3 Lucrative Ideas That Will Sell Your Short Stories Online

There are different types of short stories ranging from anecdotes and flash fiction to fables and mini-sagas. And in the field of writing, many people write these stories either as a hobby or intending to publish to become renowned authors. But surprisingly, only a few succeed because most of them are stuck thinking they need to publish a novel to become authors and make money.

Well, that’s not true. Writing short stories is the most lucrative way to make money in a shorter timeframe compared to writing a full novel because quite frankly they take less time to write and publish.

Normally, offline literary magazines and publishing houses don’t pay much for short stories, so you have to focus your energy on finding online platforms that pay well.

Short stories are popular. People enjoy reading short and entertaining stories. And if they can do it quickly in just one sitting, the happier they become.

So, how do you make money writing short stories online? 

First let’s make one thing clear, you do need to have special skills to write short stories and get paid, you only need to know how to express yourself well. That means you need to be an efficient and creative writer to spin creative ideas and characters.

Secondly, you’ll need good grammar and spelling.

Third, you’ll need the ability to tell a full story in fewer words.

Finally, you should be able to develop plots strategically to keep your audience hooked and eager till the end of your story.

Now that you know the skills you need, here are some strategies that will help you make money from your short stories. 

Here are 3 ways you can publish and promote your short stories and probably launch into a full time writing career. 

1. Write on Your Own Blog

Blogging is a great hobby that can turn into a business. And since it’s your own property it will create a lifelong income stream. Imagine if digital platforms like Amazon KDP, KOBO, and Wattpad, shut down or stopped their monetization option today. 

That would probably mean the end of the world for so many content writers who rely heavily on these platforms. Having a personal blog helps you overcome these kind of eventualities besides its your private piece of real estate, you can do whatever you want with it.

For instance, you can publish blog posts or short fiction stories on your blog and monetize them via affiliate links and display Ads (like Google AdSense, Media.net, Ezoic, or any other ad network).

You can also turn your short story into a digital e-book and sell it on your website. 

Then you don’t require to have an existing audience to use as a springboard. Your blog will purposefully serve as the platform to help people get more familiar with your writing and what they can expect from your stories.

Besides, you can also grow your community of like-minded readers with the help of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

You can check out this article on how you can use social media as a writer and author.

Basically, blogging and social channels are the best places to earn trust and position yourself as an expert author specializing in a particular niche.

As your traffic grows, consider starting an email list where you can promote your new stories to your readers. 

2. Ghostwrite Stories for Popular Authors and Celebrities

You don’t have to publish stories with just your byline as the author. You can make money selling your short stories to other interested people on freelancing sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, etc. Primarily, you do the writing and then give them the copyright to sell as their own work.

Oftentimes, popular authors and celebrities look for ghostwriters to write short stories for them.

They might provide the basic details like character roles and the plot along with other specifics they’d like you to include.

Then, you can come up with the story and do the bulk of the writing. 

On average you can earn around $2,000 to $10,000 per book depending on the type of project and length.

You can check out this article and know more about How you can become a Ghostwriter.

Ghostwriting can be lucrative and earn you good money, and you don’t have to worry about publishing and promoting the book.

However, the drawback is that you will be anonymous and you will not be able to make a name for yourself.

3. Sell Kindle E-books

Lastly, you can consider selling your own short stories for cash using Kindle. 

Amazon’s partnership with Kindle allows self-published authors to sell their own e-books on the platform.

Kindle e-books are popular so you can easily leverage the entire Amazon customer base to market and sell your e-book. 

Besides, if you already have an established platform such as a blog or even a growing email list, you can use this to market your Kindle e-books as well. 

Tips to Get Your Short Story Accepted and Paid For

The one potential downside about trying to sell a short story is that your submission may not be accepted and sadly this means you won’t get paid.

To avoid this, ensure you fully understand submission guidelines per publication and have your story idea completely fleshed out. 

Here are some additional tips for getting your story accepted by a magazine or publication.

1. Pick a Topic of Interest

First, you should know your target audience. Are they parents? Pet owners? Travelers? Introverts? This is important when pitching a story idea for approval. 

Try to pick a short story topic that aligns with their interest. 

2. Pitch to The Highest Paying Sites First 

Secondly, try pitching to sites that pay highly per short story first. Sometimes, writers want to start on the lower end and work their way up to more prominent publications.

However, this might take you a very long time before you start earning from your writing. Why not start with the highest paying sites so if they do accept your story, you can get paid a higher rate than if you would have sent it to another site? 

3. Negotiate Pay by Word

Third, if your story is really enticing, you can negotiate with the website to earn a higher rate. Some places may offer a flat fee per story.

However, you can ask for a particular rate per word. For instance, if you ask for $0.15 per word and submit a 3,000-word short story, you’d earn a total of $450.

4. Pitch An Ongoing Series of Short Stories

Finally, when you write a short series of stories it’s great because you can get people hooked on the first story. Once that initial story is accepted, you’ll find it easier to publish a sequel and additional parts of the story.

Readers will get invested in each story and be waiting on the edge of their seats for the next part to be released. 

Otherwise, submit one story to the publication first before you pitch a series. This is a great way to get more ongoing paid work published in the long run. 

Final Word

There are many ways to make money writing short stories, but you need to understand that not all will necessarily work for you. Look at these methods and choose what works for you.

As new platforms and sites pop up, you may stumble upon plenty of other methods that I haven’t mentioned. 

This fact however remains, the best way to make money from your short stories is to start writing now on your own blog, or send your story out to magazines, and other publications.