Fiction Writing Masterclass
Lesson 8: Where to Publish & Get Paid For Your Fiction Writing
In our final lesson, we’ll focus on publishing your work, and the different markets that will pay you for your fiction because no one wants to be a starving writer.
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This is the eighth and last lesson in an 8-part series on writing fiction. It has been designed to take you through the process of writing a short story from start to finish. For more information, including the content covered in each lesson, check out my introductory post here.
If you’ve been following the lessons in this masterclass, you should now have a fully-formed and polished short story ready to go out into the world. Hurrah! Take a moment to acknowledge this achievement because you are now one step closer to realizing your dream of being a published fiction writer.
The next step in the process is getting your work published, so, in our very last lesson in this fiction writing series, I want to share with you five different markets that pay for fiction because, let’s be honest, no one wants to be a starving artist. These markets are:
- Print and digital publications, like journals, and magazines;
- Bidding sites and marketplaces;
- Self-publishing, including digital platforms, blogs, and eBooks;
- Competitions; and
- Traditional publishing.
While reading about these five markets below, keep in mind that the best market for you should align with your writing motivations and goals and also take into consideration any constraints you may have. As a new fiction writer, you may not have established what these are yet, but you should consider things like:
- earning potential
- exposure
- credibility
- level of control over your work
- support offered
- recognition
- community
- time restraints
- personal strengths and weaknesses
