 5]

My constant craving for structure was satisfied when I found this little book to help me get started with a short story or two.

It's a non-fiction writing craft book currently on Kindle Unlimited. You can also buy it for 99p (Kindle version.) A very quick read. It should take an hour..ish. Subjects covered are Mindset, Inspiration, Construction, Writing, Submitting, Markets and more besides.

Rob Parnell the author has published quite a few writing craft books and some novels as well.

It gives you a clear process to structuring your short story which is helpful if you don't know where to start. You can build a template as well to use in the future. I also liked that it's short. It means you don't get any boring waffle and you can get started straight away. After reading a few writer's craft books now I don't think I learned anything new here. It does, however, bring together the important things to observe when writing a short story. With that in mind I would recommend to a beginner wanting to get off the starting blocks. Also to someone like me that can't get enough of structure! 3 Stars.

[Tim Urista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sections were especially helpful in this book: the character creation section (with recommendation to create 3 characters) and the story outline template section. The author never gets too verbose, and gives the reader some very practical tips for writing and completing work. The emphasis on meditative practices and the use of the subconsciouss was also helpful to reassure the potential writer that this craft is a life-long process. Overall, the work was both calming and informative.
A template with the information outlined and mentioned above would also have been helpful. And the list of authors to read was a welcome contribtuion too, but a list of their best works would have been even better.

[Roland Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty solid book on creating fiction. It would be a good pickup for anyone who hasn't written or read anything on writing before but I certainly wouldn't say it pushed the envelope. Yes we do need books on the basics but at this point in the universe a writer should only write something that nobody else could write.

[L.N. Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the basics

Good book if you want to know the basics of writing short stories. I would have liked if it went more in dept of the actual formula to write short stories, but it had some jewels.

[Glenn B Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much get rich hype

Too much get rich quick type of hype. Be a writer. Make millions! Yeah, sure. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this guy has a whole cult of happy followers but his whole approach turned me off in a hurry.

[Fayette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very quick read, with some common sense advice, and a little cheer leading built in for all aspiring writers.

[Javier De Obeso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best advice I have ever read on a short book on writing.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is fine if you've never read a book on writing short stories before. It's okay but I didn't see anything new.

[Jess Schira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this book via the Kindle Unlimited program mostly because I'm looking for information about promoting short stories in this digital age. Sadly, the book didn't have what I was looking for, but it did provide some interesting info about outlining a short and creating a solid template that I'm going to try the next time I want to write a short story.

I think it's a good read and has some solid information.