Ah, the thrill of the acceptance letter. For a writer, there is no greater thrill than knowing someone valued your work enough to put it in a book and pay you a whole $25 for it!

$25 is actually the going rate for many anthologies these days. Sometimes it's a little more, occasionally it's a bit less. Depends on the antho and the publisher. The most money I ever made off a story sale was $100, and that was way back in the days when PlayGirl was still paying $100 for the story of the month for its readers forum. Last I heard, that amount had dropped to (you guessed it) $25.

I don't know of anybody who's ever gotten rich off of anthology sales. I do know a few folks who have managed to make enough money to give up there day jobs off ebook and print book sales, but those folks are the exceptions, not the rule. Seriously, being a writer is not about the money. If you think it is, go look for another career. The people who make the big bucks like J.K Rowling and Stephen King are far and few between.

However, knowing that still doesn't diminish the thrill of getting that acceptance letter. I've received two such letters in the past month, and one was for a charity anthology, which means I've donated my work and will be making no money off it at all. At least not for me. Here's hoping my work is good enough to make life better for someone else.

I'll post updates on these story acceptances as I get more details from the publishers. And remember, buy my books!