A common complaint from freelancers is that they don’t get to do any creative fiction writing if they want to get paid. Turns out, that’s not true. There are actually a number of publications who will pay for your short stories, literary works and poetry.

Check out the following 10 places that’ll support you letting your imagination run wild:

Poetry Magazine

Grain Magazine

  • http://www.grainmagazine.ca
  • Submit poetry, fiction or literary non-fiction to Grain Magazine, “an internationally acclaimed literary journal that publishes engaging, surprising, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists.”
  • Poetry (max 6 pages); fiction and literary non-fiction (max 3500 words)
  • $50 per page to a maximum of $250
  • Send submissions online or through regular mail following these guidelines

Asimov’s Science Fiction

  • http://www.asimovs.com
  • Submit a science fiction story or poem to Asimov’s
  • “In general, we’re looking for “character oriented” stories, those in which the characters, rather than the science, provide the main focus for the reader’s interest.”
  • Short stories (up to 7500 words = $0.08 – $0.10 per word; $0.08/word for words over 7500); Poetry (max 40 lines; $1 per line)
  • Stories preferred between 1000 and 20,000 words
  • Submit online here following these guidelines

The Sun

  • https://www.thesunmagazine.org
  • Submit nonfiction, fiction or poetry writing to The Sun Magazine
  • No minimum word count; max 7000 words
  • Nonfiction and fiction ($300 – $2000 per story); Poetry ($100 – $250 per poem)
  • Submit online here following these guidelines

Chicken Soup For The Soul

  • http://www.chickensoup.com
  • Submit to Chicken Soup “an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences”
  • $200 per published story or poem; also receive 10 free copies of the book your story/poem appears in
  • Submit your story online here following the guidelines and possible book topics links available on that page

Flash Fiction Online

Blue Mountain Arts

  • http://www.sps.com
  • Submit contemporary prose or poetry to be used in a Blue Mountain Arts greeting card
  • $300 per poem/prose selected for a worldwide greeting card; $50 per poem/prose printed in a one-time book
  • Email submissions to editorial@sps.com following these guidelines

Andromeda Spaceways Magazine

  • http://andromedaspaceways.com
  • Submit a story to Andromeda Spaceways, an Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror magazine
  • Stories (10,000 words max unless you’re a resident of Australia or New Zealand); poetry (under two pages); articles and artwork
  • Short fiction paid $0.01 per word (min $10 to max $100 per piece); poetry and flash fiction paid at $10 per piece; nonfiction articles of 1000+ words paid at $10 per article
  • Reach out to Andromeda Spaceways using their contact form

Carve Magazine

  • https://www.carvezine.com
  • Submit short story, poetry, and nonfiction stories to Carve, a magazine for honest fiction
  • Short fiction stories ($100 per story); poetry ($25 per poem); nonfiction ($25 per piece)
  • Submit short fiction here, poetry here, and nonfiction here following these guidelines

Daily Science Fiction

Know of any other publications that pay for creative writing? Share your source in the comments below: