What is a Short Story Collection: 5 Examples to Review
Bella Rose Pope
A forever-learning, create-your-own-life touting, cheese enthusiast.
Some people think the book market is too saturated for new books and authors to enter. Those people obviously don’t understand that more books are always a good thing. Readers don't suddenly have enough and quit reading for the rest of their lives. They always want more!
There are even actual gaps in the book industry that writers of short stories can and should be taking advantage of. One of those underserved genres is short stories.
Short stories seemed to have disappeared (sort of) for a while. Before self-publishing, short stories were actually a primary means for writers to prove their chops to agents and publishers by writing shorts and selling them to magazines.
Authors like Stephen King and Brandon Sanderson began this way. But that’s not how the industry works anymore…so where does that leave short stories?
It leaves them with an underserved audience!
That’s where short story collections come into play. But what is a short story collection? Can you just throw a bunch of random stories together to sell online?
Sort of…but not if you actually want them to sell.
What is a short story collection?
A short story collection is a book of stories bound together, often representing similar themes and messages written by a single author. Some authors take short stories they’ve written over a period of time and group the ones with aligned themes together, while others pick a theme and aim to write many stories to fit into it.
Sometimes, you can get away with including several genres of stories in one collection, but it can make the collection much harder to market.
So, a short story collection will have a specific vibe (so it’s easier to categorize and sell).
Collections differ from anthologies, which are a collection of short stories written within a theme, but by several authors instead of just one.
How long is a short story collection?
While there’s no definitive rule for the length of a short story collection, it has to be a collection worth spending some money on, which is why we recommend between 5-12 stories, give or take a few.
You don’t want to make it so long that readers never finish, but you don’t want it to be so short that it’s not really much of a book.
Because the length of each short story itself can vary, aim to have between 70-250 pages in your short story collection, however many stories that may be.
Examples of Short Story Collections to Learn From
The best way to learn what a short story collection is to read them. You’ll see how stories are connected and even how they’re arranged within the collection to provide a certain reading cadence. Here are a few collections you might start with.
1. Little Birds by Hannah Lee Kidder | 4.5/5 stars
$ Little Birds$ is a contemporary collection of "glimpses into the darkest corners of our lives". Themes range from the lies we tell ourselves, the ways we hurt others, and the painful truths we pretend to face.
It’s clear there’s cohesion to these stories, as if the author wanted to make you cry in a sad/good way. With a 4.5/5 star average and nearly 300 ratings, it’s safe to say this collection slaps.
Curl up with a hot tea, cozy blankies, and preferably a few fur babies. Just grab some tissues.
2. Seasonal Work: Stories by Laura Lippman | 4.3/5 stars
Suspense thrillers, anyone? With about 250 ratings, $ this collection$ should be one on your list. Note that not only is this a specific genre-grouping, it’s also published and categorized in a way that gives you insight into how the collection was written in the first place.
If you want to know how to write short story collections, take a look at this work, especially if this is your genre.
3. Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty | 4.3/5 stars
With 600+ ratings and a 4.3 average, it’s safe to say $ this short story collection$ is one to learn from. Unlike the two examples above, this collection contains stories following a single family set in a Native community in Maine.
If you want stories of perseverance and hope, mixed with tragedies that require such things, this collection will help you understand how to craft themes with many stories woven together.
4. Lesser-Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu | 4.2/5 stars
Fantasy lovers can learn much from $ this 12-story collection$ , where you have to expect the unexpected. With the fantasy genre, we often see long epics, not shorts that’ll leave you wanting more.
But Kim Fu decided to take that as a challenge with this collection. If you like to write about monsters and fantasy but don’t want to commit to a full epic trilogy, try your hand at a short story collection and learn from this one.
5. Starlight by Hannah Lee Kidder | 4.7/5 stars
Hannah Lee Kidder’s $ second short story collection$ is rated even higher than the first, and for good reason. This collection of pitch-dark stories will have you leaving the light on while you sleep for at least…a week.
If you need a good spooky read for any time of year, but especially during the Fall, grab a copy of this and sink your teeth into horror, fantasy, and contemporary stories meant to chill, while oddly leaving you feeling empowered.
You’ll just have to read it to understand that last part.
Short story collections aren’t often random. Authors who compile stories have something to say, even if they don’t know it yet. Take a look at the $ short stories you’ve written$ and ask yourself which themes are present. Are there any specific genres you write in?
You might already have a collection with a waiting audience.
Did you know short stories aren't the only kind of writing you can publish as a collection? Read about $ essay collections$ and $ poetry collections$ !