How to Earn a Living Writing Short Stories

For the fiction writer who's ever wondered how to earn a living writing short stories, a great deal of how successful you are depends not only on what you consider a livable wage, but also how determined you are.

The Writer's Life

Anyone who has ever sat down and written a book will likely tell you that it's not easy. There's a lot of information to keep track of, characters to flesh out, plots to develop and words to get down on paper. While it may look easy to an outsider, writers know that finding their muse isn't always simple.

Even though the short story writer might not aspire to be a novelist, a short story still needs basic components to be considered good fiction: a beginning, a middle, an end, a believable plot, interesting characters and rich dialogue. Some writers may find writing a novel easier than condensing everything into a short story, but successful short story writers know what it takes to develop a tight, concise piece of fiction into a great story. They may have a list of narrative writing prompts nearby to keep inspiration flowing or are just incredibly creative.

Question: How to Earn a Living Writing Short Stories?

The first thing all writers must understand is that publishing is a business. Unless you plan to write and share your stories with friends and family only, you're probably seeking publication of some kind. You want to sell your story, but publishers of books, anthologies and magazines also want to sell their products.

Is it Really Possible?

The answer to is it possible to make a living writing short prose is "Yes, but…" If your goal is to only write short fiction and make a living from that alone, chances are your standard of living is going to be quite low. While there are excellent literary markets where you can submit your work, the vast majority of them pay very little per story. There is the occasional standout, such as Glimmer Train, which pays a very respectable sum to published authors, but the competition in the writing world is extremely fierce. Plus, if your short story is accepted for publication, you would need to have at least 10 or 12 stories published each month to make a decent salary, depending on the pay scale of the respective markets.

If you're interested in how to earn a living writing short stories, you can write and sell short stories, but the likelihood of being able to make good money from it is low. Some publishing houses won't accept short story collections from new authors, and for many, only a short story from a big name writer will do. Many consumer magazines that used to publish short stories decades ago have stopped that practice, so your number of available markets has dwindled.

You can earn a little money from entering free short story contests if you win, but again, the prize isn't likely to be enough to pay your bills and if you don't win or place, then you get nothing. However, there are success stories from short story contest winners; at times, reputable agents take a look at who the up-and-comers are in the fiction field and may contact you for possible talks about publication, so entering contests is rarely a waste of time.

Write for the Joy of Writing

There are other ways to make a living with your words, including copy writing and non-fiction gigs. Even the majority of novelists don't make a lot of money from their work. Writing tends to be a craft that writers take part in because they're inspired to put pen to paper above all else. Earning money from it is a nice side benefit, but relying only on short fiction to support you is not realistic for most writers.

Instead, if the short story is your favorite medium, then hone your skills and keep submitting. Continue to enter contests. There's always a chance that you'll win and end up going on to bigger things, including lucrative publishing deals that will earn you that living you've always dreamed of.

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