If you are a fiction writer looking to get paid to write short stories, grow your career, and build your audience, you are not alone.
Selling your high-quality short stories can be a powerful way to earn money as a writer. Perhaps you are testing out the waters before expanding your short story into a full-length book, or you are aiming to build your portfolio in hopes of landing more freelance writing jobs.
Whatever your goals are, this guide will show you why you should monetize your writing, how and where to submit short stories for money, and give you some tips for success.
Why You Should Sell Your Short Stories
If you are trying to make it as a writer, or at least trying to make some side income from it, you should consider selling your short stories.
If you’ve already been writing short stories for some time, there’s a good chance there are people out there who would pay writers like you to read them. Whether you write literary fiction, speculative fiction, or flash fiction, you can get paid for short stories through a variety of online platforms and literary magazines.
Here are some reasons why selling short stories might be right for you:
Building a writing resume
For any writer who wants to get paid to write or eventually become a full-time author, you will want to have some published pieces in your portfolio. The more published content you have, the more credibility you build with readers and potential short story publishers. It is a way to show people that you are a serious writer, and it can prove that other people should invest in your art, too.
Networking opportunities
You never know who will read your short story and want to work with you. You might even be hired for things like ghostwriting or freelance writing opportunities. The more you get your short stories out there, the better chance you have for your work to make its way in front of the right people.
Exposure to a greater audience
Most writers have a small following online, but when you are published in new marketplaces, you have the chance of reaching even more readers. Getting your creative writing published on a high-traffic online platform or a well-known journal has the potential to expose your short stories to thousands or even millions of readers!
Ideally, you will choose places to publish your writing that have the greatest reach to new audiences, but in the beginning, you might not be able to be as picky as you will be later on.
Testing the market
Thinking of turning your short story into a book? Selling and testing how a short story does can help confirm whether it’s a good path to pursue or not. If your short story receives a strong response, it is a good indicator that your idea has the potential to successfully be expanded into a full-length novel.
Many successful books (and even blockbuster movies) started as short stories that became popular among readers and critics.
Short turnaround
As the name suggests, short stories have a relatively short turnaround compared to novels or other forms of long-form writing. Taking less time to write, edit, revise, and submit means you can complete more short stories in a shorter period of time (though be careful not to sacrifice quality over quantity).
The advantages of this are that you can learn faster, quickly improve your writing skills, submit multiple short stories throughout the year, and increase your chances of getting published.
Multiple income streams
Whether writing is your full-time job or a passion you pursue on the side, selling short stories can help you create multiple streams of income. While selling a single story won’t make you rich, selling multiple stories to different publishers, literary magazines, and online platforms can add up fast.
If rights allow, you may even be able to sell the same short story to multiple publications as well as self-publish it in a collection of short stories as an eBook to create active and passive income.
Sharpen your skills
Whether or not writing short stories for a living is your end goal, it is a great way to hone your craft. Writing short stories means you have to have excellent technique, tight structure, and clean prose, all within a limited word count.
Regularly writing short stories is a great way to keep your writing skills sharp and help you grow as a storyteller—you might as well get paid to do it!
How Much You Can Make With Your Short Stories
Though not easy, it is absolutely possible to earn money writing short stories, with rates ranging from a few bucks to thousands of dollars, depending on where you submit your work.
Many short story publishers pay per word—with “pro” rates starting at $0.08/word—and freelance writers often earn even more.
When you first start selling your writing, you will likely find more opportunities on the lower end of the spectrum. However, don’t forget that almost every famous author out there started by selling their short stories.
It is more about what you do with your growing audience and your stories that can have a huge impact on your career down the line. With a practical mindset and a determined attitude, you can start to earn money online and build a following that can lead to bigger and better opportunities.
How to Get Paid to Write Short Stories
Now that you know the benefits of selling your short stories, you may be wondering how to actually get started. Luckily, you’ve got options! There are several proven ways you can try to start turning your short stories into income.
Where to Sell Short Stories
Online Platforms
1. Amazon KDP
The Amazon KDP program is a great place for creative writers to self-publish their short stories and earn money online.
As a bookseller, you can earn up to 70% of royalties, depending on the publishing option you choose from them. This program also offers publishing options for a wide variety of genres, which is not something you will always find from various publishers.
For example, some magazines will only publish particular kinds of genres and stories.
Amazon also has the biggest book market in the world, making it a good way to reach a wider audience, but you will still have to work hard to get your short story to stand out.
2. The Threepenny Review
The Threepenny Review is a literary magazine that generally publishes essays, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoirs, and more.
They have various word count preferences for each type of story they choose to publish, but they do pay for pieces they publish.
On the higher end, they can pay $400 per piece, and for shorter ones (such as poems), $200.
3. Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers have a few various ways to help writers make money.
One option is to pitch directly to the magazine, which you can do through their submission guidelines page.
After that, they also have a subscription you can join to keep on top of various short shorty contests and other opportunities for other paid writing gigs.
4. One Story
If you are looking to publish a short story, you have probably come across One Story as an option.
They only have a short window of time when they accept submissions, but they do pay $500 for 25 contributor copies.
Check out their submission page to stay on top of when the next opening is happening.
5. Flash Fiction Online
If you love writing short stories that are between 500-1000 words, you will want to check out the Flash Fiction Online submission guidelines.
Flash Fiction Online is a great place to get paid to write short stories, where you can expect to make $60 per accepted story.
6. Short Story Lovers
Short Story Lovers is a website that gives authors their own dedicated platform to share their stories to subscribers.
This platform allows you to publish your short stories, build a following of readers, and keep 100% of the commission with their “Pro Author Plan.”
7. Reedsy Discovery
Reedsy Discovery is an online platform that helps authors gain exposure for their books and short stories by launching them out to their community of readers and reviewers.
Each submission is given its own landing page where you get to be in charge of your own pricing and marketing.
Literary Magazines
1. The New Yorker
When it comes to literary magazines, The New Yorker is one of the most reputable and prestigious. They are known to publish high-quality content, including short stories, literary fiction, and poetry from many of the world’s most famous creative writers, as well as talented emerging writers.
A dream market for many writers, getting a short story published by The New Yorker is a big accomplishment that is not easy to achieve, but don’t let that scare you. The New Yorker accepts short story submissions all year round and pays writers competitive rates for accepted pieces.
2. The Atlantic
Another well-respected name in the world of literary magazines, The Atlantic, publishes many different genres from non-fiction political journalism and STEM, to fiction and poetry. Though a lot of its content is non-fiction, The Atlantic has a reputation for publishing powerful, thought-provoking short stories at competitive rates.
3. Harper’s Magazine
Harper’s Magazine is an American institution that pays writers well, publishing essays, journalism, poetry, and fiction. This literary magazine is another one that fiction writers should have on their radar, where having a short story published in Harper’s Magazine would be a major achievement that can really elevate your writing career.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Markets
1. Asimov’s Science Fiction
If you are looking for a place to sell your science fiction stories, then look no further. Asimov’s Science Fiction is an award-winning magazine that has published some of the biggest names in science fiction.
This is a go-to platform for both new and established authors. They pay writers $0.08 to $0.10 per word and typically look for character-oriented stories between 1,000 and 20,000 words.
2. Clarkesworld Magazine
Clarkesworld Magazine mainly focuses on publishing short stories in the science fiction and fantasy world, but they also consider art, non-fiction, and other types of short stories, as well.
They currently pay $0.14/word, which is on the higher end of platforms that pay for short stories.
3. East of the Web
Following the science fiction genre, East of the Web is currently accepting short stories that are at least 7.000 words. They currently have over 100,000 mobile devices that have their short story app installed, which can be good for your story to help reach a wider audience.
At the time of writing this, they are currently paying $0.05 per word to publish stories, but they are open to submissions of previously published stories, which not all places do.
Short Story Competitions
One way to stand out in the crowded field of writing is by winning short story contents. A story that places or wins a contest carries a lot of weight and credibility when pitching to editors, agents, and short story publishers.
Many of the short story contests out there are run by reputable literary magazines, journals, and publishers that offer cash prizes or other opportunities like publication, mentorship, or exposure.
There are tons of national and international short story contests out there, but here are a few to get you started:
- Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition
- CBC Short Story Prize (Canadian)
- Great American Fiction Contest
- The Bedford Competition
- The Bridport Prize
Each short story contest has its own unique eligibility requirements, so be sure to carefully read all guidelines for each contest before submitting. Even the most talented writers can miss out on cash prizes by not following these guidelines carefully.
Tips for success
Write High-Quality Short Stories
The most important thing you can do is consistently produce high-quality content. You never know who is going to be reading your submissions and published work, so you always want to be sure to put your best foot forward. Publishers, editors, and readers are always looking for original ideas, emotional depth, complex characters, and rich storytelling, so keep challenging yourself to produce your best work.
The world of short story and fiction writing is a crowded market, so if you want to get paid to write short stories, you will need to find ways to stand out. Prioritizing quality writing boosts your chances of being published and reaching your goal of getting paid to write short stories.
Follow Submission Guidelines
Most writing contests and literary magazines have specific submission guidelines. No matter what you are submitting, be it science fiction stories or flash fiction, make sure to always check their policies, requirements, and deadlines.
One thing you will want to particularly note is that most websites have rules about whether they will accept stories published in other publications before or not. Some publications want the first rights to your story, and some will accept stories you have published before. That is something you will want to take seriously and keep an eye out for.
You will want to double-check (and even triple-check) any submission guidelines before entering so you are not automatically disqualified from consideration. Some publications have rigid rules, and some have looser rules, so do your research before submission.
Be Persistent and Patient
Becoming a successful short story writer does not happen overnight. Rejection is part of being a writer, but it may be helpful to instead see it as redirection. Even the most renowned and celebrated writers had their submissions turned down countless times.
Just because your first (or first dozen) submissions are rejected does not mean that the next one will be too. Stay consistent, keep submitting, and remember that every “no” brings you one step closer to a “yes.”
What to do Next
Ready to start writing short stories for money and to make your career recession-proof?
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FAQs
1. Where to send short stories for money?
You can submit your short stories to various literary magazines like The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine, short story contests like The Bedford Competition and the Reader’s Digest Short Story Competition, and online platforms such as Amazon KDP and Reedsy Discovery.
2. What websites pay you to write?
There are many reputable websites that pay writers for short stories. Websites like Flash Fiction Online, The Threepenny Review, One Story, and Short Story Lovers pay writers for their short stories.
3. Can I get paid for writing short stories?
Yes, you can earn money writing short stories through a variety of platforms. A few options are to submit your short stories to publishers and publications that pay writers, self-publish, or enter short story competitions.
