Well, I worked up some courage and submitted a short story to Glimmer Train. "One of the most respected short-story journals in print, Glimmer Train Stories is represented in recent editions of the Pushcart Prize, New Stories from the Midwest, O.Henry, New Stories from the South, Best of the West, and Best American Short Stories anthologies."
There are contests every month. For a $15 entry fee you are buying a shot at a $1500 first prize. Some months you can also do standard submissions, which are free, but you would only get $700 if your story is accepted. Even my ego isn't large enough to think I'd win first place, so I saved the $15 and did a standard submission.
I entered the story that didn't place in the contest I sent it to last fall. This is not a blind submission, so I can say that the title is "The Room with No Name."
I can also say that the story is much better than it was in October. It's amazing what a few months away from a piece can do for it. I had thought it was great! Today, I realized that it had way too many adverbs, several trite expressions, and too many long sentences. It could probably be improved even more. But I feel as if I've done as much as I can with it for now, and I've sent it out once again, to try to make its way in the world.
