The main routes to publish short stories online are literary journals, genre and online-only magazines, themed anthologies and contests, and self-publishing or serial platforms. The practical next step is to polish your manuscript, shortlist two to three outlets that fit your story's genre and length, follow each one's submission guidelines exactly, and submit. Expect rejections along the way and keep a simple log of where and when you sent each piece.
TL;DR:
- Target literary journals or magazines that match your story’s genre and follow their submission guidelines precisely to avoid automatic rejections.
- Use standard manuscript formatting, save files correctly, and prepare a concise cover letter to improve acceptance chances.
- Clarify rights and payment terms before acceptance, knowing that most professional markets pay per word or flat rates, while smaller outlets often pay nothing.
- Expect long response times and use a tracking system to manage multiple submissions and follow up efficiently.
- Consider self-publishing on platforms like Stardust Literacy for immediate reader contact and flexible monetization options.
Table of Contents
- Where to submit your short stories
- How to prepare your story and submission packet
- What to check in rights, payment, and copyright
- How submissions actually work: portals, timelines, and tracking
- Stardust Literacy: a platform option for publishing and audience-building
- How to market and promote your story after acceptance
- What I've learned about rejection and realistic expectations
- Ready to publish directly and build your own readership?
- FAQ
- Sources
Where to submit your short stories
Different outlets reward different goals, so the right choice depends on whether you want pay, prestige, exposure, or a direct relationship with readers.
Top-tier literary journals carry the most weight for building a writing career and often pay respectable rates, but competition is fierce and response times can run long. Mid-tier literary journals offer a realistic entry point for newer writers, usually with smaller but genuine readerships and faster turnaround. Genre magazines focus on specific categories like science fiction, horror, or romance, and they tend to have the clearest formatting rules and queue systems of any outlet type. Online-only journals publish exclusively on the web, which means faster production schedules and often more willingness to experiment with voice and structure. Themed anthologies and contests ask for stories that fit a specific prompt or category, and they can be a good way to test a piece against a narrower set of expectations. Self-publishing and serial platforms let you skip the submission queue entirely and put your story in front of readers immediately, trading editorial validation for speed and control.
A few representative venues illustrate how these categories work in practice:
- American Short Fiction accepts unsolicited work seasonally and publishes selected stories online as part of its triannual magazine, with an explicit note that work already published online counts as previously published.
- Clarkesworld Magazine runs a well-documented online submission process built around standard manuscript formats and a tracking number system that lets writers confirm their story arrived.
- khōréō uses separate submission cycles and word-count queues for flash fiction versus short stories, and pays at SFWA professional rates for eligible work.
- Genre magazines broadly favor writers who want clear rules and fast feedback loops.
- Mid-tier literary journals suit writers building a publication history without years of waiting on top-tier slush piles.
- Themed anthologies suit writers with a finished piece that fits a narrow prompt rather than a story written from scratch for the call.
- Serial and self-publishing platforms suit writers who want direct reader contact and are comfortable skipping traditional gatekeeping.
- Contests suit writers who want a deadline-driven reason to finish a draft and a shot at a cash prize or recognition.
Reading a handful of recent issues before you submit anywhere remains the single best way to judge fit, since editors reject plenty of technically sound stories simply because they do not match the journal's taste.
How to prepare your story and submission packet
Most editors expect a specific manuscript format, and ignoring it is one of the fastest ways to get an automatic pass regardless of how good the writing is.
- Format in 12-point Times New Roman or a similar serif font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and a header carrying your name and the story title.
- Save the file as a .DOCX or .RTF, since these are the formats most submission systems request.
- Name the file with your last name and the story title so editors can identify it instantly in a crowded inbox.
- Check whether the outlet separates flash fiction from short stories by word count, and submit to the correct queue since the wrong queue can trigger an automatic rejection no matter how strong the story is.
- Write a three- or four-line cover letter that states the title, the word count, and a one-line bio; add a brief author credit only if you have relevant previous publications.
- Proofread one more time after you think you are done, then check the outlet's current guidelines page for any recent changes, including policies on AI-assisted writing.
Pro Tip: Keep a plain-text version of your cover letter saved separately so you can adapt it in under two minutes for each new submission.
What to check in rights, payment, and copyright
Before you say yes to any acceptance, read exactly what rights you are signing away. "First serial rights" means the publication gets to be the first to print your story and the rights revert to you afterward, which is the most writer-friendly standard. "Nonexclusive rights" let you publish the same story elsewhere simultaneously, while "exclusive rights" and broad reprint clauses can tie up your story for longer than you expect. Treat any contract asking for all rights, in perpetuity, with no reversion clause, as a red flag worth questioning or declining.
Payment varies widely by outlet type:
- Many professional short fiction markets pay per word or a flat fee, while plenty of smaller and online-only journals pay nothing beyond a contributor copy or exposure.
- The median total income for full-time self-published authors was $15,000 in the 2023 Authors Guild survey, a figure that includes book sales and subscription income rather than magazine pay alone.
- Kindle Unlimited page-read rates typically ran $0.004 to $0.005 per page in 2025 and 2026, which matters if you plan to combine magazine credits with a self-published collection later.
Once a story is accepted and appears in print or online, you can register it with the U.S. Copyright Office, which defines publication as distributing copies to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership rather than simple public display. Registration is not required to own your copyright, but it strengthens your position if a dispute ever comes up.
How submissions actually work: portals, timelines, and tracking
Most journals now use an online submission system like Submittable or a custom form on their own site, and both methods typically generate a confirmation number worth saving. Clarkesworld's process is a good example: the system displays a tracking number on submission, and writers are advised to hold onto it and check spam folders for replies.
Response times vary enormously, from a few weeks at fast-moving online magazines to several months at larger journals, and "closed" submission windows simply mean the outlet is not reading new work until it reopens. Contests differ from rolling submissions in that they run on a fixed deadline and usually charge a small entry fee, while most journals accept work year-round or in seasonal windows.
A basic tracking spreadsheet keeps the process sane:
- Story title, word count, and genre
- Outlet name, submission date, and response deadline given
- Simultaneous submission status, so you remember to withdraw a piece politely the moment it is accepted elsewhere
- Response received, outcome, and any editor feedback worth saving for revision
Stardust Literacy: a platform option for publishing and audience-building
We built Stardust Literacy as a community-driven platform where writers of African-centered stories can publish directly and connect with readers without waiting on a traditional submission queue. Our platform works well for writers who want a culturally focused readership, who want the option to add audio narration or paid-story tiers, and who value direct feedback from readers rather than an editor's verdict alone.
Getting started means creating an account, following our formatting guidelines for a clean reading experience, and choosing whether to publish free, opt into a paid tier, or do both as your audience grows.
How to market and promote your story after acceptance
Getting a story accepted is only half the job. Once it is live, share the direct link across the social platforms where your existing readers already spend time, and tag the publication if its guidelines allow it. Building an email list remains one of the most durable ways to reach readers directly, since author newsletters ranked among the top three marketing channels that authors identified as effective, alongside subscription programs and ebook discounts.
If the story is part of a themed collection or series, mention that connection so readers have a reason to seek out your other work. Many writers also quote a short excerpt rather than the whole story when promoting it, which respects the publication's rights while still giving potential readers a reason to click through. Cross-posting a link on a personal blog or author site, if you keep one, adds a permanent home for your bibliography that outlives any single social platform's algorithm changes.
What I've learned about rejection and realistic expectations
Rejection is the default outcome of most submissions, and that is normal rather than a signal to quit. The writers who publish consistently tend to treat each pass as information: was the story a wrong fit, or does it need another revision?
My practical recommendation is to run journal submissions alongside building an email list and trying occasional self-publishing or serial releases rather than betting everything on one channel. For writers working in African-centered fiction specifically, a platform like Stardust Literacy adds a community and distribution option that sits alongside traditional submissions rather than replacing them.
— Vuyo
Ready to publish directly and build your own readership?
We give writers a way to skip the submission queue entirely and put a story in front of readers the same day it is finished, with the option to add paid tiers once your readership grows.
- Publish stories for free and build an audience from day one.
- Add premium or audio content later through subscription plans; current prices are on the pricing page.
- Keep direct contact with readers instead of working through an editor as an intermediary.
Visit our pricing page to compare plans and start publishing on Stardust Literacy today.
FAQ
Can you make money writing short stories online?
Yes, through a combination of paid magazine acceptances, contest prizes, and self-publishing income. The 2023 Authors Guild survey found that full-time self-published authors reported median total income of $15,000, which typically blends book sales, subscription reads, and other channels rather than magazine pay alone.
Who is the best publisher for first-time authors?
There is no single best publisher, since the right choice depends on whether you want a paid professional magazine credit, a faster online-only placement, or a self-publishing platform that skips the queue entirely. Reading a few recent issues of any journal before submitting is the most reliable way to judge whether your story fits, and platforms focused on a specific readership, such as Stardust Literacy for African-centered fiction, can be a strong starting point for writers who want direct reader contact.
How much does it cost to publish a short book?
Costs vary by route and are not stated as a fixed figure by any of the sources used here, but self-publishing platforms generally let you publish at no upfront cost while paid tiers or professional formatting services add expense depending on the platform. Literary magazine submissions themselves are typically free to submit to, though some contests charge a small entry fee.
How much does an author make on a $20 book?
Royalty structures vary by retailer and format, and no single universal percentage applies across all platforms. Realistic income expectations are better judged from overall earnings data, such as the $15,000 median total income reported for full-time self-published authors in 2023, which reflects a full catalog rather than any single book's price point.