Is there a market for short stories and how do I go about getting published?

So far the only request for short stories I have seen have been on writing forums that are for free such as Stories Mania. It's a pretty good place to practice your writing and get critiqued by amateurs and semi-pro aspiring writers.

However, if you plan on getting published, I recommend you go the self-publishing route because it's extremely competetive to get your manual seen by a traditional publisher. Sometimes they don't look at your manual at all because of the myriad of submissions. That's not fun when you've spent a long time on your work. Self-publishing companies operate on POD or print-on-demand services, meaning they only print a book when people order.

I really like this concept because it's good for the environment. With the traditional way, publishers are kind of guessing how many books are going to sell. They print an estimated amount, distribute them to big stores like Borders and Barnes and Noble, and after four months, the books that don't sell get chucked into discount stores. So it's kind of a waste of paper.

There are two reputable yet cheap places on-line self-publishers I recommend that don't try to upsell you with extra features:

(1)Booklocker. This is a self-publishing company run by a husband-wife team in Maine. Husband is an internet marketer. The wife is a writer. These folks are staunchly supportive of writer's rights. They've been known to blow the whistle on unethical publishing practices that take advantage of new writers. The wife runs a site called Writers Weekly with excellent tips on writing, publishing, and even internet courses to aid your writing skills. To print with them, you have a start up fee of about $700 which is cheaper than traditional publishers typically wanting $3000 or more to cover their overhead costs. They can sell your book as an eBook, paperback or a hardback. However, they will set the price based on printing costs. You keep ALL the rights to your book.

(2) Cafe Press. This costs you absolutely nothing to join. No start up costs. This site is designed for artists and writers alike. People can create their own T-shirts, mugs, keychains, etc. People also sell CDs they've made, books (including dissertations and comics). Look up their Publisher Learning Center which gives you an entire page worth of guidelines on font settings, cost of print per page, types of binding they recommend, how to title your chapters, etc. Amazing information. When they quote you the cost of printing your book, you can decide to mark up the price as high as you like and retain the profit of the difference. Once again, you keep ALL the rights.

My dad is writing a book and he's looking really closely into the Cafe Press publishing. I recommend checking it out both options.