Help please.
2007-09-24 11:24:30 · 4 answers · asked by fishcantswim 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
There are basically 4 ways to sell short stories. To magazines, to e books, to anthologies and in contests.
In the first three ways you will find that pay for a story ranges from 5 bucks to about 25 bucks or between 1 and 5 cents a word. The reason for doing anthologies isn't to get rich, it is to get your name out there. Some pay nothing more than a copule copies of the book you're in.
Of course magazines like Playboy, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ etc. pay a great deal more. However, they primarily deal with major authors and they hire them to write specific stories. Very rarely do major magazines accept a pitch from an unknown and tell them to go ahead with it.
As for contests, there are a few legit ones. Check with Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks and Preditors and Editors. There are contests that pay 1,000 like Glimmer Train but they are very very hard to win. They are almost impossible to even sell a story to. Glimmer Train also charges a 35 dollar fee every time you enter a story.
Sorry but you will not be making thousands or even hundreds selling your stories. PJ M - a regular contributor here is a fairly well known anthology contributor. I have known him for several years now. I don't think he has ever gotten more than 50 bucks and a couple copies for a story. But it does get his name out there for the benefit of his longer works.
Hope that helps. Pax - C
2007-09-24 11:35:47 · answer #1 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are tons of online magazines that will publish just about anything. You might do a quick search to see what comes up. It really depends on what genre you're writing as far as where you can look to get published.
2007-09-24 18:34:56 · answer #2 · answered by k0rnp0p 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's hard to get a story published if you've never done it before.
You might want to go the iUniverse route. They will print and bind a book on a "on demand" basis.
A friend of mine just wrote a book that is a collection of short stories. I went to iUniverse and bought it. Within a week - it was at my house.
All they do is the printing. You have to do all of your own marketing. (He sent out e-mails and threw a party to spread the word)
Still - it's a start. And it's exciting to see your work in book format - all bound and packaged.
Good luck!
2007-09-24 18:34:25 · answer #3 · answered by liddabet 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get a copy of Writers Market. It tells you who is accepting what and how they want it submitted.
2007-09-24 18:33:57 · answer #4 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋