Short stories were really popular until the birth of the novel in the 18th century. Since then, short stories have been overlooked by readers in the past, but in recent years, they have become more and more popular for a number of reasons –
- People have less time to read and want a quick fix of reading time.
- eBooks and online reading options, such as a blogs, offer the option for readers to read when and where they want to.
- There has simply been a growth in different forms of writing as the internet has blown the options for writing open wide.
A short story usually only has one story idea, with no subplot. It will usually take the reader through the whole story in a short number of words.
Short stories can be really short, such as 50 words, up to about 7500.
We can write short stories and publish them as –
- Anthologies
- Ebooks
- Pamphlets
- Blogs
- On fan fiction websites
- On short story and literature websites
- Etc etc etc etc
The options are virtually limitless and are out there.
If you are writing short stories for fun, perhaps start a blog or free website where you can share you work. Or join story sharing sites.
If you want to make money from your short story writing –
- Decide on your genre(s).
- Do your research, find out more about your options.
- Find out where stories like yours sell.
- Promote yourself –
- Talk to people about your work
- Post on social media about your work
- Write blogs etc.
A good starting point is also to take a course specifically focussed on short story writing. And we just happen to have one! Read more about the course here.
Good luck with your writing!