Writing is a rough gig. Get paid where you can. Here’s a bunch of places that will pay professional rates for genre (fantasy/science fiction/horror) short stories. All these markets take (and actually publish) unsolicited submissions – you don’t need an agent, and you don’t need to have previously published works.
Remember to format your shit, write a simple cover letter, don’t send the same story to more than one place at a time, make sure submissions windows are actually open, and never respond to rejection letters ever. Have fun!
(Information gathered from both Submissions Grinder – an essential resource for people actively submitting their work – and my own excessive and somewhat ridiculous reading habits.)
Current as of May 2018. Markets are listed alphabetically. Detailed info below the cut.
a (not-so) brief overview of markets that will pay you actual money in exchange for your short fiction
Published
Land of Sweetness and Light 