You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success–but only if you persist.
–Isaac Asimov

I’m an official entrant in the 2006 Amber Heat Wave contest. I was planning to wait until after I got my additional feedback from my reader, but I was too impatient to wait any longer. So now it’s done, and I’ve selected the consolation prize I want if my story isn’t selected. It’s either this T-shirt or this one. I’m leaning toward the first one: Got Plot? I think it’s fun.

Tonight I decided to read Office Relations aloud before sending it to the contest. I’m so, so glad I did. I caught a lot of small things like continuity issues, repetitions, and a few awkward phrases. I plan to do this with all my stories now, although this one is only a little more than 10,000 words. Longer stories will take a lot more time to read aloud.

Wish me luck! The winners are announced March 1.