Make Money Writing & Selling Short Stories

If you are a writer or have strong writing skills and are looking to make extra money to help you out financially, writing a short story could enable you to achieve a generous income, be it part-time work that you require or additional work on top of your usual hours.

Many authors think making money through writing can only be achieved when writing novels, yet writing short stories proves to be far more beneficial financially, whilst also taking a less time to complete.

The benefit of spending less time on writing a short story means that if your story fails to find buyers, you will not have lost too much of your time. Read on to discover just why writing short stories can prove to be more financially rewarding than writing a novel, here we will explain the process of writing and selling short stories in more detail…

Where Do I Begin?

Preparing and plotting a short story is far simpler and quicker than plotting a longer novel. Short stories do not require thinking up complex storylines and character descriptions, unlike a novel. However, it is recommended that your short story features a twist in the tale, similar to that of a fiction story. Despite this, your reader should not be able to guess what will happen at the end of your book instead it should remain a surprise.

How Do I Choose My Storyline?

No matter on the topic of your short story, it is essential that you figure out your storyline before doing anything else. It is imperative that there is enough of a storyline to meet the required length, without the need for padding or without having to cut bits out. This is why planning your story prior to writing it can prove to be incredibly beneficial. Your selected plot should remain balanced throughout your story too.

What Should My Short Story Be About?

A short story that is based on a real-life story, but written as fiction provides a great starting point. For instance, writing about something you are familiar with because it has happened to you, is a great place to start. By doing so, you can exaggerate the story and boost your book’s selling power. Just ensure that you change the names of the characters in your story to save face amongst friends, family or acquaintances that happened to be featured within the book.

How Long Should My Short Story Be?

The length of your short story can vary from 1,000 words to 10,000 words. It is your decision how many words your short story is to include, however we advise that you do a little research and base your word count upon short stories that the buyer you are thinking of approaching has previously published.

Chapters or Paragraphs?

When it comes to breaking up your short story into compartments, it is advisable that you avoid chapters and instead use paragraphs. Aim to have lots of shorter paragraphs, rather than having fewer, longer paragraphs.

Who Can Your Market Your Short Story To?

It is vital that you can determine who the market of your short story will be. Thankfully there is a demand for short stories, whilst there are a number of publishing sectors that have an inclined interest in short stories, whom include:

• Kindle Publishing – You can become your own publisher by publishing your very own short stories on Amazon’s Kindle. This is an advantageous way to make money, especially so if you publish multiple short stories on a regular basis.

• Children’s Short Stories – This style of short story is far more in demand than any other, making it a fairly lucrative business opportunity. When writing for children, imaginative, fun and original stories are ideal. Whilst, writing a traditional styled story with your own added twist, can also make for a successful plot. Just be aware of the age range in which you are writing for as 11 years olds will not want to read material written for seven years olds.

• Women’s Magazines – A number of women’s magazines publish fictional short stories. Generally, the genre of story women’s magazines seek is romantic. It is important that you research which magazines publish stories, before selecting ones to send your work to, additionally, you ought to research each magazine to make sure that your story is suitable, prior to sending.

• Crime and Horror – In America there is a demand for crime and horror short stories. As a writer, there is no reason to draw the line at writing for buyers abroad, as a different perspective provided by a foreign writer can often prove popular amongst its audience.