LOOKING FOR A HOME

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

My daughter is house-hunting. Being the dutiful mom, I am accompanying her on rounds with the real estate agent trying to find just the right house to turn into a home for the soon-to-be newlyweds. In the search for what will be the most important expenditure for their marriage so far, there are many things to decide: how many bedrooms, bathrooms, garage stalls, etc., does a new couple really need? Are market prices in line with their budget needs? As always with real estate, the three most important things are: location, location, location. In the midst of tromping through another house, I realized finding a house isn’t much different from a writer finding a home for his work.

How many bedrooms are needed?

Does the plot justify an epic length novel, a traditional 350 pages, or will a short story fill the need?

What about bathrooms?

How many characters will make the story be its best? Do we need characterization along the lines of a spa bath or will a guest bathroom suffice?

Location?

Does the setting need to be somewhere exotic? Or perhaps the drama takes place in a small town in mid-America. Do we need crashing ocean waves attacking the beach, or will a whistling wind tapping at the window panes be enough to maintain the suspense level?

In both real estate sales and book sales, a capable agent is important. Not so much for a short story sale. In fact, most agents won’t bother with short stories. We could surmise that a short story sale to an agent is akin to a real estate agent trying to move a smaller and therefore less profitable home when he could be spending the same amount of time and rake in a big commission.

I would think these might be dismal thoughts for a short story writer, but then, I remember those homes being sold by an owner who agrees to carry the note. The houses are often just as nice, but the whole negotiating of the sale is different. Just like selling your own short story to a magazine editor is different from pitching a book idea.

The sale isn’t impossible, or even improbable. It may take more work than it did to apply elbow grease, spit and polish to the manuscript. It may take extra time, energy, and a good deal of being in the right place at the right time. It may take more energy to keep sending out the story until it finds a home.

The real estate agent wanted to know what my daughter wants in a first home. A short story writer should know how his story will fit into the locations available in the magazines and anthologies being published today.

There’s something to be said about writing the story you want to write, but just as important is knowing what the market wants. If you only want to write Victorian suspense thrillers, write them, but expect that they may not fit into the current market. Where I live, homes built in the 1950s are popular again, while those in the 1960-70s are less desirable. Trends for the craftsman homes and hardwood floors are all the rage and are scooped up quickly while those slab-floor homes sporting new plush carpeting may not sell quite as fast. Who knows what will be fashionable in another ten years? We may all be putting in avocado-green shag carpeting. Don’t snicker. Lava lamps are in vogue in many homes – something I never dreamed to see become popular in the 21st Century.

My daughter will find a suitable home. I hope all my short stories do, too.