Sterling Gates was a comic fan from a young age. His father owned a comic book store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and remembered that, "We had a garage full of comics for as long as I could remember and I would sit and read them for hours, then sneak them under the covers and read them in bed." When he started college, he also worked part-time in a local comic shop.

Gates told a back-up story about Sinestro Corps member Kryb with artist Jerry Ordway in Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime. He went on to write a two-part story about Alpha Lantern Boodikka in Green Lantern Corps #21-22. He then took over full writing duties of the current Supergirl title, starting with issue #34, in October 2008.Gates' involvement in that title places him as a writer for the Superman: New Krypton story arc.

Recent projects include the "Prometheus" Faces of Evil one-shot with artist Federico Dallocchio.