Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I submitted a story to a professional magazine! I had been sitting on it for a couple of years, wanting reader feedback so I can keep polishing it. I went through the formatting process as described in the magazines website and I found that incredibly useful. As I went through the steps, I kept noticing little fiddly bits that I could improve on. Eventually, I honestly felt that the story was as good as I am to make it at this point in time. Without going through the formatting process, trying to make it fit the criteria the magazine wanted, I wouldn't have ever made those changes.
Lesson learned: I perform my best when I try to meet or exceed the customer's expectations. That's an old Napoleon Hill teaching, or at least a twist on it.
The story is The Golden Vow. I told more about how this story came to be in my About page. They say they decide on submissions within a few days. I have a good feeling about this.
