Category: Rejectomantic Arts

27 Submissions: My Most-Rejected Story SOLD!

No, this is not a new rom-com starring Katherine Heigl; it is a tale of literary woe and eventual triumph. You see, last weekend, I set a new rejectomancer record. I sold my most rejected story. That’s right; “Time Has No Memory” finally sold… Continue Reading “27 Submissions: My Most-Rejected Story SOLD!”

Climbing the Impostor Syndrome Ladder

Hey, follow writers, let’s talk about impostor syndrome. You know, that particularly pernicious brain weasel that constantly reminds you you’re not good enough, chewing your confidence and discipline down to the nub until you can barely string a sentence together. It’s a real son-of-a-bitch,… Continue Reading “Climbing the Impostor Syndrome Ladder”

Current Pending Submissions: What Are My Chances?

One thing I spend far too much time doing is poring over my pending submissions on Duotrope and trying to divine my chances of publications by studying the market in question, my past history with said market, how long the story has been under… Continue Reading “Current Pending Submissions: What Are My Chances?”

Rejectomancy Rabbit Hole: Acceptance Rates

Recently, I was discussing the chances of getting published at some of the big genre markets with my author pals, and a few numbers were thrown around, some by yours truly. These numbers were mostly guess-work. None of us really know the exact percentage chance… Continue Reading “Rejectomancy Rabbit Hole: Acceptance Rates”

Leaving the Nest: Where To Send My New Story

I recently finished a new story, and it’s time to send my poor little word baby out into the dark, feral wastes of submission land. In this post, I thought it might be fun to talk about how I go about deciding which markets… Continue Reading “Leaving the Nest: Where To Send My New Story”

The Regularly Rejected Story: Give Up or Keep Submitting?

Although most of my recent submission efforts have been focused on querying my novel, I have sent out the occasional short story submission. Admittedly, I haven’t written much new material over 1,000 words in a while, so I’ve been grinding away at the stories… Continue Reading “The Regularly Rejected Story: Give Up or Keep Submitting?”

Tracking the Yes: Submission Records Deep Dive

Recently, as I was looking at submissions at Duotrope, it struck me how some of my submission records for various markets paint an interesting picture of how submissions and publications tend to work. Primarily, these records show how important it is to match up… Continue Reading “Tracking the Yes: Submission Records Deep Dive”

Charting Rejection Progression II

A few years ago, I posted the rejections I’d received from a pro market I’d been trying to crack from some time. The point of that post was to illustrate that rejections often indicate if you’re making progress with an editor/publisher and getting closer… Continue Reading “Charting Rejection Progression II”

Further Considering Acceptance Rates

I recently received a further consideration/hold letter from an excellent pro market. This is my third story to make it through a first reader and be recommended to one of the editors for further review. Now, it can be hard to quantify exactly what… Continue Reading “Further Considering Acceptance Rates”

Swings & Misses IV: Revenge of the Rejection Streak

Submitting short stories to genre and lit magazines is a process that can be, uh, well, let’s just say discouraging. Why? Because rejections are inevitable, multiple rejections for the same story are expected, and even two or three rejections in the same day are… Continue Reading “Swings & Misses IV: Revenge of the Rejection Streak”