Reading quandary… the best kind!
Last week, I was wondering why I had such a methodical approach to reading short story anthologies. Having just read four anthologies back-to-back, I found myself adding up the number of stories I enjoyed, calculating what percentage that was of the whole, and the result reflected my reading enjoyment of that anthology (see last post ‘Part 1 – how do you read yours?’).
But I don’t read novels like that, adding up the number of chapters I like, so why anthologies? It was a quandary I wanted to resolve…
How do THEY read THEIRS?
My thoughts lead me to thinking about editors and how they read anthologies. With all they have to read professionally, surely variety in an anthology is important to them, or perhaps it’s the quality of writing, or being transported into a different world?
Perhaps, if I asked them, their answers might help me resolve my quandary?
So I asked around, and here’s what eight extraordinary editors and judges of anthologies said:
1. Jack Dann, multiple-award winning author and editor of over seventy-five books:
As a reader, the first thing I notice is the quality of the writing. If the craft ain’t there, I don’t continue reading. And once that hurdle has been overcome, it’s all about the sense of wonder–or what you called being transported to another world. And then, after overcoming those hurdles, it’s variety–length of stories, types of stories, pathos next to bathos, all that. And, believe it or not, it works just about the same way when I’m editing an anthology.
2. Cat Sparks, fiction editor of Cosmos Magazine:
Quality of writing — because when the prose is top notch, the reader is automatically transported to a different world!
3. Keith Stevenson, editor and publisher Coeur de Lion Publishing:
Above all, it has to be the quality of the writing. Good writing can make the mundane sing with wonder and remind you all over again why you fell in love with the written word.
4. Jason Nahrung, 2011 Aurealis Awards Judge:
The key criteria would be quality of the writing — the ability to wield language to tell a compelling story. A good idea, or a variety of good ideas, makes me sad if the writing doesn’t do them justice. As an Aurealis judge, I’m considering and balancing numerous criteria, however.
5. Katharine Stubbs, 2011 Aurealis Awards Judge:
Quality of writing is the most important to me. If the quality isn’t there then I’m unable to keep reading – I just can’t be bothered! There’s so much out there that’s fantastically written that will give more enjoyment, so I’m not going to stick around.
6. Amin Chehelnabi, 2011 Aurealis Awards Judge:
I’d have to say quality of writing, but story always comes first, whether alone or in an anthology. Story and quality of writing go hand in hand as well. Ideas are magical, wonderful things, but the execution of your idea is important.
7. Russell B. Farr, founding editor Ticonderoga Publications:
If there was a gun to my head and I absolutely had to pick one, I’d be difficult and ask if we were talking about single-author collections or multiple-author anthologies. In the case of the latter, variety is the key, especially if the anthology is themed (if there is no theme, variety should come naturally). The better themed-anthologies will have multiple different investigations of the theme, and if writers can present opposing explorations that work on their own merits, I think the anthology is onto something.
In the case of single-author collections, the quality of writing needs to be on display. These should be a snapshot of what the writer can do, and while variety is good, even the best writers only produce variety to a point. All of the stories need to be of fantastic quality: this should be the selling point, this is a book by a fabulously talented writer and these stories are amazing.
I’m going off the topic here but to me it is more important for novels to transport the reader into a different world — short stories can and very much do work by providing a snapshot. For a novel to work they need to almost immerse the reader in another place. Short stories are magical cameras, novels are fantastical rabbit holes.
8. David Vernon, Judge and Editor Stringybark Stories:
The most important element of an anthology is quality writing. Variety and setting do not matter if quality is poor. Many a time I have read a great story that is marred by typographical errors, grammatical hiccups or poor construction. A potholed road is unpleasant to drive on, even if the scenery is great!
So, the answer was more or less unanimous – quality of writing can make or break an anthology.
How will you rate your next anthology?
Do these answers solve my quandary though? I think they might, in a way. The anthologies I’ve just read were all compiled by professionals, who screened for quality of writing before ink went to press. So I was left with the sheer indulgence of selecting my favourite stories based purely on whim – ie. what I enjoyed. I chose a mathematical formula to help me measure the exact scale of my enjoyment, because that was an instinctive choice made by my methodical brain. When it comes to writing, I’m a planner, not a pantser. So perhaps when it comes to reading, I’m an assessor, not a get-the-gister?
Other readers, you perhaps, might use a different methodology but come to the same result, or the same methodology and come to a different result. Say, there’s a good quandary – have you read any of the four anthologies I’ve just read?
- Eighty-Nine (Literary Mix Tapes, 2011). Read my review here.
- Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives (Pantheon, 2009). Read my review here.
- A Visit from the Duchess (Stringybark Publishing, 2011). Read my review here.
- Winds of Change (Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild, 2011). Read my review here.
If so, how many stories per anthology did you enjoy? Share your thoughts in the comment section below…! And, more importantly, do you agree with the editors?
What a beaut analysis. Thank you Zena. I think it is most illuminating that we all tend to agree on the same thing — quality writing. However, this is simple to say; but so much harder to execute. The challenge for the writer is to blend an eloquent writing style with all those other irritating components of a great story — robust plot, careful characterisation, vivid settings and clever climaxes and denouments. No wonder it takes so much practice!
No wonder indeed, David. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Very reassuring to read “quality writing”. As a reader, that’s the promise I unconsciously expect from antho eds, that this is the best of the best, nicely varied and balanced.
Nice post, Zena
Thanks, Jenny. I honestly thought I’d get a variety of answers. But the consistency reassures me too 🙂
I find it interesting that the editors you polled placed so much emphasis on quality writing. You would think quality of writing would be an essential element of course, but it doesn’t always lead to success in the publishing world. Sometimes a good story overrides how it is written e.g., The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I wouldn’t consider the writing in these works as ‘quality’, but the stories have been hugely popular. I have known writers who have submitted manuscripts full of grammatical errors and misspellings, yet their stories have been selected from slush piles and published (although edited before print). Publishers seem to know what sells and it isn’t always quality writing.
But maybe I’m missing something. When you say ‘quality’ what does this mean? Does it mean the quality of the writing in that it’s well written or the quality of the story in that it’s an engaging plot? Also, with your theory of higher scores means a better anthology, how did you rate the stories? Was it a straight score out of ten or did you dissect them into various elements for grammar and sentence construction, dialogue and tone, character development and plot etc.? Anyway, thanks for delving into this topic. It’s always nice to hear how editors think.
Do I agree with the editors? Yes and no. You can edit a great story that is poorly written and make it read well, but you can’t do much with a mediocre story even if it is well written. I’d prefer a good story written well.
Some good… no, great points Justin. What constitutes quality writing may even vary according to the reader. When I rated my anthos I simply counted the number of stories I enjoyed, then divided that number by the total number of stories in the collection, and that gave me my percentage. What was the last Antho you read?
I’m currently reading ‘Battered but not Beaten‘, which is an anthology of true stories about the Queensland floods in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley (launched yesterday). I’m not even half-way through yet and already I’m impressed with the courage and humanity of the people involved. I’m also waiting on the arrival of ‘Avant – New Writing 2011‘, which is an anthology with the theme ‘Future Worlds’. Both of these anthologies include some of my writing, so I hope they work. 🙂
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