Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43556
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43556
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Short-stories are a nice format to write. If you have been an aspiring writer for at least one year, it's quite probabile that you've got at least three short stories drafted out, sitting in some drawer or some hidden folder on your computer.

Let's imagine now that you want to publish those stories, bundled together in a book format. **What should tie them together?** How do you choose which story "belongs" to the collection?

Of course, the stories will have, at least, the common denominator of having the same author. But - due to marketing reasons, I suppose - that isn't often a viable option for a new writer.

Again, for marketing reasons, it seems to make more sense to clump short stories of the same genre together. Sci-fi readers will be more likely to buy a sci-fi short stories collection, rather than a book that mixes up thriller and fantasy.

**Should the stories in a collection have a common genre? Should they share a common set of themes, or even characters?**

## In short: what should tie a collection of short-stories together?

**Related:**

- [How many short stories make a collection](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/6712/how-many-short-stories-make-a-collection)

- [How to publish a collection of short stories?](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/27609/how-to-publish-a-collection-of-short-stories)

Original score: 15