How to Write Short Stories: Anthologies

An anthology is a full-length book consisting of stories from different authors, often focused around a particular theme.

The benefits of appearing in an anthology include potentially being paid for your story, as well as the chance to network with other authors in the collection, market the finished book together, and even enter awards or competitions.

My short story The Dark Queen,about a scuba dive on a sunken Egyptian city, was originally commissioned for the Fiction River: Feel the Fear anthology. Later, it was licensed for and reprinted in the Amazing Monster Tales: Into the Briny Deep anthology as an ebook, and has been licensed again for print, on top of being self-published. This one story has reached so many more readers by being included in anthologies, and of course, there may be other opportunities to license again in the future.

The importance of theme

The theme holds an anthology together and is usually decided by the editor or the publisher. There might also be a genre, so readers know what they’re getting in a broad sense. However, each story may be surprising in its own way.

As a reader, I bought the anthology Robots vs. Fairies based on the title alone, which clearly gives the sense of science fiction meets fantasy in an unusual, original way. The fact that it includes stories by Jonathan Maberry and Seanan McGuire also made it an immediate buy for me.

A clear theme also helps you as the author, so you know whether an existing story might be a good fit or get some ideas for how to write to that particular market. Boundaries encourage a different form of creativity. Many short story writers keep an eye on submission markets and then write specifically for the themes and genres they love.

Besides the creative expression, and the potential for a published story credit, an anthology gives you a chance to network with other authors also featured and cross-promote the book to your respective audiences, which means your story may bring new readers to your longer works. It’s a form of authentic content marketing in that your words themselves attract new readers.

While you might not have the word count available for an author’s note in an anthology, you will usually get a few lines for your author bio at the end of the story, so be sure to direct readers to your wider work and email list there.

How do you get into an anthology?

There are two main ways into an anthology.

The first is the open call. The editor or publisher posts guidelines and a deadline, anyone may submit, and stories are chosen on merit and the taste of those organising or editing the anthology.

Genre newsletters, publisher websites, small presses, and other markets regularly share opportunities, and you could be writing for any of these every week if you wanted to. But it pays to be selective, so read some of the published works coming out of the various outlets to see what might be a good fit creatively and check whether the contract is worthwhile.

The second way in is by invitation. An editor who knows your work asks you to contribute, either by writing for the anthology specifically or by reprinting an already-published story they like that fits with the theme. This opportunity often comes from relationships built through conferences or classes, as well as making your work findable, and is clearly a long-term strategy of reputation-building over time.

Payments and contracts

Anthologies vary in terms of payments and contracts.

You might receive a professional per-word rate, a modest flat fee, a share of royalties split among all the contributors, or contributor copies of the finished book.

Sometimes the marketing opportunity might be worth it even if you are not paid, as long as the contract is short term and/or non-exclusive. You will meet new authors, and potentially expand your audience, so consider what you want to achieve when weighing up an opportunity.

In terms of contracts, most anthologies want first rights to a new story, with a limited period of exclusivity. Once that period ends, the rights revert to you, and the story is yours to use again, perhaps in your own collection later.

Some anthologies also accept reprints, stories that have been published before. In that case, you’re licensing non-exclusive reprint rights instead, so the story can appear in the anthology while remaining on sale in your own editions. Either way, check the scope of the licence before you sign, as covered in chapter 2.5.

The anthology editor and publisher will handle the costs of editing, cover design, and formatting, but marketing is often a shared responsibility, so make sure you know what you’re being asked to do upfront as part of the contract.

Be selective

You can’t possibly write for every anthology opportunity, and once you are more established, you may be asked to write far more often than you have time for.

So before you commit to a story or decide to write for a market, consider: Does the theme excite me? Are the terms fair? Will this reach my kind of readers? Can I write something strong to deadline, without rushing?

If the answers are yes, mark the deadline and give yourself time to write and revise properly. If not, let the opportunity pass by without guilt, and keep your creative energy for an opportunity that is a better fit.

I’ve passed on a lot of opportunities over the years, including anthologies written for charity events, which have always been the hardest to say no to. But in the end, we all have limited time, and you don’t want to kill yourself with overwork along the way. Just because a short story is short doesn’t mean it’s not hard work! Be honest with yourself about every opportunity and move on if it’s not the right fit or the right time.

Organising an anthology

Some authors enjoy the process of curating and editing and publishing anthologies, and of course, it’s a good chance to have your own stories included alongside potentially bigger author names in exchange for doing the work of publishing and marketing. You decide the theme, you choose the authors to invite or open submissions, you decide the cover and publishing route to market, and you organise the extra material, like an introduction or interstitial pieces that add to the stories.

If you’re considering creating an anthology, make sure you have experience with project management and communicating with multiple authors, as well as publishing and marketing. Be sure to work with an editor and have long lead times to ensure you can deliver on the promise of the book.

For more on organising anthologies, check out Bundle Up! A Practical Guide to Anthologies and Box Sets That Sell by Jamie Ferguson, one of the editors who publish the Amazing Monster Tales anthologies.

Questions:

• How can you find anthologies you might like to write for?
• What kind of themes excite you?
• If you are considering an anthology opportunity, are the terms fair, and do the rights revert to you within a reasonable period?
• Which readers will this anthology put you in front of, and are they a good fit?
• Do you already have a story that fits, or would you be writing to the theme from scratch?
• Do you have the time and energy to write a new story, or is this an opportunity you need to let pass by?
• Does your author bio point new readers towards your wider work?

Resources:

• Amazing Monster Tales: Into the Briny Deep — edited by DeAnna Knippling and Jamie Ferguson
• Bundle Up! A Practical Guide to Anthologies and Box Sets That Sell, Second Edition — Jamie Ferguson
• Fiction River: Feel the Fear — edited by Mark Leslie
• Robots vs. Fairies — edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe
• “Bundles, Box Sets and Anthologies With Jamie Ferguson” — interview with Jamie Ferguson on The Creative Penn podcast, July 2026: www.TheCreativePenn.com/anthologies