As an independent author, you spend a lot of time and effort trying to get your book marketed. So, typically when contests come along, independent authors tend to submit the stories, so as to help generate some buzz for their books and get people to review/critique their work.  For me, the reviews and critiques are always the draw for me, because I'm always looking to become a better/stronger writer.   You may have seen the tweets/facebook posts/ general appeals from me over the past month, as I