Hard Truths About Selling Short Stories

I’ve read submissions, and this is what I’ve learned.

At this point, I’ve been on both sides of the story-submitting divide — I’ve been writing and submitting shorts for close to a decade, and I recently joined a small press as part of their editorial team. Working on an ezine means you have to read a steady stream of submissions, and seeing things from the other side is eye-opening, to say the least.

With that in mind, here are a few things I’ve learned after reading so many of your stories.

1. People Are Good.

This is an encouraging thing when you’re a submissions reader, but it might be tough for writers to hear.

Yeah, we get lots of bad submissions, or wrongly formatted submissions. But we also get lots of really, really good stories too. More than we can ever publish in a single magazine or anthology.

So if your story is rejected, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. It means you’re up against some stiff competition, but you aren’t a bad writer. Keep trying.

2. You Won’t Make Much Money.

Yes, there are markets out there that pay a couple of hundred dollars per story.