17 Paying Markets for your Short Stories

Writers should be paid for their work. After all, how many hours of work and little bits of our souls go into our stories, from pondering the backstories of the characters to the editing process? Here are some paying markets for flash fiction and short stories that I have found, through lots of searching. They all accept international submissions.

General tips for submitting:

• Read the guidelines carefully, including word limit, formatting and what to include on the cover letter.
• Read other stories in the magazine to get an idea of what they like
• Get at least one reader to look over your work before submitting
• If your story gets rejected, keep writing and keep submitting!

Check out my list of international writing competitions or useful writing resources

 

1. Carve Zine

Short stories 1 – 10,000 words. There is a $3 USD fee. Subscribe to submit for free. Carve offer feedback on a small percentage of declined submissions. Go to site.

2. Flash Fiction Online

Accepts flash 500 – 1,000 words. Free submissions. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Literary, Horror, Humour. Go to site.

3. Crannog Magazine

Stories under 2,000 words. Can nominate for the Pushcart Prize. Normally open in November and June.

4. Shooter Literary Magazine

Literary fiction between 2,000 and 7,500 words. Pays 25 GBP per story. Check the theme for the current issue here.

5. Helios Quarterly

This is a magazine of horror, science fiction and fantasy, open in June each year. Stories should be 100 – 7,500 words. Pays $. 06 cents USD per word.

6. The Dark Magazine

Publishes horror and dark fantasy. Stories between 2,000 – 6,000 words. Pays 6 cents per word.

7. Daily Science Fiction

Check the website for the latest submission opportunity of short stories.

8. Malahat Review

One story of up to 8,000 words or up to 3 flash fiction stories of up to 750 words.

9. The Masters Review

Stories up to 7,000 words. Free submissions or pay $10 for a quicker response time. Critiques available also.

10. Mslexia

Mslexia publish fiction by women writers. Free to submit and pays 25GBP. No reprints.

11. Asimov’s Science Fiction

Science fiction stories between 1,000 and 20,000 words.

12. Vestal Review

Accepts original flash fiction of 500 words or less. Pays $25 per story, with a fee of $2 per story.

13. Flash Fiction Magazine

Stories between 300 – 1,000 words. One free submission per calendar month. Pays $60 per story. Go to site.

14. Contrary Magazine

Publishes short fiction. Pays $20 per author per issue.

15. The Baltimore Review

One story up to 5,000 words or up to 3 flash fiction pieces.

16. Split Lip Magazine

Short Fiction under 2,500 words or flash under 1,000 words. Pays $50 per author.

17. The Forge Literary Magazine

Short stories under 3,000 words and flash fiction. Pays $50 per story.

Over to you, have you submitted anything recently? Have you had any interesting rejections?

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