realthog | it need cost you so little to see your work in print!

So you want the ecstasy of seeing your short story published? But you know how difficult it can be to get one of those ornery editors to recognize your genius. Help is at hand:

The Short Story Society aims to set this right. It provides a simple platform for writers to experience the thrill and satisfaction of getting their work published. The Society doesn’t accept all submissions but will always try and help writers develop their work. People who have a short story published learn so much from the experience that it develops their writing skills and gives them confidence to push on to even greater heights. Most writers will tell you that the biggest problem is getting your first story published. Once you achieve this, you join the ranks of published prose writers and find that as well as learning a lot, you will have unlocked a doorway into a whole new world of opportunities.

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? And there's more:

There’s no membership fee to join the society. To be a member you must submit a short story and have it accepted by us.

If we do accept it, we will publish it in a compilation of short stories by you and other authors and give you five copies of the book.

. . .

Your story will also be published on our website at www.shortstorysociety.co.uk for visitors to read and enjoy - in the months leading up to the publication of the finished book.

And, as if all that weren't exciting enough, there's SMALL PRINT too! Thus:

When - and only when - your short story is accepted for publication alongside other talented UK writers, we will contact you. At this stage, the £89 fee will be due (make cheques payable to United Press). This payment will ensure that your short story:

þ is accepted for publication.

þ will go into print in an anthology.

þ will also be put on the website at www.shortstorysociety.co.uk prior to publication, for the public to read and enjoy.

þ that you will receive five copies of the finished volume of short stories (we don’t pay royalties but you retain copyright, so you can publish it elsewhere without needing to ask us).

þ that we will register the book with the British library.

þ that we will send copies of the book to the other major regional libraries in the UK.

þ that you can buy extra copies of the book at a discounted rate.

þ that we'll ask you to submit other short stories for us to consider.

þ that we'll give you a 40 per cent discount on producing your own book.

Why! A mere £89 -- or about $180, for those in the US -- seems barely enough. Most self-respecting authors will surely want to send the Society more than this! And -- oh look -- it says here in the next page of SMALL PRINT that you can do exactly that. Not so much "can", in fact, but "must":

LONGER STORIES

Send £89 if your story is under 2,501 words (make cheques payable to United Press).

If your short story is longer, you must send -

2,501 - 3,000 words - £119

3,001 - 3,500 words - £149

3,501 - 4,000 words - £179

4,001 - 4,500 words - £209

4,501 - 5,000 words - £239

5,001 - 5,500 words - £269

5,501 - 6,000 words - £299

6,001 - 6,500 words - £339

6,501 - 7,000 words - £369

7,001 - 8,000 words - £469

8,001 - 9,000 words - £569

9,001 - 10,000 words - £669

We don’t pay royalties on our books but all our writers retain copyright to their work and can reuse it in any other publication or on the internet without having to contact us for permission.

I can hardly wait to give this a go! And you?