Tag: Aeryn Rudel

Three Things I Learned as a Staff Writer/Editor

Working as a freelance writer certainly has it’s challenges, but what’s made me an expert at hitting deadlines and producing work to order was the years I worked as an in-house staff writer and editor for a couple of gaming companies. My first gig… Continue Reading “Three Things I Learned as a Staff Writer/Editor”

Three Things I Learned from 500 Rejections

Back in 2023, I received my 500th rejection since I started tracking submissions through Duotrope. I’m closing in on 700 now, but that first five hundred was an important milestone. Despite the mountain of no’s, it felt like a real achievement, a rite of… Continue Reading “Three Things I Learned from 500 Rejections”

Rejection Whys: Not Ready For Primetime

The reasons for a rejection are myriad and seemingly endless, but the more rejections you get, the better you become at reading the literary tea leaves and divining why the “not for us’s” and “we’re gonna pass’s” are clogging your inbox. In this series,… Continue Reading “Rejection Whys: Not Ready For Primetime”

Aeryn’s Archives: Tomb of the Blind God

I’m in a reflective mood, so let’s look back at my twenty-plus-year writing career and talk about one of my favorite projects. This is another D&D adventure, and while I wrote a fair number of those while I was working in the gaming industry,… Continue Reading “Aeryn’s Archives: Tomb of the Blind God”

Submission Statement: October 2024

Another month in the books; let’s see how I did with submissions, acceptances, and, of course, rejections. October 2024 Short Story Submissions I only managed 6 submissions in October, partly because I’ve been so focused on revising my novel and partly because I’m trying… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: October 2024”

Submission Statement: September 2024

Another month has come and gone, so let’s take a look at my submission report card for September. September 2024 Short Story Submissions Submissions Sent: 5 Rejections: 4 No Response: 0 Acceptances: 1 Further Consideration/Shortlist: 0 Withdrawals: 0 Pending: 9 Only five submissions in… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: September 2024”

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?”

Submission Statement: August 2024

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, mostly because I just haven’t been as active with short story submissions as I used to be. Well, that’s changed in recent months, so it’s time to return to my monthly updates and share… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: August 2024”

Overanalyzing Story Acceptance Rates Part 271 – Rates By Market Tier

One of my favorite rejectomantic topics is acceptance rates. I’ve picked apart my own for nearly a decade, overanalyzing them in an attempt to understand the whims and vagaries of the publishing industry. What have I learned? Not much, honestly, but, fuck it, let’s… Continue Reading “Overanalyzing Story Acceptance Rates Part 271 – Rates By Market Tier”

Rejection Feedback – Inspiring, Informative, or Insensitive?

Editorial feedback on a rejection is as varied as editorial tastes, and how an editor chooses to relate something like “close-but-no-cigar” to an author can be radically different from market to market. A recent discussion about a comment I received a while back got… Continue Reading “Rejection Feedback – Inspiring, Informative, or Insensitive?”