Selling Novels vs. Short Stories

It's a lot harder to get cheated on a short story than it is on a novel. And the stakes are lower, usually, too. You probably haven't spent years and years tooling and retooling a short story. Whereas a novel--that's something that can take more time than raising a child.

Take a good look at any contract you're offered and do your best to gauge what's standard and non-standard in any contract you're considering for a novel. You're an adult, just check things out and go into them with your eyes open.

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

You can also check out Preditors and editors. And the forums on Absolute Write can also be consulted...

I'd also suggest staying away from "fee" contests in the short story.

Not that I'm an expert or have a dozen novel sales to quote from as experience. I'm as new to the game as everyone else with "no sales."

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