In my last post, I mentioned I’d successfully placed stories with a couple of anthologies. I also said I wouldn’t name the publications in case I was messed around. It would be harsh to say that anyone actually messed me around this time, but one of the stories is unlikely to be published.
I submitted the story in question on June 29. A week later, the editor emailed me to say he’d accepted it. He said things like “great” and “Love it”, further stating the story “Harks back to The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt”. The promised payment was more than acceptable, as well. At 10c per word, both the Horror Writers’ Association and The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association would have classed it as a professional sale.
At the time, the editor said he would send me a contract in August. That never happened, so I waited until September and sent him a query. He replied stating he was bogged down with submissions and too busy to send out the contracts for the stories he’d already accepted.
With Christmas fast approaching and no sign of a contract, I contacted him again today and got a speedy reply. The project is cancelled. Apparently he may produce an anthology bearing the same title in the future, but plans to only use work from invited authors.
This kind of thing has happened to me before. It’s nothing new. That’s why I was so loath to share details about the anthology. However, the reasons behind the editor’s decision are a little disheartening, and highlight some worrying changes in the publishing industry. He told me his previous anthology cost $12,000 to produce. All but $2,000 of that went to the authors, and he expected to sell at least 2,500 copies. He actually sold only 27 print copies and 10 e-book copies. The total sales came to $165.75, leaving the company out of profit. He states this reflects “the changing demographics among readers of the market” and “so much attention (and money) turning to YouTube, TikTok and the like among young people — and fewer Americans reading fiction.”
I can understand where he is coming from because, 10–15 years ago, when I was reading 1–5 novels per week, I often used to recommend books to people I knew. More often than not, the reply was “I’ll wait and catch the movie”. Even back then, people didn’t want to make the commitment to read a book.
This distancing from literature appears to have already had a notable impact on the publishing industry. According to the email I received today, “a recent NY Times article states that 2/3 of all new books published by the big New York publishers each year fail to sell even 1,000 copies for each title”. I have been unable to verify this. However, information I got from an alternative source suggests the market has become saturated with self-published books, and, despite more books being available than ever before, books sales continue to dwindle.
If you are a writer, the changes are you may have had similar experiences with stories being accepted but never being published. If not, be aware it can happen. When an acceptance fails to yield fruit, it can be more disheartening than a straight rejection, but it’s just part of the writing life. As for the state of the book market, that’s a bigger problem by far. The only thing anyone can do is keep writing, keep submitting, and continue hoping. That’s what I do, and although the information I received today wasn’t great, it comes on the back of another story acceptance elsewhere. I signed the contract a few days ago, and, all being well, the story should be published next year.