200 Rejections: An Analysis

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Aeryn Rudel

I recently found myself wondering how many rejections I’ve received since I started using Duotrope (religiously) to track my submissions. So, uh, I went and looked . . .

I’ve received 218 rejections. Is that a lot? Maybe, but to me it (usually) just feels like my fair share. The inevitable result of nearly 300 submissions. It’s important to note I received rejections before Duotrope came into my life. Sadly, many of these literary fossils are lost to the ether in a now-defunct Hotmail account or were honest-to-god paper rejection letters (I really wish I’d kept some of those). So, today, I’m just going to talk about the 218 rejections I’ve logged in Duotrope. Stats ahead.

First Rejection: I logged my first rejection (again, into Duotrope) on May 5^th, 2012. Interestingly, this rejection was from a market that would go on to reject me a lot in the years ahead. They set the tone, you might say. I didn’t submit a lot of short fiction in those first couple of years. My submission (and rejection) volume really picked up in 2014.
Last Rejection: My most recent rejection . . . Hang on, let me check my email. As I was saying, my most recent rejection came yesterday on April 17^th, 2018. This was my twelfth (12) rejection from this particular market.
Distinct Stories: I have submitted 56 distinct stories since May of 2012. That number surprised me. It feels like a lot more. Eighteen (18) of those stories are short stories of 2,000 words or more, and the remaining thirty-six (36) are flash stories of 1,000 words or fewer.
Distinct Markets: Now the reason it might feel like I sent more distinct stories is I sent those stories to a bunch of different markets. According to Duotrope, I have submitted stories to seventy-five (75) distinct markets. Most of them are still alive and kicking, but seventeen (17) are now defunct or on indefinite hiatus.
Most Rejections (Market): The most rejections I have received from a single market is nineteen (19). Now, let me qualify that by saying I have also received eleven (11) acceptances from the same market. Since that’s kind of unusual, there are three runners-up tied for most rejections without an acceptance at twelve (12).
Most Rejected (Story): My most-rejected story currently sits at eighteen (18) rejections and is out for submission yet again. Why do I keep sending this one out? Well, it’s been shortlisted a number of times and the rejections are generally positive. In addition, my second most rejected story was accepted and published after sixteen (16) rejections.

What’s the point of this little trip down memory lane? Mostly this. If you submit a lot of fiction, well, you’re gonna get a lot of rejections. It sounds grim, but it’s actually not a bad thing. I am absolutely not the same writer I was on May 5^th, 2012 when I logged that first Duotrope rejection. In the 200-plus rejections that followed, I learned a whole bunch about writing and submitting, and, if I may be so bold, I got a lot better at both.

So embrace your rejections. Count them up each time you submit a story. Cherish those battle scars that prove you can take a hit, learn a thing or two, and come back for more.

Let’s talk again when I hit 300. 🙂

Category: Rejection LettersTags: Aeryn Rudel, rejection, Rejection Letters, Submissions, Writing, writing tips

8 Comments on “200 Rejections: An Analysis”

Rosalie Rasmussen
April 18, 2018

So, of course I had to check…
266 rejections logged on Duotrope, starting March 3, 2010. That does include a few poetry rejections, as well. Of course, I slowed way down on submissions last year, and only show 1 rejection for 2018, as well as 4 submissions currently pending. I’m sure that’s kept my rejections down 😉

Reply
- Aeryn Rudel
  April 18, 2018
  
  Of course you had to check. 🙂
  
  I figured our numbers would be in the same ballpark. Sadly, all my poetry rejections are ancient history and lost to the sands of time.
  
  Reply
MichelleK
April 18, 2018

I use The Grinder, but here are my lifetime (as in since 2015 🙂 ) numbers:

– Pieces: 28
– Submissions: 102
– Rejections: 92
– Acceptances: 8
– Pending Submissions: 2

Reply
- Aeryn Rudel
  April 18, 2018
  
  Nice. That’s solid output. You may use the title “Rejectomancer” in your signature line now. 😉
  
  Reply
  - MichelleK
    April 18, 2018
    
    Can I get a Rudel-Approved Rejectomancer sticker? 🙂
  - Aeryn Rudel
    April 18, 2018
    
    Hah! Hit 100 rejections and we’ll talk. 😉
dariusjones
April 18, 2018

91 rejections, lifetime, for me. Not too bad, but I have some catching up to do!

Thanks for sharing, Aeryn. Your posts have motivated me to keep submitting and submit more than I would have. A very big Thanks to you!!!

Reply
- Aeryn Rudel
  April 18, 2018
  
  Almost at the century mark. 🙂
  
  Thanks for reading and following the blog. It means a lot that you find motivation here.
  
  Reply