6 Benefits of Writing Short Stories for an Author’s Career

  In my early writing years, I met several editors at writer’s conferences who needed articles and short stories to fill their magazines’ pages. With a little encouragement I worked on short pieces I hoped would provide value to their readers. At the time, I didn’t realize that learning to “write short” would help develop qualities essential for a sustained writing career. Here are some of my insights:

1) In order to have your work considered, follow each publication’s specific guidelines. If they only take personal true life experiences, don’t submit a fictional story or poetry. If they limit an article to 1200 words, your submission must meet that criteria. Guidelines vary, so always research before you submit, and follow them exactly. By writing and submitting articles, we learn to research and follow directions.

2) Word choice is critical. With limited words, an author learns to choose one word to replace four, and to cut ruthlessly even when it’s something we consider good. Becoming a word slasher is an art, as the writer wields the delete button like a sword. This skill becomes handy for self-editing, no matter what length article or book you’re writing.

3) Publishers and editors want writers who are willing accept instruction. We often don’t know what we don’t know. Let God use your writing journey to humble and soften your heart as you work with those in the industry who understand its dynamics. Many editors don’t want just a good article; they want to develop a good working relationship with a writer. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. They will help develop the author’s craft and provide a wider reach for your work.

4) Working on edits and sending a revised manuscript to an editor helps build the relationship, but it also builds perseverance. It’s easy to think your article is finally ready, but often, the editor can still find something else to improve. Since God is in the character-building process, writing is a great way for Him to reveal areas of our lives we need to address.

5) Having work published in a magazine increases confidence and provides credible evidence to future editors and publishers of your writing ability, and your ability to work well with others. Both are needed to succeed as an author.

6) Finally, magazines give you the ability to reach tens of thousands with your work, and your words just might be the encouragement those readers need in their own personal lives at that moment. Financially, payment for articles varies from one magazine to the next. There are authors who focus on writing articles fulltime for different publications. One article can be rewritten from a different slant to create a new article for another magazine. If dedicated to writing short, it could be a nice side job. Or, use writing short pieces as a foundation to build your writing career and a way to reach more readers with your words.

Over the years, I’ve been published in several magazines and periodicals, and I received the Cascade Christian Award for one of my fiction stories. My most recently published article, Your Will, Lord is available in Today’s Christian Living July 2025 edition, for an online or print subscription at https://todayschristianliving.org/

Happy reading and writing!