I’ve put together fifteen anthologies and there are many steps in the process but my favorite is putting together a table of contents. There is no guideline to doing this and of all the anthologists I know, and I know quite a few, no two do it the same way. So I want to share my method.

But first, why am I sharing this?

Because I hear authors saying they got the favored spot, or the shame spot, or the buried position in the middle. I also hear other anthologists saying the same things, perpetuating these myths.

KLH method of TOC building:

I first place the story of the author whose name is on the cover, no matter what, because that’s the name that sold the anthology and that’s the story the readers most want to see first.

If I don’t have someone on the cover then I look at my best sellers and see who I think will help sell the anthology. If I have multiple best sellers then I go with strongest story first.

The anchor story at the end is generally the longest story for me. I tend to think a short story reader wants to save the longest for last. It also helps the anthology flow if I have a fast reader who likes to take things in order.

For the middle I look at the mood/genre/setting set up I have for the theme of the anthology. I don’t want two depressing/dark/disturbing stories next to one another if I can help it. I also don’t want two funny/light/capricious ones next to each other.

In other words, I’m setting the middle in a fashion that best showcases the stories without making the reader walk away.

It’s that simple.

So stop obsessing about why you took the 3rd, 10th or 15th spot. You sold a story. It got published. Go do it again. Now.

#transparentpublishing

Image is Meditation by Leon Jean-Basile-Perrault