A few years ago Amazon instituted what promised to be a great way for authors to share their short stories—Amazon Shorts are digital short stories that can be downloaded for only 49 cents and linked to an author’s other publications. Unfortunately Amazon stopped accepting submissions around the middle of 2008.
I had four of these little gems on Amazon, so I joined the Amazon Shorts Yahoo Group. The opening post on this site was dated July 19, 2007. One of the authors, Lana M. Ho Shing, wondered if it would be possible for a group of Shorts authors to put together an anthology and present it to Amazon. “Hey, big thinkers out there,” she wrote, “what say you all?”
After some banter back and forth among group members, E. Don Harpe replied, “First, find a good editor and get them interested.” Lana had no idea what she had started, and Don didn’t realize that he would become the editor.
By the time I joined the group, this dream, this anthology by Amazon Shorts authors, was well under way. I was one of the last selected, but I jumped in with both feet and became very active in the group. In the end, nineteen stories were chosen. The teamwork was amazing, with everyone pitching in to accomplish what started as a simple question. Does the phrase, “Yes we can,” ring a bell? Well, that became our mantra. Everyone had a common goal—to get this book in print and the idea was dynamite. The stories could be in any genre. In the forum, we worked backwards to establish maximum length, settling upon what the word-count of the finished book should be and then allocated the maximum amount of words each author could use.
The story had to be written from the point of view of a main character looking out of some sort of window. It could be anywhere in the past, present or future. At this point you have to realize that we were spread out all over the country, including an international contributor. What started out as a body without a head, slowly evolved and became a cohesive group of authors. We created a book through sheer resourcefulness, determination and a spirit of all for one and one for all. We have never met except via the internet.
These were the guidelines: regardless of the genre, the main character could see various things through the window. A list was developed that detailed little scenarios and we chose as many as we wanted to use. The results were incredible, including sci-fi, romance, mystery, personal essays and more that were set in the past, present and future. Something for every taste.
After all of the stories were compiled, it turned out that Amazon was not set up to print the book, but that didn’t stop us. Don put together a full galley and we all edited each other’s stories, remembering to be respectful in our critiques. Then we shopped for a publisher. The vision of nineteen authors became reality. THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, released in January, 2009, was published by Rebecca Buckley, CEO of Wizards of Words and founder of RJ Buckley Publishing.
Including Rebecca, twenty authors proved that with clarity of purpose, a mission to produce the best possible product and a vision, you can make things happen. The wisdom gained, after more than 1,400 posts in the forum, is keep faith in your work. The book is amazing, and it is a product of the “yes we can” spirit.
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15/09/2009 at 4:21 am Permalink
I have believed for a long time that authors were missing a great chance by not banding together and working to advance each other. I am on one forum made up of a wide variety of people from almost every background on earth. I have never seen a question posted that someone cannot answer. I think the same is true with writers when they critique each others work, set a goal of publishing an anthology, or work out the many problems of getting published. My heartfelt congratulations to each of you for your efforts. Now go out and do it again.
Joe Prentis
15/09/2009 at 5:40 am Permalink
Morgan, this is such a heart warming story and shows you how far a group of people can go when they believe in and share the same vision. This is an excellant example of teamwork and I am looking forward to finding a copy of the book that I can call my own. My congratulations to all the authors and team players involved. Question is…will there be another?
15/09/2009 at 11:05 am Permalink
Morgan,
Wow! This is a terrific and inspiring story. Congratulations!
Denise
16/09/2009 at 2:14 am Permalink
Being one of those authors, too, I can say it never hurts to try, for something like this anthology can be the result.
16/09/2009 at 5:42 pm Permalink
The most amazing thing about this venture is the fact that we completed this journey in cyberspace. I am not sure there were two of us in the same State and one of us was even in the far East. This to me was/is incredible. I am very proud of the book and I have been getting rave reviews from folks who I have sold the book to. Morgan thank you for your relentless plugging for this book. What is our next venture? :)
17/09/2009 at 9:41 am Permalink
Morgan,
I enjoyed your articles and your plug for The World Outside The Window. I, like Lana, ask;”What is our next venture?”
Robert Meacham
20/09/2009 at 9:54 am Permalink
My story in The World Outside the Window is “Rose’s Question” about a young girl’s interest in an older friend’s jewelry that yield’s more about life itself than anticipated. I continue to read the entire book, finding new insights in each story that is as different from the others as day is to night.
I agree with Lana, the completion of the book through publishing and distribution was an act of faith in the outcome. The trials and tribulations of reaching concensus among the diverse writers is a study in the psychology of authors. The story of the writing of the anthology is a story in itself with its own set of characters.
Write On has started with excitement. I look forward to future articles!