Making friends with failure

Okay, technically it isn't failure until you give up. The point is that if one is to succeed with writing or anything, they must keep trying. Setbacks are common as we all figure out how to rise to the top of the self-publishing sea. As Dory from Finding Nemo would say, "Just keep swimming."

Since making the decision to publish a short story, I've received constructive feedback that will help me take it to a higher level. Maybe I'll flesh it out into a novella or maybe a full-length novel. Downloads have nothing to do with my decision. I just want to make it into a better piece of writing than it is. Rather than unpublish, I am making it available as a free download here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/340069

I welcome ideas from anyone who would like to help me craft a better version of this story and thank everyone in advance for their help.

From character bio to short story

I was never a big believer in writing out character biographies until I received feedback from an editor about a character who just popped up in my novel for no apparent reason. This Marty character probably needed to serve some purpose and I just threw her in to see what would stick. My editor was right and that character now has more of a backstory that explains her presence. My biographical experiment turned into a short story about the main female character in the novel. Now Marty has an explanation, even if it's within the context of a primary character's backstory.

You can read the entire short story here for 2.99  http://www.scribd.com/doc/155496659/Hannah-Strong

If you have a Kindle or Kindle app, download it from http://www.amazon.com/Hannah-Strong-ebook/dp/B00DUFQZUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374246861&sr=8-1&keywords=hannah+strong

Both the Prologue and Chapter 1 of the novel Miracle at Santa Anita are available to read for free on scribd.