On Writing : Publishing a horror short story collection by Samuel Minier

Hi Samuel, go for it

Hello! I've published with small publishers and I've self published.

If you are planning to self publish your collection in hopes of making a profit, in today's crunch, you'll need a gorgeous cover and formatting. You'll also need to market, which is not easy. It is 100% doable if you have a good product and aestetics, but even with those two elements, there are no guarantees.

If you're planning to do this as a legacy or just to get it out, do what makes you happy, but have zero expectations because the market is tough.

Samuel, if you have the sales data or anything close to it about how the stories did sales wise, then reach out to publishers. If they did sell, even in other compilations, then a publisher may been interested in picking them, you, up. After a good hunt, and if no publisher takes you on, self publish.

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth good thought about using data to persuade publishers. Lark Anderson yeah, to be honest this is more about legacy than profit but I still want a high quality product - something that would be worth buying, regardless of how many people actually do.

Since you have the rights back, republishing via self-publishing a collection makes the most sense. Selling to a traditional publisher will be trickier given that they typically avoid material that was published before unless you have some proof of why it will sell NOW (recent demand, marketing plan, etc.) You could also go with a small press to republish as there are plenty out there. But the big question you need to ask yourself first is what is your long-term goal with re-publishing these. That goal should determine whether you pursue trad, hybrid, or self.

Jonathan Jordan good point on the "why now" component of re-publishing

I agree Jonathan Jordan