Short Story The long and short of it - making a living through short works

I am a believer in the phrase "Where there is a will there in ten thousand ways." And in that spirit my will would be to make a living as a writer of shorter fiction and non-fiction. I realize that traditionally the major money is in full length books (at least if going through a traditional publisher) but that's just not me. I'm in it for the short game.

Thanks to sites such as Amazon, this almost feels like a possibility. I like the idea of being able to write many different stories a month as opposed to one a year (or how ever long) I also like the idea of being able to enter more contests and the ability to submit more with short works to publications.


But what do I know really? My knowledge in this area is limited to the success of short story collections written by well established authors. That is something (at least as far as I have heard) that is a no go for your average no name writer.

Still it’s what I want. To write only full length novels because its marketable would be a lie to myself, that is something I simple can not do. Any novels I write will be more of a side project as opposed to the bread and butter of my writings.

I am interested in what others have to say on the subject. Do you believe it is possable for writer to make a living (or at least a decent payday) from short fiction alone? Short stories, flash fiction, poems ect...

 

Unfortunately, my understanding is that making a living with one's own writing (as opposed to taking a writing-related day job or accepting assignments created by other people), is incredibly difficult, whether in short or long form. The usual thing is to also have a day job.

 

That is very true, adding the fact I have a family to provide for increases the need for a day job with the need for health care and all. But I can dream, right? at the very least, if I have to reside to the fact that I will need a day job until I retire, then I at least want to love that job. A part owner of a coffee shop perhaps.

 

Conventional wisdom is that it's even harder to make money from shorts than it is to make money from novels, but you're right, Amazon is a game-changer and people are dreaming up new ways to market their stories every day.

I'd say that it may depend on your flexibility - how willing are you to write what will sell rather than what you dream of writing? There are niches of erotica that sell really well, for example, and hopefully other niches as well. If you're willing to write to those markets, you have a better chance.

(From what I've seen of self-publishing, though, volume is key. Can you switch from the idea of a short story per month into something closer to a short story every couple days?)

 

One of my goals is to be able to publish a short story week or so (as long as I am proud of them and not publishing just to add a story to my list of published works) along with a novela every few months. Along with Amazon, I also want to submit to short story publications. as well as some other projects I am working on (more on that later, not sure what liberties I have in talking about it right now) I suppose I could write in another genre that sells more but I would do so as a way of challenging myself and growing as a writer as opposed to "writing for the market."

I have much more to say on the process I am building in my head and I will, hopefully, write a post on that later today. Right now my son wants to play and thats alwasy a good time

 

As far as I can tell, Patreon is the way to go for this. I've been studying the question of monetizing content creation for a few years now, and Patreon has come to the fore as a viable mechanism. It takes a little effort to market yourself, but if you can get started producing content, then get on a regular release schedule (start with a backlog), you can keep readers interested and you'll get more followers. The real question is how much money you'll need monthly. I have a friend, an established author, who set up a Patreon page a few weeks ago. He's serializing his next novel there, as well as posting non-fiction work (political opinion, etc.) and re-publishing short works. His page indicates that he's drawing a bit over $600 per month, though I'm fairly certain that the math there is off for reasons that are too complicated to go into. In short, I think it's under-reporting. Other, more established content producers are making a living using Patreon, something you can see by watching content producers like The Fully Charged Show, Transport Evolved, Gone with the Wynns, and others on YouTube. These content creators, particularly the Wynns, are drawing incomes that allow them to have the life they do. The Wynns' Patreon supporters pay per video released, and at a $2 per video minimum rate and at least one video per week, with over 1000 supporters, they're drawing upward of $8000 per month.

I'm considering establishing a Patreon page for myself. I don't have much of an audience, but I think I can grow what I have into something that would get me the level of income I need to retire to a non-U.S. country in a few years if I put in the work. Not only do I write fiction, but I have written technical articles for a few publications, in particular LinkedIn. And I make long, researched posts on Facebook. The LinkedIn and Facebook posts do nothing more than enrich those platforms and I get nothing out of the deal beyond using them. My goal, as I conceive it, is to have my content pay me something, and right now that looks like Patreon.

BTW, I've had a tiny bit of experience publishing on Amazon, and I can tell you that getting your head above the fray is very difficult.

I hope all this helps.

Cheers.

JD

 

Lots of good information there - thanks, Patron does sound like a good way to go once I feel I can produce enough works to stick to a set schedule. I would also still want to submit a few stories to various publication as well.

Yeah, Amazon is a jungle of everythingness. (thats a word, rihgt?) still it never hurts to toss my in the ring at least somewhat. I also thought about posting on faceBook but personally I would like to keep that on a personal level sticking to friends and family.

either way it's going to be an uphill battle. But thats half the fun because so many people stop climbing when the hill gets to steep, I won't stop

 

Don't post work even on Facebook that you intend to sell to publications. They want to buy first rights. That being said, going down the self-publishing route and trying to land your work in well-established magazines and journals are very different. You can sell a story for a few hundred to a few thousand, but it isn't going to happen every week. And while I do believe in producing new content, it's really hard to publish in these places and first drafts aren't going to cut it. If you seriously want to be a short story writer, consider going for an MFA or Phd. There are places that will pay you to go to school there. Some are closer to the actual cost of living than others. These programs are very competitive and the funded slots even more so. But it will give you time to really develop your craft.

There are grants and fellowships to help writers. You do have to meet certain criteria for a lot of them. These are also not going to be easy. And nothing happens quickly no matter how fast we write.

I don't think it's the best idea to self publish short stories while trying to sell others. Of course, you can do anything you want. But they are really separate paths as far as I see it. One way, you eagerly put up your stuff. Another you learn to write better stuff and enter the publishing scene at a different level.

 

I should add that I am a short story writer. It's not easy, but it's possible. And maybe you will have overnight success, but it took years of dedication for me to have any sort. And even the good money doesn't go that far. A lot of short story writers teach at universities. I don't teach, but I know several short story writers who do as a means of supporting themselves.

 

Thank you for your help - I definitely want to learn to write better and more interesting stories. That part of me wants to take the traditional route. The other part of me thinks the public should dictate what is good and not a single (or few) editors at a publication.

The idea of going for a MFAor Phd sounds interesting but even with help and aid I still have a family to support and debts to pay. I think I would be happy if I could make enough from writing shorts so I could love my day job. maybe co-own a small coffee shops or even simple work in one.

 

Stephen King's On Writing talks about his early career as a teacher + short story writer, where the short story income helped him to barely make ends meet. It seemed really difficult for him, despite being Stephen King. Payments from publishing stories would be rather small and unreliable. Self publishing may make things more plausible, but I would suspect only when done very well.

 

If you self publish your stories, you stand no shot of those stories being nominated for awards and anthologies.

 

Maybe not nominated, but there are anthologies willing to take previously self-published material. Annual "indie" anthologies and such. However, what they pay is a drop in the bucket as far as making a living is concerned.

 

I meant the anthologies you have to be nominated for like The Pushcart Prize and The Best of series.

 

yeah I under stand that - I am on the shy side of forty with a family and debt, I would still be hurting even selling a few novels to a major publisher. So, with that in mind, I think it would be better to go ahead and write my shorts and be happy with it. at the very least (which right now seems glamorious) I could make a few bucks off of my shorts and still find part-time work doing something I love as opposed to the dredge I go to everyday now.

Also- I would much rather die on my own (short) sword and be happy then to push myself to write full-length novels because that is what the market dictates I do. I am a believer also that, especially in this day and after of self-publishing and opportunities, that I can find a way to make a living wage from this.

I better end this early morning rant now I know the odds are against me but as the title of one of my favorite books testifies: THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY.

 

A living wage as a short story writer? You're going to have to couple that with grants and fellowships and still be poor. I also don't think the market is dictating that anyone write a novel. If that's not your thing, it's not your thing. But selling a short story every week is impossible. First, these places take weeks or months to respond. Then there are a few months before the story is published, and you get paid once the story is published not when it's accepted. Seriously, selling two stories a year to reputable short story markets is an accomplishment. And that's not easy at all. I'm not trying to discourage you, but the reality of it is a lot different than some of your expectations.

 

I definetly see what you and everyone else is talking about. It sucks but if I am to be a writing then I must adapt and find new ways. - thanks for the help everyone

 

If you put a snippet or an early draft of a short in the WF Workshop, is it dead? Can you still submit it to magazines and whatnot? Months ago, I saw a post that had been deleted and replaced with a message about the piece being published. Is that legit?

 

The workshop is behind a password. However, anyone can be a member. I don’t think it counts as ‘published’, but I’m going with an excess of caution—I want to personally know everybody who reads my stuff.

 

This would not fly with the publishers I've personally worked with. I know from either their guidelines and/or the contracts I've had to sign. So, personally, I wouldn't do it. I know people can make arguments either way. I'm just speaking from my experience. Password protected would not have made a difference. You can do whatever you want, but just know there is some risk involved. Just check out the submission guidelines for One Story. They specifically mention the THEY view work posted in forums as "published." So, that's one publication you would have to cross off the list. One Story has been around a long time and is a respectable publication that pays good money for their stories. And I think, at least when you are publishing and submitting at this level, that these places really do not want work that has appeared ANYWHERE when they buy first rights.

 

What about early drafts of a short story? or if a rough version of a story was posted here for a critique before a second of third version? I would assume that to be safe the story should go no further then a few beta readers. but it never hurts to ask.

 

Snippets are fine if they're truly snippets. It's hard to argue a work has been published when only a tiny percentage of it is available. And one of the sticklers I've seen had no problem with early drafts, especially in a setting like the Workshop.

I'd be more hesitant about posting full, intended-to-be-final drafts.

 

You're obviously not getting the answer you want from me. I was just sharing my thoughts and knowledge of the way I know the industry to work. I'm not the only one with an opinion, but I think mine is very clear and I've explained it on this sight multiple times to different members. Do what you want. Honestly, this whole thing about posting here is one I'm a little sick of having. If you don't like my answer, that's okay. You're more than welcome to find those contradicting things I have to say or you can just figure it all out on your own. Good luck.