I Curate an Anthology
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Anthology CurationPublishing IndustryScience Fiction
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Anthology Curation
Publishing Industry
Science Fiction
The author shares their experience curating a science fiction anthology, and the discussion revolves around the business and contractual aspects of anthology publishing.
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Nov 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM EST
2 months ago
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Nov 8, 2025 at 12:21 PM EST
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2 months ago
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As I understand it, the "normal" workflow is, as the author you get an advance from a publisher, and when the book is published and revenue exceeds the advance, you get the royalties.
You mention you sign the contract with the authors and pay them, which sounds like a one-time deal.
If it's not confidential, how does this work, and how do original publishers (if any) figure into this?
I deal directly with the authors, not the original publishers. I pay a fixed rate for reprint rights, which is a one-time deal. This is mostly because pro rata royalties on an anthology are a pain to calculate (I've done this before), but also because it's unlikely for me to make back the money I spend on anthology creation, so if there were ever royalties they would be tiny in any case.
There's not much money in short fiction -- many authors tend to use it as a stepping stone to novels, or just as a hobby.