Unlocking Hidden Gems: How Anthologies Are Revolutionizing the Music World
Ever wondered if curating a short story collection might just be the literary equivalent of crafting a music album? When I sat down to assemble my fantasy anthology, The Dark Forest Within, that thought grabbed me by the collar. It’s not simply about dumping a bunch of tales into a book — no, it’s about weaving a thematic thread, picking the right order, and making sure every story hits the right note, much like an album’s tracklist. And here’s a little secret: unless you’re a mega-name like Stephen King, your author brand alone won’t sell the volume. So, how do you create a collection that feels cohesive, compelling, and makes readers want to hit “play” all the way through? Let’s dive into why selecting and arranging short stories mirrors the meticulous art of album-making — and how this mindset can transform your work from a scattered playlist into a harmony-filled masterpiece. LEARN MORE
Why preparing a short story collection is like making an album
While assembling my new fantasy anthology The Dark Forest Within, it struck me that preparing a collection of short stories and novellas is like making a music album. Similar decisions are taken concerning concepts, running orders, and what to include or omit. In sharing these analogies, I hope they provide useful clarity to other fiction writers with an archive of shorter tales they might consider releasing in one volume.
My name is not enough
A brief word of advice ahead of the music comparisons: Unless one is a household name like Stephen King, it’s probably not a great idea to attempt selling an anthology with one’s name as the main attraction. Some authors who would have me at hello, but most of the time, when looking at short story collections, my focus is more on genre. Therefore, when approaching what stories to include in an anthology of my work, I concluded that mixing genres wasn’t a good idea. I needed to stick to one genre at a time.
Album concept
Having settled on a genre — in the case of The Dark Forest Within, fantasy — the question then became one of concept. Here, the music album analogy kicks in. For example, my favourite Pet Shop Boys album is Behaviour from 1990. The melancholy, downbeat mood throughout stood in stark contrast to the more upbeat pop hits for which they were famous up till that point. Behaviour had a concept, with the tragic death of lead singer Neil Tennant’s close friend echoing not only in the song “Being Boring” but casting a shadow over the entire album. The running order of the songs is also extremely important. To my mind, they got that spot-on.
Bearing that in mind, my concept for The Dark Forest Within was, firstly, a thematic and tonal companion piece to my novel Ravenseed. Secondly, it was to feature fantasy tales that involved journeys into dangerous woodlands. But in each of these journeys, as the protagonist ventures deeper and deeper into the forest, they venture deeper and deeper into themselves. Hence the title for this anthology. It then became a question of which of my fantasy stories fit this theme. Out went stories that didn’t feature literal forests. Additionally, out went…
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