Short story writing is the preferred realm of many writers. Whether it’s because they like the fast development and ending that is necessary or because it takes less time than a novel is hard to define. Each author has his or her own reasons for preferring short story writing over novel writing while there are some that actually delve into both areas. Short stories are clearly more difficult to write because you have to be able to show character and plot development quickly. You also have to be able to show how the story ends in a shorter amount of time without leaving the reader thinking, “How did it reach that point?”

Short story publishing is also rather different than publishing a novel. You are not going to take a short story to a publisher for publication but rather you will approach magazines and other sources that publish short stories. Of course, if you have a short story anthology or are submitting to a short story anthology, that is entirely different. You will occasionally find sources such as the online publication, Glimmer Train, that publishes individual short stories, but in most cases that is not the case. Short story publishing usually requires more work on the author’s part because he or she has to locate sources of publication. In some cases the sources may be more limited than those of novel publishing, especially if you don’t have access to information and resources.

With the Internet becoming such a popular source for authors, many online publishers are beginning to look to short story publication, especially in eBook format. The popularity of online sources has created resources for publication of short stories that did not previously exist. Even short story anthologies have become more popular through the presentation of online publishers and promotions. It gives the author who enjoys writing short stories an avenue that did not previous exist thus increasing their opportunities to submit their short stories.

The availability of online publishers of short stories does not diminish the availability of print magazines that publish short stories but rather increases the places where authors can publish their short stories. Any increase of available resources means an author of short stories has additional opportunities to present his product to the readers. It is helpful also for those authors who begin with short stories and then progress to novels because it gets your name out there before the public.

For many authors publishing short stories is a way to begin their fiction writing careers while others write only short stories. Whichever you choose to do the important thing is knowing where to publish your short stories so that you reach as much of your target audience as possible. You may choose to create and self-publish your own anthology of short stories or create chapbooks. The important thing is for the author to know where to find the resources he or she needs to publish and promote the short stories that are worthy of publication.