I think this is a silly re-branding of an already existing literary form, but there is method in Amazon’s madness. Check out this Pocket-lint post declaring that the short story and novella have now been renamed “Kindle Singles.”
On paper, it’s a good idea since short and medium-range stories have traditionally been tough for writers to market. The evolution of the eBook Revolution has opened a door for these different narrative forms to be sold and enjoyed. (Good for writers, yah?) Previously shorter stories competed for the limited space in anthologies, magazines and periodicals.
So, on the one hand, yes it’s great that Kindle Singles (formerly known as short stories and novellas) are going to be available to the greater public at a lower price than traditional eBooks. But on the other, it is likely just another cash grab and attempt by publishers and distributors to justify overpricing longer eBooks and novels.
1 comment
Fictionwise has tons of short stories and most of them in multiformat (i.e. no DRM). This is how Fictionwise started back in 1999 under the name of PeanutPress.
Note the “no DRM” as opposed to the DRM infested ebooks from Kindle, Barnes & Noble etc. that can only be read on their own platform.