As appealing as the idea of writing for yourself and yourself alone (and dying with a whole cabinet full of unpublished manuscripts, right?), the fact is, as writers, we need to put our work out there.  Personally, I believe that leaving writing unread is like leaving cookie dough unbaked: the process of mixing up the dough is enjoyable, and of course it’s always fun to lick the spoon, but you never really know if your recipe is successful until you pull the cookie sheet out of the oven. 

So, take those manuscripts out of the drawer, dust them off, shiny them up, and send them out into the world!  Check out this list of 44 Writing Contest Deadlines to get started. 

And then go!  Submit!  Send your stories out into the world!!

...I’ll just stay here with these metaphorical cookies.  Mmmm......