One thing I'd also add is that with the emphasis on short stories, they were presented in the pulps at first, then later in anthologies like those Lin Carter edited and curated in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, or Flashing Swords. In the pulps especially, you were being presented with an already remixed menu of stories, a wild array of weird fantasy, horror, and sci-fi ideas being hurled at the reader.
Goodness, I miss my subscriptions to Asimov's, F&SF, and Amazing Stories.