I'm back with a little different approach today. Let's discuss selling a short story for pro rate. What is that, you ask? Pro rate is .05 or more per word for a short story. Yes, there are publishers paying that. Smart authors will try to find this kind of writing gig.
When you submit to these markets, you better have a sharp tale, well-written, and with no editing flaws. So, you will still need an editor, but you don't have to worry about cover art or formatting. Going with my past two articles on this subject, your editor will run between $1 and $2 a page.
Math time. A 3,000 word short story at .05 per word will get you $150.00. That comes to roughly 12 pages. $150.00 minus $12.00 for editing at $1 per page leaves you with $138.00. $126.00 at $2 per page.
Going with my minimum wage thread, if an author spent the same 3 hours writing her/his story that I gave in my previous models, the author would be making at least $42.00 per hour. At last we have found decent pay for an author. And the author does not need to sell 500 copies to break even as in my past formulas.
Let's be realistic, though. How many of these opportunities are you going to find? Not many. And the competition will be keen. Also, I'm sure the 3 hours will turn out to be more, but the time spent will be worth it. Also, once the contract time expires, usually after 12 to 18 months, the story can be republished by you. Yes, usually, opportunities like this are in anthologies or collections where the publisher still gets to sell the book as is after the contract expires, but the Publisher did put out a fair share of money and needs to get his return on it.
So, hone your skills and get good enough to hit pro status. You'll be glad you did! However many of these gigs you get will increase your notability. This is a great way to market not only the stories accepted for pro rates but everything you write.
Hone your skills. Become a Pro!
Blaze McRob
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