The Journal: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction?

In today’s Journal

* Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction?
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction?

Not sure why I thought of this again today, but a while back, probably a year or so ago, a friend asked whether I thought a writer could make a living writing short fiction.

I said no, I didn’t believe so.

I was thinking of the heirarchy of sales in ebooks. Novels in series sell best, then individual novels, then novellas, then short story collections, then short stories. So looking at that, no, you can’t really make much money writing short fiction.

BUT short fiction takes a lot less time to write than novellas or novels. And there are a LOT of magazine markets for short fiction now. And the submission process is relatively easy (just be sure to follow the publication’s guidelines).

And there are Heinlein’s Rules….

So let’s say the writer is an adherent of Heinlein’s Rules, meaning he spends his writing time practicing his craft rather than hovering over rewrites.

And let’s say the writer is relatively prolific. If he can routinely turn out one or more novel per month, he could probably turn out 20 to 30 short stories in the same month instead.

And if he submits those short stories to markets that pay professional rates (say 5 cents or more per word), that’s 20 to 30 submissions in a month, every month. Plus he’s constantly practicing his craft and improving his storytelling ability, so the acceptances will start to come in. Plus when a rejection comes in, the writer sends the submission right back out to another market.

So my answer has changed. If a writer enjoys writing short fiction, has the ability to approach this thing we do as a profession, and follows the roadmap above, then yes, I believe a writer can make good money, maybe even a living, writing short stories.

Just wanted to get this out there. Of course, it’s just my luck that I’d rather write novels. Sigh.

Talk with you again when I can.

Of Interest

See “Vicolo Inferno” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vicolo-inferno. Exciting. Not a great article, but this caused me to wonder just how it would be to write a full battle scene in a tightly confined space.

See “Lakeside Ghost Towns” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ghost-towns-lake-urmia-iran. More story/scene/setting ideas.

See “Starting a Story” at https://mystorydoctor.com/david-farlands-writing-tip-starting-a-story/. Does anyone here still need help starting a story?

See “Aboard the Giant Sand-Sucking Ships…” at https://getpocket.com/explore/item/aboard-the-giant-sand-sucking-ships-that-china-uses-to-reshape-the-world. Story ideas abound. Long article. Stick with it.

See “The Navajo Code Talkers” at http://ronnyhermandejong.com/a-new-life-retirement-at-its-best-2020-38/. You’ll have to scroll down a bit. There’s a short, very good film at the end.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 450 words

Writing of Body on the Beach (novel, working title)

Day 1…… 1135 words. Total words to date…… 1135
Day 1…… 1409 words. Total words to date…… 2544

Total fiction words for the month……… 7817
Total fiction words for the year………… 323100
Total nonfiction words for the month… 6180
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 143750
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 466850

Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 5
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 12
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 50
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 208
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31