It's been a while since I last posted something, so I thought I'd better get back into the habit. Just wondering if anyone knows if there are any agencies that deal with short stories (or novella's or anything like that). I've started on a new book (which is actually an old story I wrote about five years ago, but recently discovered it again), but the way it's looking at the moment, it might be more a short story than an actual novel. Does anyone know if there are any agencies that publish short stories anymore? The story I'm writing is a romantic comedy (abiet a fairly dark one), so not sure if that genre would be suitable for a short story. Any help gratefully appreciated.

As far as I'm aware, an agent would only really be interested in a short story collection, and even then, from an established author. There's little money in short stories and if you're talking speculative fiction, even less so. They're a great way to get your name out there and start building a name, but they won't pay the rent. I've not heard of an agent who deals with short stories and I don't think it's the norm I'm afraid.

JB

I don't know of any agencies - it would be a matter of trawling through the Writers And Artists Year Book, for the reasons JB has already mentioned.
There are a few publishers that publish short story collections and have been mentioned on various threads recently - Salt comes to mind.

Short stories are very hard to sell, and since big publishers won't publish them, agents are very wary of taking on their writers. Small literary independents like Salt publish them, but they're struggling. Even established authors have trouble persuading their publisher to publish short story collections, because they'll sell 1/10th of what another novel would.

So it's extremely rare to get an agent to take you on on the strength of a short story collection which they then sell, though I know one or two writers who've done so at the literary end of things. Occasionally an agent will take on a short story writer in order to help them produce a novel, if they're the sort of agent who likes getting their hands dirty with editorial work. If you're trying to sell a single story to a magazine, then you're on your own, I fear.

Emma

As an alternative insight, what's the sort of length a story has to be to be considered a "short story"? Depending on length, I could always try and pad it out a little more.

My intention is to make this a novel, but as it was originally written as a stage play it's a bit shorter than it would be as a novel. Still, seeing as I'm updating it, I can see what comes out of it.

Generally speaking at the commercial end of the spectrum a novel needs to be somewhere around 80,000-120,000 words. Towards the literary end, a bit longer or a bit shorter are probably okay. Category fiction like Mills & Boon are around 55,000, and some at the uber-literary end are too. But I know that publishers find it particularly difficult to launch a debut author with a short book.

Novellas are usually regarded as anything between, say, 25,000 and 45,000, under 20,000 it's a short story (tho' of course the distinction isn't merely a matter of word length, just as the distinction between a soprano and an alto isn't just a matter of how high they can sing). For magazine purposes I'd guess that most are between 2,000 and 10,000, depending hugely on the mag.

If it isn't naturally novel-length, it's almost impossible to fatten it up to that: you're better off starting with a new idea.

Emma

There are definitely markets out there for short stories and novellas - some even pay

I think I'm right in saying agents are unlikely to be interested in short stories - unless of course you get a significant publication credit or competition win to your name which might encourage them to show interest in a novel...

I keep trying to write a novella for fun and the latest is just over 80,000 words and unfinished... It needs a serious edit but even so is unlikely to shrink to the 30,000 words I originally had in mind

Small ahem. My agent took me on on the strength of a short story collection, and I know several other authors for whom this has happened too. WW's Vanessa Gebbie got a top agent this way, and I think Emma D had interest from her Bridport short.

The agents want us to write full length novels of course but there isn't zero interest in the form. It is taken seriously by some agents as a measure of writing style and ability. Just prodding the runt cousin of the novel forward to take credit where it's due. I've read soooo many slights on the form as a waste of time commercially. It may not sell but it's not without some leverage.

Well, fingers crossed that Salt survive, as one of the rare places who as a matter of policy publish short story collections - Seren are another. And a hard-wired short-story-writing friend of mine, Tom Lee, has a big-name agent and his first collection is published by Harvill. But it's rare: I've got more friends, like you, Cerys, who were taken on with a view to a novel. But it's all at the literary end of things.

Emma

I think that's a significant 'ahem' - always way too easy to go with 'received wisdom' and forget the exceptions that prove the rule?

I find that very encouraging - especially as I write short stories too

Sarah

I started talking to an independent publisher a couple of years ago about a possible collection of my short stories. They expressed an interest and I was meant to send them the 12 I'd selected. Then I decided against it and I'm glad I did because said publisher are now no more. This hasn't got much to do with the price of eggs, but I guess there are folks out there who'd be willing to consider a short story collection if you look hard enough? But I don't think it's the norm for agents.

JB

Going back over the story, I think I got some ideas that could "pad it out" a bit to make it less like a short story and more like a novel, I just figured when I first started writing it that it was going to be more like a short story than a novel. We'll wait and see. I think the hardest part will be deciding the genre for it. It could fall under the "romantic comedy" genre, but I'm not sure.

Little Black Dress (part of Headline) publish contemporary rom com 'shorts'. I think they say 65-85k or something - you could check their guidelines. If you tailored the book to an imprint like that and told an agent so, that might interest them...?

Rosy

<Added>

Here you go. It's 60-80k.

http://www.littleblackdressbooks.com/submissionguide.pdf

Can't help wondering what Little Black Dress's historical sister-imprint might be: Little Black Bodice? and Little Black Codpiece for the chaps?

Emma

I wonder if they have a section of that imprint called Little Black Dominatrix Leather Outfit. No prizes for guessing what style of writing THAT would be!

Or maybe I'm just being hopeful. hehe!