Today J. Alan Hartman
of the publisher Untreed Reads tells us about his experiences as editor in
putting together his most recent Thanksgiving anthology, The Killer Wore Cranberry, a Fifth Course of Chaos. (Full disclosure: I have a story, Turkey Underfoot, in the an thology.)
Ah the humble anthology. At first it seems like creating one
would be a load of fun. As an editor you
think you’re going to have the time of your life. After all, you’ve had a
simply brilliant idea for a theme,
you’re going to get tons of submissions and the stellar ones are going to shine
through like a beacon in the night, the selected authors are going to shout
from the rooftops how wonderful the anthology is and how everyone should buy a
copy and everyone lives happily ever after in a state of anthological and
royalty bliss.
Of course, then you actually start to work on the thing and
you realize there’s a definite difference between the fantasy of creating an
anthology and the reality.
The fantasy part was me back in 2010 when I put together the
very first entry in what would become our annual anthology titled The Killer Wore Cranberry. I had decided
that the stories would all be humorous mysteries and crimes taking place at
Thanksgiving and featuring a traditional foodstuff from the holiday table. Seven years later and five entries in the
series (in fact, volume five titled The
Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fifth Course of Chaos just dropped in ebook and print this past week) I’ve certainly
learned a lot and come a long way from that first experience. But, for the sake
of this blog, let me show you how putting together that original anthology was
very much like going through the stages of grief.
(Well, in fact, it still kind of is.)
Stage 1: Denial
I couldn’t
possibly have 150+ entries to read, nearly all of which are spectacular and that
I must limit to around 10. There’s no way I have all of these contract
questions to answer. I don’t want to
think about the fact that I’m going to have to somehow figure out royalties to
be split among those ten people evenly when the book is being sold through 20+
vendors around the world with 20 different royalty reports. Let’s face it, I’ve
done stupider and harder stuff in life, right? And sleep is overrated anyway, yeah?
As long as the noose is around my neck I might as well jump off the horse.
There’s no way it can be as complicated as it all seems, right?
Stage 2: Anger
Why are there so many stories with mashed potatoes but
nobody can do one damn story with a turkey? Why are there so many stories where
everybody lives on a farm and talks like an idiot? Why are there so many stories that aren’t
even related to the theme of the anthology? Who thought of this stupid idea anyway?
Why am I bothering with this when nobody seems to be buying anthologies? Look at
the insane number of hours I’m putting into this. I’m not sleeping, barely have
time to eat and now I don’t think I want to celebrate Thanksgiving ever again.
Or any holiday.
Stage 3: Bargaining
OK, if I can just get through five more submissions tonight
then I can have that whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Core. If I
format two stories than I can allow myself 20 minutes of a nap. 50 more pages
of edits and I can collapse in the shower and let it rain down on me like the
shower scene in Psycho minus the
blood. Five more social media posts of promotion and I can watch one episode of
Breaking Bad. Then again, maybe I
should just make my own meth and sell it and forget about this anthology.
Step 4: Depression
What if nobody buys this? What if people think I have a
lousy sense of humor because of the stories I picked? What if all the authors
that got rejected hate me now and are spreading vicious rumors about me on
Facebook that I once kicked a puppy and laughed? What if the authors don’t help
me promote this because they hate it, then get upset when it doesn’t make money
and blame me? What if all of this time and effort was for nothing? It’s awful,
isn’t it? The stories are in the wrong order. I should have chosen something
else to end the anthology. My introduction was too personal. My career as an
editor is over and nobody will ever trust me to publish anything ever again.
Step 5: Acceptance
You know what? These authors are amazingly talented and
these stories are hilarious. They won’t be for everyone but there’s going to be
people who will love the anthology and have favorite stories and won’t be able
to wait until the next volume. Screw any reviews, they’re just one person’s
opinion. This is a fun work, and regardless of the hell I went through to get
here I wouldn’t change a thing.
Repeat Steps 1-5 for
every future anthology.
The Killer Wore Cranberry, a Fifth Course of Chaos and the previous anthologies in the series
are available at https://www.untreedreads.com/store/ and through the usual sources, including
Amazon.
All these years since book one, and I never knew how hilarious you are, Jay. I especially like the anger stage. You should have written that turkey story yourself. Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeletePass the stuffing, please. Don't hate me if I eat and run, I have a book to buy. Great post, Jay, and a wonderful anthology.
ReplyDeleteLove this post! And congrats on all your fine work. Great series, still going strong!
ReplyDeleteJay, this is a funny post. It makes me want to buy your anthology. I've been in five anthologies and have yet to receive any money from them so I'm guessing they don't make
ReplyDeletea lot of money for them.
ReplyDeleteThis post is ALMOST as much fun as TKWC books themselves. I've always felt the title TKWC is perfect. It's short and tells you all you need to know about these books. Jay, wishing you and the authors lots of success with this year's book. Hope there are many more to come!
Hilarious! As Barb said, maybe you should write that turkey story yourself. Best wishes and happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should put out an anthology about anthologies.
ReplyDeleteI love anthologies, especially crime anthologies, plus, I adore Thanksgiving. I will put this one right on my list.
ReplyDeleteI have never complied an anthology, but I have coordinated writings, and I used my acquired skills in coordinating 'pot-lucks'...don't leave it all to 'luck'. In other words,
you could have contacted the writers that you know and said, "We are heavy on the mashed potatoes, could you (bring/write)something with a casserole, ham or turkey?"
Maybe next anthology, which I will be on the lookout for.
Thanks, Jay, for your fascinating insights.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you to everyone who responded to them.
ReplyDeleteGee, Jay, I go through all those stages with every story I write. I'm proud to have stories in four of the five editions of these wonderful anthologies and look forward to running the gamut all those emotions for the next one. Thanks for all you do.
It's been a real joy on my end writing these Thanksgiving stories. As for the mashed potatoes thing, maybe that's a nod for all those vegans at our Thanksgiving tables and for me because the best part of the meal is the gravy on the taters (well, there is also the fun of a murder, isn't there?). Next year you'll get a lot of stories about the rutabagas. Thanks for being willing to endure those five stages so many years, Jay.
ReplyDeleteWhat a funny post about editing anthologies--and so true! Thank you, Jay!
ReplyDelete