Advice about what to do next with my short story

[Fiona]

Hi all
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. I have completed a short Vampire story, and after making some changes that my wonderful beta readers suggested, I believe I have finished it. Only now I'm not sure what to do next. Should I publish it on Amazon? Should I send the story to online magazines? If yes, which ones? Should I publish it on my own blog and then do a marketing splurge? The story is about two minor characters from a novel that I am in the process of working on, and it's the story of their turning. What do people suggest would be the best way to go? Any advice will be gratefully recieved

[Francis]

I have published two stories on my blog, each through a series of posts. One of these has been almost completely ignored by the world. The other is read quite often, which makes me happy, but there is almost no feedback from readers, and little evidence that readers look at my other stuff.

You could try finding a publisher. Be aware that it may take months to find one who is interested, but if you get one then wow and cool. It won't mean wealth and fame, but... (Last summer a publisher picked up one novelette - yay! - but rejected another - aww! - and the first is only now with the cover artist.)

You could publish yourself, on Amazon/Smashwords/Lulu. But then you have to be great at cover design (or be willing to pay) and must know how to create well edited and formatted manuscripts ready for conversion to EPUB/MOBI. The process is faster and it's in your control, but getting people to buy/read the story can be painful and dispiriting. (I have lots of experience of that.)

[Angela(demonsangel)]

You'll also need a book cover. Don't settle for these companies that re-use and slap photographs together. Get a cover that's hand drawn, hand painted cover. Luke Ahearn has over 20+ years as a professional artist/designer. He's also a published author to. Come over and check out our page at facebook.com/CreativeCoverDesigns

[Theresa]

Everyone here has good suggestions. I don't know how long your short story is, but if it is really short you might want to wait to publish until you have written another short story so you can make a collection.