How To Write a Short Story

In this blog, you’ll learn how to write a short story.

There are too many blogs that can tell you how to write a short story with as little effort as possible.

This guide to writing short fiction is going to do something different. We don’t want to gloss over the subject with a few pointers and send you off to write without a fully understanding of the mechanics of fiction.

We want to help you write a short story that real readers want to devour—perhaps more than once. Yes, devour!

Your goal is to craft a story that pulls the reader in from the first paragraph.

Short stories are brief compared to a novel, so you don’t have a full chapter to capture interest and convince your reader to commit to the tale you’ve spun.

Why Should You Keep Reading?

Our first goal with this guide is to help you understand the basics like what a short story is and the foundational elements of fiction craft.

While that information may require a bit of study and even practice, it’s essential to writing fiction of any length that will hook readers.

From there, we’ll work through the process of brainstorming, developing, writing, editing, and even turning a profit from short fiction.

Here’s a secret that we’ll give you right from the start: there’s more than one way to write fiction.

Every writer eventually develops their own process, and there are endless formulated approaches out there.

This guide will introduce you to the main concepts so that you can get to writing—that’s ultimately what it takes to settle on a process that works for you. Once you read this guide from start to end, you’ll have all the tools needed to start writing short stories or even dabbling in long-form fiction like novellas and novels.

From there, it’s just a matter of sitting down and writing the stories that only you can tell. Yes, there are stories entirely unique to you. Yes, you!

What is a Short Story?

Short stories are fictional tales that are more condensed than novelettes, novellas, and novels.

There are no set word counts that qualify a story for these categories, and you’ll see different numbers thrown around online.

To give you a general range for your short stories, consider the guidelines offered by Kindlepreneur:

• Flash Fiction – Under 1,000 words
• Short Story – 1,000 to 10,000 words
• Novelette – 7,500 to 20,000 words
• Novella – 17,500 to 40,000 words
• Novel – Over 40,000 words

Another way to think about word counts for fiction is where your work would fit into Amazon’s Kindle store.

Short stories typically qualify for the Short Reads categories, which include shorter works that readers can enjoy in a single sitting.

We’ll talk more about the Kindle store later when we discuss your options for earning money from short fiction.

Writing a Short Story vs. Writing a Novel

Short stories share all the basic elements of longer fiction. You still need strong characters that are realistic and intriguing.

You still need a general sense of setting, which requires dedicating some time to world-building.

Every story also needs conflict and plot regardless of length. Of course, an opening that hooks the reader and a satisfying ending are essential as well.

If you aren’t sure what it really takes to build relatable characters or develop a compelling story setting, don’t worry!

We’ll introduce you to the elements of great fiction in just a moment.

The difference between a short story and a novel is that you don’t need as much of those elements to write a good short story.

A shorter length means fewer characters, less attention to setting, and fewer plot points.

For some writers, short fiction is more challenging because they don’t have as much room for character development and detailed storytelling.

Basic Elements of Short Fiction

It’s time to get into the mechanics of crafting a great short story.

The building blocks of fiction are the same for stories of any length.

Some stories will emphasize some of these elements more than others, but every fictional story should cover all of these bases to some extent.

Characters

Your characters are the people in your story. There are generally three categories of characters that appear in a short story:

• Protagonist – This is the main character on which the story is centered. There is something that they want or need and an obstacle or two standing in their way. In some cases, they believe their life is perfect and they have everything they need and want, but something unexpected pulls them out of that perfect world and into a new reality. How they respond and change over the course of the story is what compels the reader to keep flipping pages.
• Antagonist – The character or entity standing in the protagonist’s way. Your antagonist may take the form of the protagonist’s arch enemy, a complete stranger who becomes a major obstacle, or the protagonist’s personal flaw that stands in their own way.
• Side Characters – These are other people in your protagonist’s life who may make an appearance in the story. Realistic people are surrounded by family members, friends, colleagues, demanding bosses, and random people encountered in daily life. In a short story, every character should have a purpose. A dark, heavy story theme is often lightened by a sarcastic or hilariously funny side character. Your side characters may also allow you to deliver key details to the reader without spelling them out in narration. For instance, your protagonist may tell her best friend everything she’s thinking and feeling, which also reveals those details to the reader.

You may base your characters on people you have known in real life or create them entirely from your imagination.

What matters is that they come across as realistic or even relatable people in the minds of your readers.

You want those characters to go running down the street, strutting through the office, or letting their hair down at the bar inside the reader’s mind as they devour your story.

You do that by making sure your characters have all of the following:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses or flaws
• Goals
• Desires
• Motivations
• Social networks

Even the people you love and respect most have flaws.

Humans aren’t perfect, and neither are believable characters.

While you may not want to directly point out a character’s strengths and flaws, they should become apparent through the character’s words, actions, and responses to obstacles in the story’s plot—we’ll get to plot in a moment.

Some of the best writers start with character-building when creating a new story.

The weird quirks and background of a character can fuel a compelling plot that locks the reader in from the very first paragraph, if not the first line.

In fact, it’s the protagonist’s internal transformation and growth that creates great fiction.

Even if you’re writing a thriller or detective story, it won’t fulfill the reader if you don’t have a strong character going through some type of challenge that leads to transformation.

Consider a passage from the book Story Genius by Lisa Cron:

“Story is about an internal struggle, not an external one.

It’s about what the protagonist has to learn, to overcome, to deal with internally in order to solve the problem that the external plot poses.”

While it’s focused on novel writing, this book is pure gold for any writer who is serious about learning how to craft great fiction of any length.

It discusses the protagonist’s internal struggle—often referred to as the “third rail”—in great length, highlighting its role in creating emotional impact in fiction. The idea is that every element of a story must touch that third rail (internal struggle) in some way. If it doesn’t, it most likely doesn’t belong in the story.

To make it quick and simple:

• Your protagonist goes into the story with one view of the world and leaves it with another. The events in your plot trigger the internal change that leads to the shift in viewpoint.
• Your antagonist(s) create roadblocks or obstacles that stop your protagonist from getting what they want or that somehow disrupt the protagonist’s world.
• Side or support characters all play a role in helping you get your character through their journey.

Setting

The setting refers to where your story takes place.

Novel writing often involves extensive world-building to create a realistic backdrop for the story.

Short stories require less extensive work in that area because you don’t have much space to detail the surroundings unless they play a critical role in the story. You still need some sense of where your characters are and what their world is like.

A full-length novel will force you to follow your protagonist as they venture beyond their own home, but that’s not always the case with a short story.

Some stories begin and end in the same location because they may cover a shorter period of time than a novel.

For instance, one short story may take place entirely in the character’s apartment while another transitions between a house and the local park.

You don’t need long narratives that detail where your characters live and work.

You want to weave small details into the story to ground your characters without distracting from the unraveling story. Some things you can mention include:

• Weather – How does it impact a character’s goals or plans for the day?
• Time – Is it midnight or noon? Is it running out fast or ticking by all too slowly?
• Mood – Does the dirty couch change the protagonist’s mind about a potential love interest? Does the snowstorm trap a character indoors, leading to depression?

Notice that these elements of setting have a direct impact on the characters and thus on the story.

Every element of your story should serve a purpose, or you should cut it out entirely.

Conflict in a Short Story

Every short story needs a source of conflict to build tension and push the characters beyond their comfort zones.

Just as things don’t always go your way in life, your characters can’t exist blissfully in a world free of tension.

Perhaps your protagonist’s life is peaceful and stress-free on page one, but something must happen to push them into action.

Since short stories are condensed, it’s best to start your story at the heart of the action. That means something has already happened to push your protagonist beyond her comfort zone.

For example, perhaps your protagonist is a librarian who has stuck to a rather boring, predictable routine for her entire adult life.

At the opening of your story, maybe she’s no longer tucking into bed by 8 p.m. every night because she’s taking slow drives through the neighborhood with binoculars in one hand and a gun in the glove box.

Maybe she’s determined to catch the scoundrel who broke into her home and stole her departed mother’s diamond necklace, making her feel unsafe in her own home and driving her to chronic insomnia.

Notice how that scenario ties the action of the story—the plot—to the emotional world of the protagonist.

She was living a rather ordinary life until an unexpected event made her feel unsafe and interrupted her ability to sleep at night.

Those emotions are what drive her reaction to the event. How she reacts also shows us more about who she is as a person.

She’s the type to go do something rather than hide in her home behind locked doors.

Remember our discussion of the “third rail” during our exploration of characterization above?

In our example here, the third rail is the protagonist’s determination to catch the neighborhood thief, recover her mother’s jewelry, and restore her sense of safety.

That third rail is driving the plot in our example, which is how you create enough tension and emotion to keep your readers flipping pages.

Types of Literary Conflict

There are two primary types of conflict in fiction:

• Internal Conflict – The tension stems from within the character. What they want or need is at odds with a desire or belief of their own. For example, your character may want nothing more than to follow through with his upcoming marriage to his fiancé, but his heart has fallen hopelessly in love with someone else.
• External Conflict – The tension stems from someone or something beyond the character’s control. Turning our example upside down, perhaps your character is excited about his upcoming wedding day but is devastated when his finance reveals she has fallen in love with someone else.

Most great stories include at least one external and one internal source of conflict.

Just resist the urge to exploit every opportunity for conflict in a short story.

You want to do every conflict justice and wrap it all up at the end without getting too complicated or cluttered.

To determine which potential conflicts you should exploit, keep your eye on that “third rail” that we discussed above when talking about characterization.

Every source of conflict should touch back to that third rail.

Sources of Conflict in Short Fiction

Before we move on to plot, consider a short list of potential conflict sources for your short stories.

You can twist these to fit virtually any genre.

• Character vs. character (external)
• Character vs. self (internal)
• Character vs. forces of nature (external)
• Character vs. supernatural forces (external)
• Character vs. fate (external)
• Character vs. society or culture (external/possible internal)
• Character vs. machine (external)

Think about some of your favorite novels or short stories.

Can you identify which types of conflict are central to those stories?

How does the write blend multiple types of conflict to create a compelling story?

Plot in a Short Story

The plot is the action that occurs in your story.

It’s the series of events that keep your characters moving from the first page to the last.

You may start out with a very basic outline of a plot that goes something like this example:

• Mary Jane is your average college student, flunking every class but never missing a party. Her biggest problem is how to break the news to her parents that she isn’t going back home for the holidays until one devastating moment on the third-floor balcony of a fraternity house.
• Feeling the alcohol all too much and perhaps a touch of a contact high, she laughs as her best friend stands on the railing and flings her arms into the air, pretending to fly like a bird. Mary Jane stumbles forward to get on the railing too, knocking into her best friend’s legs. She leans over the railing and watches as her friend lands in a lump on the ground below.
• Looking around, Mary Jane realizes that no one else saw what happened. Scared of what may happen to her, she goes back to the party and pretends to act shocked when someone discovers her best friend lying in alley way behind the house.
• Mary Jane hears through the grapevine that police are visiting everyone who was at the party, and her anxiety is out of control. She becomes paranoid and starts having anxiety attacks in class. While she could get away without anyone knowing she accidentally knocked her best friend from the railing, it’s ultimately her own mind that drives her to turn herself in.

That loose idea of a plot covers the series of events to occur in the short story.

It also touches the third rail, which is Mary Jane’s desire to hide what happened at the party to protect herself from what she believes would become a horrible punishment with jail time.

The internal conflict is deeply connected to the plot points and will ultimately cause her to go against what she originally wanted—to get away with it—in order to relieve her emotional agony.

That exemplifies how plot and conflict should work hand in hand.

There are many ways to create plot, and some writers get more detailed in plotting than others.

You may try multiple approaches to plotting before finding what works for you.

Let’s get into more details so you know a bit about the options.

Plotting vs. Pantsing

Plotting is the act of planning the plot for your short story before you begin writing.

There are many plotting processes that authors use, and prolific authors often create their own system.

We’ll talk about some plotting structures in a moment, but for right now, let’s discuss one heated controversy that has been raging amongst the writing community for years: plotting vs. pantsing.

Pantsing is writing fiction stories without plotting or advance planning.

You sit down with whatever glimmer of an idea or character you may have in your head, and you start writing.

Some writers feel that knowing the plot points in advance ruins the magic of the story.

They enjoy not knowing and discovering the surprises as they write, even if it means they need to spend more time mending plot holes and adjusting the details in the editing stage.

The argument for plotting is that you can ensure adequate conflict, emotion, and action to drive a compelling story from start to finish without holes in the plot.

You can make sure everything touches that third rail—jump back up to the discussion of characters if you aren’t sure what that means at this point.

Plotting often leads to a cleaner rough draft, but you must take precautions not to fall into a generic story with paper-thin characters that don’t feel real and believable.

Remember that plot is intertwined with internal and external conflict, all of which is directly connected to the protagonist’s internal struggle or transformation.

Either you deal with those details while plotting before you start writing, or you do it in the rewriting and editing stage after you pants your way through a rough draft. Either way, plot points and conflict are essential to writing a short story.

Basic Plot Structure for Short Stories

The following represents a basic plot structure for short fiction:

• Set-Up – This is the beginning of the story where your main characters are introduced. Longer fiction may take time to show the characters in their normal lives before the plot forces them into a new reality, but short stories often drop the character in the thick of the action and use backstory to fill in past details as needed. Either way, the beginning should establish who your main characters are and goal or objective they’re chasing. What do they want or need?
• Major Turning Point – Something happens to push the protagonist out of their comfort zone and into action. This something is often an obstacle to something they want or a conflict so dire that they can’t ignore it and must react. This should come close to the beginning of the story if you don’t put your character in the middle of the drama from the start. You don’t have much room with short stories.
• Rising Action – This is the middle of your story and typically includes multiple plot points. Your main characters are chasing their goals, trying to get what they want, learning lessons, and failing miserably. Layers of conflict work well here, but make sure everything has a direct cause-and-effect relationship that relates back to that third rail in some way. Plotting this section is tricky and is a bit different for every story. Tropes and expectations for your genre may help, and we’ll discuss that in more detail later.
• Climax – The tension rises throughout the rising action until it all comes to one dramatic head in the climax. If your story rests primarily on internal conflict, then this won’t turn into a loud battle with swords or bombs. It can feel very quiet and still have the intensity needed to settle the main conflict once and for all. The climactic scene often forces the protagonist to make a difficult decision, and it usually brings about internal change or a major transformation.
• Resolution – The ending of the story shows the aftermath of the climax and wraps up any loose ends with secondary conflict and characters. Some genres have expectations for the resolution, notably the happily ever after ending for romance short stories.

If you want some sense of plot to guide you through the writing process, try to come up with plot points for each of these points of the story.

You can always change things up as you get to know your character more and the details of the story emerge in the writing process.

Other Plotting Models to Consider

The basic plot structure just introduced is adequate for most short stories, but there are so many plotting methods out there for longer fiction.

Some of those plot models are relevant for short story writers as well, so we put together a quick list of resources that will guide you in further exploration if you want to master your own strategy for plotting.

• The Hero’s Journey
• 7-Point Story Structure (starts at the resolution and works backwards)
• Save the Cat
• Romancing the Beat (for romance novels/stories)

Theme in a Short Story

The theme is the overarching idea that is addressed by the story as a whole.

You can pick up on some common themes by looking at the subcategories in Amazon’s Kindle store.

Those categories are used to help readers find books related to themes that they will enjoy.

Some of the subcategories currently listed for the contemporary women’s fiction category include:

• Career
• Divorce
• Family life
• Parenthood
• Sisterhood
• Weddings

A story about a single mom navigating difficult times with a newborn may easily fit a theme related to parenthood.

If your story is focused on conflict between two sisters and the resulting impact on the extended family, then it could fit into themes related to sisterhood and family life.

You don’t want to intentionally write a story that makes a specific point.

Most stories will naturally develop themes as you write, rewrite, and edit.

Readers may pull out themes that you don’t even pick up on while writing your story.

Point of View in a Short Story

Point of view (POV) refers to the character or entity viewing and relaying the story from their perspective.

Every detail revealed in the story comes through the eyes of that POV character or entity, and they can prove reliable and trustworthy or not.

There are multiple options for point of view:

• First Person POV – A character—often the protagonist—serves as the narrator. This POV is distinguished by the character speaking directly to the reader with the more personal “I” sentence form. Example: I walked to the kitchen for a glass of milk, but the shadow in the corner above the sink stopped me in my tracks.
• Second-Person POV – The narrator speaks to the reader as if they are the star of the story. This point of view is rarely if ever used in fiction. Example: You walk into the kitchen for a glass of milk, but the shadow in the corner above the sink stops you in your tracks.
• Third-Person POV – The writer or an unknown storyteller is revealing the story. Omniscient third-person allows the narrator to go into the thoughts and motivations of every character, giving the writer greater control when revealing details, thoughts, and emotions at each stage of the story. Example: Tamra walks into the kitchen for a glass of water but stops in her tracks when the dark shadow in the corner over the sink emerges. She looks around for Tommy, but he’s nowhere in sight.

Short stories are often told through one point of view.

That ensures the reader doesn’t get confused when a different narrator’s voice interrupts mid-story.

If you do want to provide the perspective of multiple characters, make sure to create clear dividers in the story when you switch between POV characters. You may even change the voice through writing style adjustments in each section to make it clear who is speaking at every point.

The Short Story Writing Process

If your head is spinning from the mechanics of writing a great short story? You can go back to those elements of fiction writing later.

For now, let’s discuss the process of coming up with great story ideas and sitting down to write.

This is where the magic happens, so get ready to see how much fun writing short fiction really is!

Step 1: Idea Generation

Start by coming up with an intriguing idea for a story. This is often done by asking one question:

What if?

What if an expectant mother is unexpectedly widowed and must choose between keeping her baby and raising it alone or allowing a more established family member to adopt the baby?

What if aliens from another planet suddenly descended on earth in large spacecraft and an epic war with humanity erupted?

Allow your creativity to unleash without restraint.

Brainstorm as many ideas as you can think of, and try to flesh the more promising ideas out into rough plot points.

Another option is to start with a character who has a problem or a strong desire for something they can’t have right away.

Remember, all stories are rooted in the personal journey of the protagonist.

Can you imagine something that a specific character really wants, needs, or expects? What might stand in their way?

Step 2: Story Development

Once you settle on a story idea, it’s time to start developing it with the plot structure of your choice.

We touched on this above in the discussion of plot. I

f you don’t want to plot and prefer to pants your way through the rough draft, skip this step.

If you want some type of plot or outline to guide the writing process, start plotting and planning your story.

Look back at all elements of crafting fiction that we discussed above, and start determining the details of your story, including:

• Who are your protagonist, antagonist, and secondary/side/supportive characters?
• Where does your story take place?
• What is the primary goal or objective that your protagonist wants to achieve? Is there a timeline or deadline for this goal? What will happen if they don’t make the deadline?
• What is the protagonist’s motivation that pushes them to reach the goal or objective?
• What stands in the way of your protagonist reaching the goal or objective?
• Who is the narrator for the story? What is your chosen point of view?

Look back at the basic plot structure elaborated above in the discussion on plot.

Use that to flesh out the plot points for your story.

Make sure those points follow a cause-and-effect pattern that is realistic, and that every point touches the third rail in some way.

If you don’t remember what the third rail of a story is, look back to the discussion of characters earlier in this guide.

You may end this step with a basic list of plot points or a detailed outline that includes a scene-by-scene breakdown of your story.

Either way, don’t get so locked into the outline that you fail to acknowledge changes that are revealed in the writing process.

Outlines and plotting points are designed to change as you get to know your characters more in the writing process.

Step 3: Writing the First Draft

Whether you have a rough plot, a detailed outline, or you’re ready to pants your way through, it’s time to write your rough draft.

The point here is to just get your story out. It gives you something to work with so that you’re not just staring at a blank screen or paper.

The best way to write your story is to sit down and start writing.

Hopefully, you’ve done some work studying the elements of fiction craft and have an idea of who your characters are and what they want to achieve. Use that early exploratory work to guide you in writing your story.

Your inner critic is going to surface, criticizing the story at points or all the way through. It’s important to ignore that inner voice and just keep writing.

You can’t craft an amazing story if you never get the rough draft out of the way.

Nothing is set in stone, so allow yourself to simply have fun writing and getting to know your characters.

Let it Rest!

It’s best to let this first version of your short story rest for at least a few days if not a week or even a month.

You can write other short stories in the meantime, but don’t look at your short story until at least a few days have passed.

You can then read and rewrite it to your heart’s content. You will see the story and characters differently after giving yourself a little separation from them.

At this point, you may want to go back through the mechanics of writing a short story that we detailed above.

Look at your short story to see if the characters feel real and genuine, the plot flows logically, and there are multiple sources of conflict to keep the story moving.

Look at the ending to make sure everything is wrapped up in a satisfying manner as well unless you want to leave loose ends intentionally.

Before moving into the editing stage, you should have a working short story that you feel is worthy of a reader’s attention.

Step 4: Editing

Editing is more than picking up on obvious grammatical errors or misspellings.

Those are important, but the editing process can also include identifying holes in your plot or admitting that your characters fall flat and don’t feel real.

There are different types of editing, including the following:

• Developmental Editing – Big picture elements of the story, including structure, characterization, setting, dialogue, voice, consistency, and sentence phrasing.
• Line Editing – Every line of your short story is evaluated for word choice, sentence structure, and more.
• Copyediting/Proofreading – A detailed review of the story to pick up on grammar issues, typos, punctuation problems, and other issues with basic writing mechanics.

You can edit your own short stories if you have a solid grasp on grammar, spelling, and story craft. Even prolific, established writers find that professional editors pick up on mistakes that they didn’t see with many reads of their own work. If you want to publish your short stories for profit, consider professional editing if it’s within your budget.

At this point, you have a marketable short story. The question is what you do with it, and we’re going to talk about that next.

How to Make Money Writing Short Stories

What do you do with the short stories you write?

You can simply write for your own enjoyment or share them with loved ones, but there is potential to make money writing short stories.

The following discussion will lead you toward some of the best options available today, and then we’ll leave you with a list of resources to help you move forward with writing short stories that real readers want to devour.

Self-Publishing Short Fiction

You don’t have to write full novels to self-publish online.

You will need to create a cover for your story that fits within your chosen genre.

You will also need to write a description that convinces readers to give your story a shot when they find it in an online marketplace.

The best options to self-publish short stories include the following:

• Amazon’s Kindle store
• Amazon’s Vella
• Apple Pages
• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble

The catch with self-publishing is you have no guarantee to ever earn a substantial amount of money.

In general, selecting an in-demand genre and publishing as frequently as possible will give you the best chances at earning enough money to quit your day job and earn a living writing short fiction.

After you publish a number of short stories, you can compile them into short story collections.

Publishing Short Stories Online

Besides publishing to online marketplaces like Amazon, you can publish your short stories through collaborative sites like Medium.

The more people read and interact with your stories, the more you can earn monthly.

Another option is to start your own short story website or blog.

You will need to market to let readers know how to find you and what you offer, but there are multiple options for monetizing your site.

You may add ads to the site or allow paid advertisers through other networks.

Readers may also pay for a monthly or weekly short story subscription if they like your work.

Submitting to Literary Journals

Yes, printed literary journals are still out there! Some small presses and magazines will also accept short story submissions.

The catch is that you may wait months to receive a response, if you ever receive one at all.

Printed journals and magazines receive far more submissions than they can ever print, so the chances of getting published are low.

To find publications open to short story submissions, you may want to invest in the current edition of the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market.

Entering Short Story Competitions

Many literary journals and magazines hold short story writing competitions.

The downside is you will typically have to pay an entry fee and only one or two winners are often selected.

There’s never a guarantee of publication when you go this route, but winning a competition may help you promote your self-published short stories or even longer works of fiction if you choose to go that route in the future.

Competitions are often listed in the current edition of the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market.

Is Marketing Important for Short Story Writers?

While we’re discussing how you can make money writing short stories, we have to touch on marketing.

That’s a massive topic that we can’t possibly cover in this space beyond stating that marketing is important, especially if you plan to self-publish stories online.

Authors often hit “publish” on Amazon and wait for the sales to roll in, but it rarely happens that way. You need to promote yourself so that readers know you exist.

It’s generally said that you will either invest your time or your money when marketing online.

A little of both is probably best, but you may need more of both to get established as a profitable author.

If you want to self-publish short stories or longer fiction, the following tips will give you some beginner’s insight into marketing and promotion.

Quick Tips for Marketing Short Stories

• Establish an online author platform. Your platform may include a profile on LinkedIn, a personal website or blog that introduces your work and expands on your most popular characters, and social media accounts. BookTok on TikTok is a real thing, for starters.
• Give away some of your best work. Publish a few short stories on Medium and include links to your self-published stories. Give up some of your stories on LinkedIn while networking with readers and authors. A little taste of your writing style may encourage readers to pay for other stories.
• Start marketing and networking before you hit publish. Sometimes, documenting the process of writing and publishing short stories will grab the attention of readers looking for a new favourite author. When you let everyone know that you’re a writer and show what you’re up to, you may find a lot of people waiting eagerly for the next release.
• Join forces with other short fiction writers. If you can get in on a giveaway through someone else’s well-established blog or offer to promote with other authors, you can take advantage of one another’s audience. Maybe you can even list some of your stories in a compilation with great stories from other authors in your genre. Networking will reveal these opportunities.

Resources for Short Fiction Writers

Do you want to learn more about writing short stories? The following resources can help:

• Reedsy
• Storyteller’s Roadmap
• AutoCrit
• Save the Cat
• Writers Helping Writers
• Scrivener
• Jami Gold Worksheets for Writers
• Story Structure Database

Further Reading

How To Write A Business Book

Hiring An Editor For Your Book

How To Publish Your Book

How To Become A Ted Talk Speaker 

Publishing Trends in 2022

How To Write A Book Proposal 

How To Hire A Ghostwriter 

Hybrid Publishing Vs Self Publishing 

How To Hire A Ghostwriter On Upwork