If you have the required skills to write engaging short stories, you’re ready to earn money for every word you write. The market for selling short stories is bigger than you think, and regardless of the short story genre you write, fantasy, romance, adventure, or others, they are all in demand in this market.
As long as you are ready to embark on this journey, in this guide you’ll find the best way for Making Money Writing Short Stories. In addition to using websites to sell stories and make money from them, you can create your own project to sell stories or participate in local or international competitions where prizes for the winning story can reach at least $2000.
Unlock Your Potential: Turn Your Talent for Writing Short Stories into Profit
Short stories, come as a miniature version of a novel, typically ranging from 500 to 20,000 words. Short stories are often dominated by imagination and fantasy but can also be non-fictional.
The goal is usually to be read in a single sitting, often leaving the reader with a specific mood or a profound impact.
Short stories come in various types and styles, such as standalone stories or a series of interconnected short stories with temporal links. If you’re passionate about writing these stories and looking for the best websites to make money from writing short stories, here are some of the most important short story genres:
- Tales: These short stories involve a real person or incident. They are often very short and used to illustrate a point or support an argument.
- Fiction: Fiction involves narrating a short story using mythical creatures.
- Flash Fiction: Flash Fiction is an increasingly common form of short story, characterized by extreme brevity, attempting to convey as much information as possible in a short story. This type of story has a surprising introduction, middle, and ending that deviates from expectations.
- Feghoot: Short stories linked to humor. They focus on using joke structure and can be very short, aiming to make the reader laugh.
There are many other types of short stories, all varying in length, style, and structure, but these are the most popular types to start making money from writing short stories.
Why sell your short stories?
The importance of selling short stories lies not only in increasing your exposure to the audience but also in advancing your career as a writer. It’s not just about making money writing short stories; it has many dimensions.
Selling your short stories significantly boosts your resume as a writer and enhances your chances of securing a permanent job position with one of the global companies. Moreover, it increases your exposure to readers who may be interested in contracting or partnering with you.
Additionally, selling short stories helps you study the market accurately if you are interested in publishing a a book. Many successful books (and even movies) started as short stories.
Check; Selling photos on Shutterstock.. Beginner’s Guide to become a contributor
How much money can you make writing short stories?
If you’re new to selling short stories, don’t expect to make a lot of money overnight because it takes time to build a fan base and establish your presence in this market. Once you’ve achieved that, your earning potential will undoubtedly increase significantly.
There’s no fixed number for the earnings you can make from selling any genre of short stories, because it depends on factors such as the language of the story, the market it’s sold in, its word count, and several other factors.
For example, an experienced short story writer might make around $0.08 per word or less for amateurs.
Best Websites for Making Money Writing Short Stories
There are several common ways for individuals to invest their writing skills and start making money selling short stories:
1. Making money writing short stories and selling them on Amazon KDP
Amazon holds the largest book market in the world, and through its program, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, any writer of short stories can publish their books for free and offer them for sale to millions of users worldwide.
When selling short stories on Amazon, the writer earns 70% of the story’s price, while Amazon takes 30%, although the percentage may vary depending on the chosen publishing option.
Amazon stands out for its flexibility in choosing any type of short story for publication, unlike publishing in magazines and websites, which may specify certain types of stories.
Setting up your account on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is very simple and easy. Simply log in to their website and create a free account, then start adding your short stories.
When selling your short stories, you have complete control over pricing, choosing the type and length of the stories, discounts, marketing strategies, and more.
There are many free resources and sources from Amazon or other content creators to teach you how to publish short stories on Amazon.
As Warren Buffett said about passive income, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die”.
Selling short stories on Amazon is an ideal way for lifelong passive income. All you have to do is write compelling short stories that are saleable and offer them on Amazon, and they will continue to earn you money throughout your life.
Chris, an expert in publishing short stories and books, shares valuable information on how to make money from selling short stories on Amazon through his YouTube channel:
2.Read What is Ysense & how it pays you in 48H for simple tasks
2. Making money writing short stories on Medium
The well-known online publishing platform, Medium, allows writers to share their work with a large audience and earn money through their Partnership Program.
In general, anyone can create a free account on Medium without any restrictions. However, to start making money from your published stories, you must meet the requirements of their Partnership Program and apply for it.
Once your application is accepted, you will start earning money for every person who reads your stories on their website.
It’s not about selling your short stories but rather about the interaction you receive from readers.
The platform can be considered a social media platform, where users browse the site or its app and read posts, whether articles, stories, or similar content. The more interaction your posts receive from users, the higher the financial returns you get from Medium.
Zulie Rane shares her story in this video about publishing fantasy stories on Medium and earning money from them:
3. Making money from freelancing as a short story writer
As a writer of short stories, you can rely on freelance websites to find clients interested in purchasing your stories easily.
There are many freelance websites to showcase your services, with one of the most prominent being Fiverr. As shown in the image, there is a dedicated section for requesting services from freelancers who write short stories, and you can be one of them!
All you need to do is go to the Fiverr website (from this link) and create a free account. Then, complete your profile information and create services with an attractive description that reflects your expertise in the field and makes it easy for clients to find and hire you.
The process is similar for other freelance websites, some of the most important ones being:
Check: Fiverr Affiliate Program Review.. Kickstart Passive Earnings Today!
4. Making money participating in short stories competitions with prizes
This way may not involve directly selling your stories, but it’s an excellent way to earn substantial amounts of money, especially in competitions with high prizes. However, it’s not a suitable option for inexperienced writers because the competition is fierce, and you won’t be able to win and earn financial rewards unless you submit high-quality entries.
There are hundreds of international short story competitions, but most of them require entries in English.
Organized short story competitions come with detailed and comprehensive descriptions of participation requirements and the types of stories that can be entered. Participation is often free, but in some cases, you may need to pay a subscription fee for each story you enter.
For example, websites like thewriterscollege and reedsy publish many competitions throughout the week.
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