How I Got My Short Story Published
- C Y Wang
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 7
If you're an aspiring author like Kay and me, and you're thinking about traditionally publishing at some point, I highly recommend starting off with a short story. This is in no way mandatory to get an agent further down the line for your full-length novel, but I do think it's good practice and useful to learn the process on a smaller scale.
Now, you might think, Why should I be listening to you?
Granted, I'm in no way an expert, but I did publish my short story Whispers of the Wretched two years ago, so I can at least share the steps I took to achieve that goal.
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How to Get Started
Research and find the right literary magazines for your needs and preferences. Some will require you to pay a small fee to submit your work, but most of them are free to enter. Some literary magazines might focus on specific genres, such as speculative fiction, while others are more open about the topics they want to see in short stories.
In most cases, you won't need an agent to submit to a literary magazine.
Where to Look:
Instagram (hashtags, searches)
Authortubers (recommendations)
Blogs
How I Got Started
A writer I follow on Youtube published her short story in Apparition Lit (a literary magazine that unfortunately closed down at the end of 2024). I was so impressed that I wanted to do the same and take on the challenge. However, I also used Google to find other literary magazines to which I could submit.
Typishly (though I knew my short story would be too dark to submit to this literary magazine)
How to Write a Short Story
Without going into too much detail (as it deserves its own post), here are the steps I took to write my short story.
Brainstorm initial ideas, plot points, and potential themes, if not already provided.
Write your first draft, solely focusing on ideation and brainstorming.
At this stage, I have a rough story idea, and I'm writing freely without overthinking the details.
Take the ideas you like from the first draft and think about how to expand upon them.
Outline your story based on what you discovered in the previous step.
Write your second draft, concentrating on plot and structure.
From this step onwards, I wouldn't change much about the story itself, as I have already established where the plot is going.
Write your third draft for prose and line editing.
Whilst I didn't care about grammar or elaborate prose in my first draft, I do now. This is the draft I send to friends and family for feedback.
Write your fourth draft for the final edits while incorporating feedback.
This is your polished manuscript that you will submit to literary magazines.
This is by no means an extensive guide to writing short stories. This is just what worked for me and how my brain functions.
Each literary magazine has its own guidelines and rules, such as word count limits and prohibited content, so it's good to familiarise yourself with them before you write your short story.
Since short stories have a limited amount of space to get your idea across, make sure to be concise, focus on one theme, and limit the number of characters that appear.
How to Submit a Short Story
It's different for each place, but the guidelines on the website should be quite straightforward, especially if they are a reputable magazine. Some will allow simultaneous submissions, meaning you can submit your work to multiple magazines at the same time. This is useful because it increases your chances of getting published. However, it's important to tailor your submissions to each magazine, as the guidelines might slightly differ.
One thing that many literary magazines require is a cover letter, which might sound daunting at first but will be good practice for when you send your manuscript to agents in the future.
Magazines will usually list out instructions on what the cover letter should contain, but here's a list of what I have gathered from my research.
Title and word count
Content warnings
Personalised paragraph about why you like the literary magazine
Specify if it's a simultaneous submission
Attachment of manuscript
Third-person biography (in some cases)
How I Submitted My Short Story
Cover letters for short story submissions tend to be quite short and sweet. This is an example of the one I sent to Mulberry Literary.
(Please note, I had to fill out a form on their website which required me to list the content warnings, so I didn't include them in my cover letter.)
Dear [Editor Name],
Please consider my 2510-worded short story ‘Whispers of the Wretched’ as attached to this email.
I came across your literary magazine on Poets & Writers, and I particularly enjoyed Mar Ovsheid’s ‘Sockeye Sal and Me’ from Issue V.
This is a simultaneous submission. If accepted, I will withdraw this short story immediately.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
C. Y. Wang
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That's it. Then, you wait.
Literary magazines will usually state on their website when you can expect a response. Don't be discouraged if you get rejected. Hopefully, the editors will send you feedback so you know what to improve on next time.
And if they don't, that's okay, too. Send it to your peers and get critique from them. Just don't give up. Rejection is normal and part of life. Continue honing your craft, and you will succeed one day.
Read my short story Whispers of the Wretched.
If you have any more questions about how to write a short story or how to get started, please send us a message through the Contact form.
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