Three or four months ago I submitted a short story to the L. Ron. Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. The contest is for science fiction or fantastical short stories, and the top three winners of each quarter receive prize money for their stories, which are collected into an annual anthology. The overall winner receives a bigger prize and all winners are invited to a Hollywood gala event. It is a very well respected institution and many of the previous winners have gone on to bigger things and are some of my favorite authors.

I submitted a very short story that came from a prompt at a writing workshop. The initial draft was revised several times and I received favorable comments from a few friends. I personally like the story a lot. I think it is very different from my normal writing in that there is much more showing of the story than telling. I kept description to the minimum and leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks. I also like the idea of exploring the world it happens in with more stories in the future.

Today I received notice that I was selected as winner of an Honorable Mention for the 3rd quarter submissions. So, not a winner, but according to the contest FAQ only 10% – 15% of entries receive an honorable mention. Since this was my first submission (of many, I hope), I asked to receive an official certificate. It can go in the drawer with my first rejection letter, right next to the empty spot for my first professional sale.

Now that the judging is done, I am free to shop it elsewhere. Anyone want to buy a story?