Have you ever considered anthologies and/or collaborations as a venue for your writing career? Generally, we don’t think about them or even fully understand them, but they are an option that should be considered by any author, especially a new one, that wants to move forward and expand their writing expertise.
A collaboration is generally two or more authors working together for a specific project. It may be one person that actually writes the document with others contributing thought and/or content. Whereas an anthology generally consists of multiple authors, each writing a specific story – usually along the same subject line – but in their own telling. (Think of the book, The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood.) The stories are then compiled into one final book of short stories. An anthology is a great read for people who don’t have enough time to dedicate to reading a lengthy novel but do have a couple of hours to read a story or two.
Should you take part in writing an anthology? There are a few things to consider. If you are a new unpublished author, one who enjoys participating in a team project and would like to get your feet wet by getting your name published, then maybe this is a way for you to do it. If the anthology becomes a best seller – usually because there is at least one well known contributing author – then it is definitely a great way to introduce your writing skills to your future readers.