The Truth About the Short Story Market

Many writers think that they can break into the fiction writing market by writing short stories either for contests or for publication. While this might have been true at one time, it is seldom the case today. Plenty of magazines from all different genres have forsaken the short story in favor of the personal anecdote and short fiction is difficult to sell on the Internet. If you want to write short stories, however, there are ways to get your foot in the door.

First of all, the truth about the short story market is that you can't submit a condensed novel and expect it to sell. Short stories are a form of writing all to themselves and are not simply miniature novels. They typically have fewer characters, a more defined plot and more action from beginning to end. Readers of short stories pick them up with a purpose; they don't want to spend the first fifteen minutes reading an introduction to your story world. They want to know what's going on, what the conflict is, and how the story will pace itself.

The second truth about the short story market is that your writing must be excellent. Short stories aren't a way for a less-than-talented writer to sharpen his or her skills; publishers expect quality writing from the start. And because short story publishers receive a great deal of submissions, they aren't going to waste their time editing and perfecting a sub-standard manuscript.

You should also know that writing short stories isn't often a good way to break into full-length novels. You can submit clips of your short stories to prospective publishers along with your completed full-length manuscript, but they often don't carry much weight, if any at all. Many writers make their livings writing short stories and nothing else because they are just as detailed and complicated as novels, just in different ways.