: What to do with first writing Assume I have just written my first short story. I showed it to a few friends and they seem to like it. For the next step I want to find out if my work

Assume I have just written my first short story. I showed it to a few friends and they seem to like it. For the next step I want to find out if my work has any literary/commercial value.

[You may ignore this part, but at the same time I guess I want to find out whether or not I am talented enough to continue writing, in other words, if I have some core skills that I can polish.]

What is the best way to achieve this in 2017?

Should I look for online magazines that accept submissions?
Should I look for online competitions?
Should I look into publishing my story on Amazon, or something similar, and see if I get any feedback (assuming anyone buys it)?
Should I look for paperback publishers that are interested in absolute beginners (if any)?

All of the above?

Also, what are the rules for publishing - if someone publishes my story, does that mean that another publisher cannot do that anymore?

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: I find myself giving versions of the same advice over and over, but it's applicable to so many situations. I call it the Sturgeon/Delany rule. Work out every last detail and implication

@Samaraweera193

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: Just wanted to mention The Novel Factory here, as keeping track of characters was one of the main reasons it was developed. Disclosure - I am the creator of this software. This is a screenshot

@Samaraweera193

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: Is nudity allowed in historical nonfiction? I have written a historical nonfiction account of a nudist camp that I went to with my family as a teenager. The camp later hosted the Miss Nude

@Samaraweera193

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: How do I transition from a day to another smoothly in a short story that takes place over of seven straight days? I am working on a short story, narrated in third person, roughly 20 pages

@Samaraweera193

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@Ravi5107385

I use a critique site: www.critters.org/
It is a co-op in which you contribute critiques of the stories of others in return for their critiques of yours. I have found it quite useful to think through the problems in other's stories and apply those insights to my own writing.

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: What to do with first writing Assume I have just written my first short story. I showed it to a few friends and they seem to like it. For the next step I want to find out if my work

More posts by @Samaraweera193

: I find myself giving versions of the same advice over and over, but it's applicable to so many situations. I call it the Sturgeon/Delany rule. Work out every last detail and implication

: Just wanted to mention The Novel Factory here, as keeping track of characters was one of the main reasons it was developed. Disclosure - I am the creator of this software. This is a screenshot

: Is nudity allowed in historical nonfiction? I have written a historical nonfiction account of a nudist camp that I went to with my family as a teenager. The camp later hosted the Miss Nude

: How do I transition from a day to another smoothly in a short story that takes place over of seven straight days? I am working on a short story, narrated in third person, roughly 20 pages

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