Writing short stories for a living is unlikely for a new writer, but it is possible for an established writer to earn full-time income writing a lot of short fiction. The secret to success is writing short stories in a popular genre, and finding the right market for those stories.
◊ Specialist Publications and websites.
Short story writers who specialize in a particular genre of fiction can benefit by writing for specialist magazines and small press publications. There is always a demand for stories written specifically for readers of sci-fi, horror stories, fantasy and erotic fiction.
Short stories that appeal to fans of a genre also have good potential to be published online. Some websites make it possible for fans to purchase short pieces of fiction by paying a subscription, or by making a small payment for each story .
◊ Electronic Publishing.
Every writer should consider self publishing using new technology. Electronic book readers are becoming increasingly popular, and these provide a whole new market for fiction writers.
Amazon has a Digital Text Platform for writers to publish on Kindle. Writers who use this are paid 35% of the selling price each time their title is sold through the Amazon Kindle Store.
Single stories or collections of short stories can be self published at Lulu. E-books can be supplied direct to customers, and Lulu will keep 25% of the selling price each time, as commission.
Publishing on demand is a great way to generate income for writers of short stories who are prepared to do plenty of online marketing and promotion.
◊ Traditional publishers.
There are some magazines that feature short stories in each edition, but the market for magazine fiction is so competitive it is unlikely that a writer will have enough stories published each year to provide a living income. Even when a story is accepted for publication, the writer has to wait many months before it appears in print and then has to wait to be paid.
Books of short stories by unknown authors are rarely published. A fiction author with a reputation as a novelist, or who has made a name as a successful writer, will have greater chance of getting a collection of short stories published.
Writers of short stories for children often have a greater advantage, because children's book publishers do accept short stories in book form. There are additional opportunities to contribute short stories to weekly or monthly publications for children, and for children's stories to appear in different formats.
The short story format is certain to remain popular, thanks to new advances in technology. Now is a good time to get started and build up a reputation as a short story writer, but probably not through traditional publishing. Writing short stories for a living could become a reality for writers using electronic publishing and selling online.