I have lost count of the number of rejection form letters I've received that stated, "This doesn't meet our needs." I didn't know if the need not met included the whole story being poorly written, or maybe the subject matter wouldn't work. Nothing in that form letter let me know. This type of rejection happens to author after author, leaving us all wondering what we should or need to do.

I now know that one way to test stories before submitting them to publications is to enter contests. Some contest judges will even send a short evaluation of the entries. I enter contests connected with writing conferences and some supported by or listed in writing magazines.

The OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.) writing conference, held the first of each May, has a contest each year. The deadline is February 1 so that judging can be finished before the conference. I entered 15 of the 33 categories in 2007. After the awards banquet, I'll get my entries, each with an evaluation. Writing conference contests are excellent ways to discover how well one writes.

ByLine, a writing magazine, has a list of contests it sponsors. The list is found on the back of its cover. The March issue had six contests for stories, and one is for flash fiction.

Writer's Digest has a major writing competition each year. The 76th Annual contest's deadline was May 15, 2007. Of the ten categories offered, five can be considered in the story genre. Information can be found in the magazine or online, www.writersdigest.com.

Usually each year in March, The Writer announces a short story contest in the magazine, or the announcement and information can be found on www.writermag.com. The deadline this year was June 30, 2007.

Opportunities abound to test the writing waters by entering contests. A writer simply needs to search and find those contests and enter -- being sure to follow all guidelines exactly. Contests that return any kind of evaluation is a valuable tool for authors to use to learn what improvements are needed.

About the Author

After teaching composition for twenty-five years and becoming an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ a site for Poetry, Vivian Gilbert Zabel produced Hidden Lies and Other Stores , Walking the Earth:, and The Base Stealers Club, which can be ordered through most book stores and on Amazon.com.