Polishing your short stories so that you can submit them to magazines, online e-zines or short story anthologies is essential. Many writers avoid polishing or editing their writing because they think it's difficult to do, but that is the wrong way to look at it. Your writing can improve and become good enough to get published if you know polish your work.
Instructions
1. Read your story over and over again to make sure that it reads as you intended. If there are any fragmented or run-on sentences, fix them. Look for misspellings or areas where your grammar or punctuation is incorrect. Run spell- and grammar-check from your word processor to find any areas that need correction. Have a copy of "The Elements of Style" nearby, and use it as reference for writing rules.
2. Look for any areas in the plot of your story that don't make sense or trail off in directions that aren't plausible, and fix those. Make sure your story keeps your reader's attention. Problems with plot and story structure can turn an interesting story into a frustrating one. Publishers and editors won't take your work seriously if they find mistakes.
3. Study aspects of your writing such as whether you've fully fleshed out your characters, their lives and the world around them. Make sure that the dialogue you've given sounds authentic to who they are and whatever time they live in. A character from a science-fiction story isn't going to speak in the same way that someone from the 17th century would, and if they do then you need to give a reason why.
4. Ask a friend, family member or someone you trust to read your story. Sometimes it's easy to miss mistakes when we've looked at the same thing many times. Don't expect everyone to fall in love with your work, and learn take criticism. Many editors and publishers send back copies of work with suggestions for changes of work they're considering publishing. Listen to them and learn, and hope that your publishing dreams will come true.
