What if I told you that you could sell short stories for money?
Are you asking : Where can I sell my stories or where to sell stories, or even, how to sell my story online?
Confession : I often write short stories about my little cat 🙂
If you have a flair for writing short stories, I’m going to tell you how you can get paid to write short stories.
Keep on reading this post and find out how you can earn money by writing short stories online to pay your bills!
You don’t have to worry about being the best writer. As long as you have a great storyline, there is bound to be a publication below that will accept and pay you for it.
Selling stories is an easy way to make money and gain some exposure if you’re looking to create a name for yourself.
In time, you can even generate enough income from selling stories online to make it into a side hustle.
You just need to take the first step, and I’m here to show you how can you sell short stories for money.
DISCLOSURE
Some of the links on here are affiliate links and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.
Where To Sell Short Stories For Money (21 Best Sites)
If you’re wondering ‘where can I sell my short stories online’, start making money from short stories from these 21 sites:
A science fiction magazine that pays 8–10 cents per word.
No introduction needed, this is possibly the most profitable magazine in the world. They have a huge and loyal readership.
They accept unsolicited works and getting published in their magazine is the winning prize.
The Sun Magazine is another publication that needs no introduction. They will pay writers to write both fiction and non-fiction and also poetry.
Non-fiction and fiction pieces start from $300 to $2,000 whereas poetry ranges from $100 to $250.
4. The Atlantic
The Atlantic is another prestigious magazine that will accept your short stories and poetries. Expect to be paid professional rates if accepted.
A science fiction and fantasy magazine that will pay you 12 cents per word for short stories.
If you have a knack for writing darker fiction, Apex pays up to 8 cents per word up to 7,500.
7. One Story
A literary magazine that publishes stories between 3,000 and 8,000 words. They pay $500 for each story.
This literary magazine encourages new writers to submit their work for a payment of $100-$300.
This publication has many literary magazines under its wing and caters to young readers up to 14 years old. The payment is a lucrative 25 cents per word.
This outdoor sporting activities magazine publishes short stories that are of high quality and will pay you an average of $600 for a 750 to 1,500-word piece.
11. Bourbon Penn
This magazine will accept odd and highly imaginative short stories. Payment is 3 cents per word.
12. Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
This magazine is the leader in short-form crime and mystery fiction and encourages new writers to submit their work. Expect to be paid between 5 – 8 cents per word.
Not a fan of fiction? I got you. You can still sell story online to these magazines that will publish nonfiction stories and pay you for it.
13. Reader’s Digest
You could have your piece in the world-famous Reader’s Digest. Send them a true story about you, in 100 words or less and get paid $100 for it.
Reader’s Digest Asia is an extension of Reader’s Digest and they have a couple of categories that they need writers regularly for:
-Inspiring stories or life-changing experiences
800 to 1,000 words for the price of $250 per published stories
-Acts of kindness
100 to 500 words for up to $100
-Anecdotes and jokes
Around $50 to $100
-Tales of your amazing animals
Up to 300 words for pay up to $100
15. Bella Magazine
Get paid up to $1000 when you share your personal story with Bella Magazine.
Send them a brief outline and someone from the magazine will contact you for further details.
16. Take A Break
If you sell your story to Take A Break, you could earn up to $2,000.
It’s really easy too, head on to their website where you fill in an online form. You have to send them a brief outline and voila!
Real People Magazine will buy your story for a fee. How much that is, I can’t say.
The magazine does a full interview with you (usually over the phone), asks you to provide relevant details and pays you a fee that is agreed upon by both parties.
18. Introvert Dear
Here’s a really cool one.
Introvert Dear publish articles about introversion. They also look for articles about Highly Sensitive People on their new website, Highly Sensitive Refuge.
If they publish your piece, you could make $75
19. Healthy Mummy
You can earn $100 by submitting your transformation story to Healthy Mummy!
Tell the readers about your journey and include good quality photos to show your transformation.
All you super mama’s out there, this is your time to shine even more than you already do.
This is a quarterly magazine that publishes articles on public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture. They pay up to $500 for non-fiction submissions.
This reputable literary magazine accepts non-fiction pieces such as personal essays, memoirs, and literary journalism. They will pay around 25 cents per word.
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Make Money From Short Story Writing Contests
You can also make a handsome sum by applying to short story contests.
A few notable publications have these contests, and they’re quite common.
*Disclaimer:
The cash prize and or other supplementary prizes listed below are those known to me at the time of writing this article. They are subject to change.
Here are a few short story competitions:
Harpers Bazaar invites entries of up to 2,200 words.
They have a theme each year and the winner of this year’s competition won a two-night stay at the historic Grantley Hall in Yorkshire, England, and had their work published in the magazine.
The winner of this contest received $1,260! Second prize won $640 and third prize is $320.
The top 20 were published in the Scottish Arts Club Anthology. Not bad, eh?
Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
- Ran by Hunger Mountain, this competition offers its winner a $1,000 cash prize and publication.
- Stories had to be around 8,000 words in length. There was a $20 entry fee.
I don’t know about you but I might enter one of these competitions myself to make a quick buck or maybe even win a nice trip somewhere.
How To Sell Short Stories On Amazon?
Still not sure how to sell short stories online? I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
If you’re not too keen on having your pieces published in magazines or stories being bought, you can publish short stories online for money.
That’s right, you can be your own publisher with the help of Amazon.
Amazon gives you the option to sell digital and print copies of your work. This way, you can publish short stories for money.
The company makes it easy to upload and format your story on its website.
They print and ship the copies on demand for you, so all you have to do is follow their guidelines and upload your piece.
Easy, and just like that, you’re published.
Depending on the purchase price you set and the plan you opt for when you decide to self-publish, you can earn anywhere from 35%-70% of the purchase price.
What’s great about publishing on Amazon is that you don’t have to figure out the logistics of printing and shipping.
There’s a huge demand for ebooks these days.
Specifically, Amazon’s “short reads” section. These are books that have less than 100 pages to them.
Publishing on Amazon also means you make money in perpetuity.
How?
When you sell a short story to a publisher, you’ll get a one-time payment.
But with Amazon, you receive the payout from the royalty every time a copy of your story is bought.
Factor in the fact that your piece will be available on the biggest online marketplace?
That’s a great deal to sell short stories for money if I can say so myself.
What Are Short Stories?
To understand how to make money selling short stories, we should take a look at what are short stories.
According to various online sources and the encyclopedia, a short story is a short work of fiction or nonfiction that is shorter than a novel or longer than a fable.
So, essentially a piece of literature that typically takes a short amount of time to read from start to finish or one that is self-contained.
Some categories of short stories include but are not limited to:
- Poems
- Mini-sagas
- Novelettes– A novelette can easily be described as a short novella or long short story. A novelette falls in the range of 7,500 to 19,999 words.
- Haiku
- Flash Fiction– Is an umbrella term used to refer to very short works of fiction that provide a compelling story and range between 1,000 words or less.
But what makes a good story?
What sets apart Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, and the average writer?
The foundation of a good story can be comprised of 5 key elements:
- A plot:
Short stories -being so short, only have room for one plot in the storyline. One and a half if you’re going to squeeze in a twist.
- A theme:
Short story themes should be clear and impactful.
- Characters:
Great stories have great characters but this can take a long time to develop. Keep your characters exciting and limited.
- A time frame:
Most short stories can be read in a single sitting or a brief span of time. They focus on a limited amount of time within the plot.
- A setting:
Where does your story take place?
Is it someplace new to the readers?
Think about how JK Rowling’s Harry Potter took off. It was a completely different world, one unlike any other we’d seen in the literary world.
You should familiarize yourself with this before learning how to sell story online.
How To Sell Short Stories On Amazon?
So far, we’ve covered what a short story is and what makes a good short story, but who would buy these stories and why?
Before we can sell short stories for money, let’s look into why people would buy short stories.
People buy short stories for numerous reasons. The main one is content.
Publishers, Magazines, Websites, Bloggers, heck anyone who needs content would buy a short story. This is where you should sell your short stories.
Magazines for instance, are made up of hundreds of pieces written by different writers.
They’re always in need of content and by submitting short stories to a magazine, you could make money for your short stories and reach a huge audience.
How To Sell Short Stories On Amazon?
Now that you know where to submit short stories for money, let’s get started and make money writing short stories.
Hold your horses, amigos. Before you start anything, it’s always good to look at what sells.
You can look at what’s selling and hitch a ride on the bandwagon or you could find what’s missing in the market and pave your own way.
Some of the best selling short read categories are:
Romance, erotika, thriller, suspense, and scifi-fantasy.
How Much Can I Sell A Short Story For?
This isn’t a get rich overnight scheme, (well not this section at least. I’ll let you be the judge of that a little later on in the article), but you can have a lucrative side hustle or make a decent income by writing short stories for money.
How much you make when you write short stories for money is dependent on the magazine or publisher you pitch to or the short contest you enter (this is the get rich overnight thing I was telling you about).
Each magazine offers different rates for submissions.
Publications will buy a story as a whole or pay you word for word.
Magazines are a great place to submit short stories for money and earn money writing fiction online.
FAQs On Sell Short Stories For Money
Can You Make Money From Short Stories?
Yes, you can make money from short stories.
Many literary magazines and online platforms pay for short story submissions.
A story can make more money than a novel because it pays per word and has proven to hold its value over time.
It also takes less time to write than a full-length novel.
Where Can I Write Stories And Get Paid?
Here are the 21 best sites to write stories and get paid:
- Amazon
- Asimov
- The New Yorker
- The Sun Magazine
- The Atlantic
- Clarkesworld Magazine
- One Story
- Boulevard Magazine
- Cricket Magazine
- Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
- Bourbon Penn
- Reader’s Digest
- Vestal Review
- The BBC
- Flash Fiction Online
- Clarkesworld
- Analog
- Reader’s Digest Asia
- The American Scholar
- Introvert Dear
- Virginia Quarterly Review
How To Sell Stories Online?
Some tips to sell stories online:
- Write a great story with an interesting plot
- Find publications that fit your genre and writing style to submit to
- Platforms like Duotrope and Poets and Writers are where to sell short stories online
- Follow submission guidelines to submit your work
- Be patient waiting to hear back from the editors
How To Sell Your Story?
This is how to sell a story:
- Memoirs: Submit your memoir to literary agents or publishers who specialize in non-fiction.
- Personal essays: These are shorter pieces about a specific time or aspect of your life.
- Film/ TV adaptation: Reach out to producers/ companies to see if they’re interested in adapting your story into a film or TV show.
Who Buys Short Stories?
Many outlets buy short stories to publish on their website and platforms.
- Magazines & online platforms: Your best chances of being paid are here. Most accept submissions all year round
- Kindle & Ebooks: You can sell your stories directly to readers without going through an agent
- Podcasts like Clarkesworld Magazine are dedicated to telling stories in audio form.
How Much Do Short Stories Sell For?
How much short stories sell for depends on where you sell the story and who you sell it to.
Publishers usually pay anywhere from 5 – 25 cents per word.
Literary magazines can pay $100 – $1000 for a story, while some online platforms and smaller publications may only pay $5 as a token.
How To Make Money From Writing Stories?
Here are 9 ways you can make money from writing stories:
- Sell stories to magazines
- Self-publish on Amazon
- Submit stories to contests and anthologies
- Create a short stories blog
- Create a Patreon account
- Sell a collection of short stories online
- Write on Medium
- Ghostwrite stories for other people
- Write short stories for gaming companies
How To Sell Your Story To A Magazine?
Here are 5 steps for selling your story to a magazine:
- Find magazines that might be interested in your story
- Write a strong pitch summarizing your story and why it’s a good fit
- Submit your story according to the guidelines given
- Follow up with the editor after a few weeks
- If accepted, try to negotiate payment
How To Sell My Story For Cash?
Here are 5 ways you can sell your story for cash:
- Pitch your story to reporters or major news outlets
- Submit your story to magazines
- Self-publish your story as an e-book on Amazon
- Look for websites that pay for short stories like Wattpad
- Negotiate a book deal with publishers or agents
Tips To Succeed Selling Short Stories Online
We’ve learned how to make money writing short stories online, places to sell short stories and even the elements that go into writing a great story.
But that’s not all I have for you, my dear readers.
I want you to succeed, side hustle, or main revenue.
If you want to make money selling short stories, here are some extra tips to increase your chances of making that happen:
- Get some online training to become a freelance writer
I took this awesome course that taught me how to improve my writing, pitch to new clients, where to find jobs, and most importantly, it has a 30-day template you just need to follow to get to your first $1k.
I used this to sell my writing online. You can use this to help you sell short stories for money.
- Play to your strengths:
Choose the right magazines or story selling websites to submit to.
- Stick to the guidelines:
Most magazines won’t consider your story if you don’t follow this rule.
Be sure to follow the instructions provided by the site to the letter.
Nothing will blow your chances of getting published faster than submitting a story that doesn’t meet the guidelines.
Pay attention here: some guidelines will specify what can or can’t be in the story (e.g. explicit sex scenes, racial and political issues, religious themes, etc.).
- Research:
Decide which magazine you’re going to submit to and study it.
Get a feel for their tone and what kind of stories they publish.
You can also get a good sense of their readership by seeing what kind of ads they place in their magazine. This way you can gear your content towards their readers.
- Join a group:
If you’re interested in fiction opportunities out there, join a like minded support group on Facebook or subscribe to platforms like Poets & Writers to get more ideas of where to submit.
Many people ask ‘where can I sell my short stories’?
I hope this article has shown you that you can sell short stories for money as well as how to sell a short story.
It definitely isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme (I guess it is if you won all the writing competitions you entered).
But with magazines looking for new content, self-publishing and our need as humans to consume information in short amounts of time, there’s definitely a growing interest in the industry.
People want to read more even though they have less time, and you can solve that problem with your short stories. The people get to read, and you get to make more selling your stories.
I’d say that’s a win-win situation 🙂
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