Short Fiction Decline

Posted on July 27, 2009 by David G Shrock

Short fiction readership is in decline. Like many periodicals, short fiction publications face distribution issues, fight for tighter shelf space, and compete with other media. Collections of short stories compete with novels. The traditional newspaper is extinct, and magazines follow close behind. In order for short fiction to survive, it needs to change with the times.

Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld charts the decline in readership of short fiction magazines. Even though several magazines have ended, Clarke points out that a few new launches are attracting attention including Tor.com. Print magazines face distribution issues, and need to change in order to survive. Over at iRoSF, talk of declining short fiction readership includes discussions about if the short fiction market is supported primarily by the writers themselves. Other new publications have opened up including a few in the Twitter micro-fiction market.

Noise is a problem. So much competes for readers attention including social media such as Facebook, YouTube, and blogs. Kristine Kathryn Rusch in “What’s Louder than Noise?” points out the difficulty of authors getting noticed, including established authors. Rusch claims that the great American novel is now an impossibility. Michael Hyatt points out in “The Importance of Building Your Platform” that new published books grew in last year competing for the same shelf space* along with more media competing for attention.

Short story delivery changes over time. Before the printing press, people shared stories orally using poetry to help remember the telling. Plays make room for movies. Newspapers move online delivering news faster and cheaper. Technology changes entertainment moving stories onto paper and into new media. We now have digital book readers using technology like electronic paper displays. Michael Miner of Chicago Reader reports on Dan Sinker’s idea of delivering short stories to cell phones via CellStories.net. Many read news articles while at the coffee shop. Why not fiction? Last year, Stephen King and Marvel teamed up to produce a graphic adaption of a short story. Or on a lower budget, some magazines such as Weird Tales show interest in video flash fiction. Storybird encourages users to collaborate using story and art to produce works that others can view or play with like a toy. Stories in video games grow more complex each year, including interactive stories. What new story sharing methods await us?

We still have plays, we have paper books, and we continue to tell stories orally. We also have new means to enjoy our stories, keep our stories, and share our stories. And that’s the way we want it. Both authors and publications need to build their platforms, survive the noise. Short fiction publication must change.

*Here “shelf space” refers to total outlets including “On Demand” besides traditional published books. Bowker reports on US book distribution for last year showing traditional books declined.

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  • The implied definition of social media sites such as Facebook, You Tube and Blogs as 'noise' is interesting. Are these not the modern vehicles of marketing and promotion through which new authors, such as myself, can raise their profile, rather than 'noise' that gets in the way of promoting your work.

    I'm using them and gaining far greater exposure that I would ever have achieved in the days before their existence.
    Chris Warren, Author and Freelance Writer, Randolph's Challenge Book One - The Pendulum Swings
  • Rusch points out that she reads more news and buys more books, thanks to the noise. But she also says that we stick to our little "neighborhoods" because there is so much out there.

    Since social media is part of the noise (along with TV, Hulu, online stores) there is only one choice but to use the noise to build your platform. Of course, so does everyone else. While social media helps increase your exposure, the interesting part Rusch brings up is that the noise can also work against an author from attaining national name recognition. Rusch mentions recent award-winning authors that many readers haven't heard of that would have been household names back in the day of newspaper and radio.

    Thanks, Chris, for pointing out this important detail. Social media is our vehicle for marketing and promotion, and they work great allowing many more authors to get out there. And we add more noise. Short fiction publications need to leverage social media to stay in business as well. Can authors use social media to climb above the noise and become a household name?
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