Anthologies — A writer´s goal to fandom

Do you ever feel that the world should get to read your ideas and thoughts? Have you written something that already amazes you and can amaze the world as well? It can be something personal, something general, or even something that can even motivate a person to start writing and even create history… who knows?

If it’s the first time you are in need to publish your work, publishing your write-up piece in an Anthology is one of the best methods to get started. It can be in the form of a poem, a short story, or even a short novel.

What is an anthology?

An Anthology is merely a collection of write-ups. As mentioned above, it can be a collection of poems, short stories, or even short novels. This collection can be done by the same author or even a couple of authors getting together. That’s the best part! For example, if you have 3–4 poems that you want to publish and so do 2 friends of yours, you can combine them all into one compilation and get them published! A cool idea isn’t it? The same goes for short stories or short novels.

Some famous anthologies are ¨The Selected Letters of Marianne Moore¨ or if you have watched or read the Harry Potter series you would know about the collection of short stories by J.K Rowling namely ¨The Tales of Beedle the Bard¨

Author vs. Compiler vs. Contributor — Any difference?

Author — An author is a person who writes up the entire book by him/herself. All credits go to the author and the author is in charge of the publication process of the book.

Compiler — In an anthology, along with the main author, you can have co-authors who also write for the same book. They will contribute to the book and be named as co-authors where they get a share of ownership. The main author who will be in charge of the publishing works is known as the compiler. He/She will be in charge of the whole process of collecting the works from co-authors and going forward.

Contributor — Sometimes, there can be projects where many people will be needed to contribute to complete a project. Then it can be difficult to decide who did what, hence they will be named as contributors so that they get the appreciation they deserve.

Types of anthologies

Anthologies can come in different forms that a writer would want to show his/her talent in. Examples of such types are

• A collection of comedy related stories

• Essay collections

• LGBTQ related stories or poems

• Poetry

• Romantic short stories or poems

• History related stories or poems

• Nature

• Marriage

• Pregnancy

• Women power

If you as a single author or co-author, wish to publish an anthology, you need to make the entire book fit into one or two categories/genres. The reason being that if someone were to search up for an anthology online in the genre they require, they should be able to find yours easily. Thus a tip that you can use is at the time of publishing on online platforms, tag the main genres as keywords to attract the right target audience.

What are Anthology series?

Coming away from the world of books for a minute, also know that you can find anthology series in films, radios, and televisions where a show of several episodes where you can find the same or different set of cast/characters, different stories in different genres, etc. For example, some anthology series in India would be ¨Stories by Rabindranath Tagore¨ or ¨Gumrah — End of Innocence¨ to name a few. You can get a list of such series here.

Benefits of being part of an anthology

Obviously without a doubt, being part of an anthology is beneficial as it primarily gets you to make your first step into publishing your work. Apart from that, you can see below what other reasons can make your decision stronger to get started on your first anthology.

• Readers do not get bored with one type of content — In the eyes of the reader, having to read the works of different writers can reduce the chance of boredom and also give the reader a choice where he/she can choose or decide with which writer he/she connects most.

• Ability to share the cost of publishing — If you are planning on a multi-author anthology, this is one of your best advantages. Publishing when you start can be quite costly and by the cost being split, you should not have any reason to be disappointed.

• An easier method of gaining recognition — If you were to single-handedly try to publish a book, you may not get very good recognition on your first go. However, if you partner up with some writers who have already published before and produce anthologies, you have a way by which you can gain a faster reach to your audience.

• Good variety for readers even if it’s the same author — Even if it’s the same author, a collection of short stories of different genres can make a difference to the reader who can see your talent as a versatile writer.

• Less stress — Publishing a book can be a major hassle as it includes editing, proofreading, etc… There is so much to do. However, if you are just a co-author, you can only focus on your writing content, the publishing will be done by the compiler.

Disadvantages of being part of an anthology

• Credits get shared if 2 or more authors get involved — One of the most obvious reasons where the writer does not get full credit on the published book. For example, if the anthology you are working on has around 10 contributors, you would not feel like the book is your own.

• Name on the cover page of the book — Unless you are the compiler, your name may not appear on the front cover of the book. Can be a little demotivating, won´t it?

Anthologies at InkFeathers

Now you know what you have to do! Start writing your best write-ups.

Once you are done, if you are an author or a compiler, you need to publish your work right?

Where do you go?

Nowhere!

Publish your first anthology with Inkfeathers! The process is easy, get in touch with the staff of Inkfeathers to make your first step into the world of writing a success.

Inkfeathers not only handles anthologies but other write-ups as well. From their online store within their website, you can also purchase both hardcover books as well as e-books that range from a wide collection of reading material written by amateur and senior writers.

You can contact them via the details below.

www.Inkfeathers.com

Email — publish@inkfeathers.com

Contact no — +91 84487 53699

Conclusion

In short, this method is one of the easiest ways to gain the recognition you deserve. You want to publish a book by being the only author, or do you want to work with other co-authors, you choose!

You have your solution now. All set for you to create your first ever masterpiece. Give it your best and show everyone what you are capable of.

If you were given a chance to be part of an anthology, what would you do? If yes, what genre interests you most? Drop in your ideas in the comments below.

This blog post has been written on behalf of Inkfeathers