Tag: Rejection Letters
Swings & Misses V: The Rejection Streak Returns
Anecdotally, a good acceptance rate for short fiction tends to be around ten percent. With regards to rejections, that percentage generally works out to a statistically consistent ten to fifteen noes in a row . . . except when it doesn’t, and you go… Continue Reading “Swings & Misses V: The Rejection Streak Returns”
800 Rejections or That Which Does Not Accept You Makes You Stronger
On April 4th of this year, I hit another big submission milestone. I received my 800th rejections since I started recording them on Duotrope back in 2012. As usual, I have some dirty details on my nice round number of noes and not for… Continue Reading “800 Rejections or That Which Does Not Accept You Makes You Stronger”
Three Things I Learned from 100 Story Sales
Since I started submitting work seriously in 2013, I’ve sold* 120 short stories. Like the piles of rejections I’ve racked up in that same time, my much smaller heap of acceptances has taught me some valuable lessons about writing and the often arcane process… Continue Reading “Three Things I Learned from 100 Story Sales”
2026 Writing Goals Bingo
Last year, I set a number of short fiction writing goals for myself that I represented in a bingo card as a fun bit of motivation and to have a snazzy graphic for blog posts. Though, at the end of the year, I did… Continue Reading “2026 Writing Goals Bingo”
What Happens to Rejected Stories?
Recently, it came to my attention that when I say “I have almost 800 rejections”, some folks think YOU’VE HAD 800 STORIES REJECTED?! That’s understandable without context, especially if you’re not in the biz. It did get me thinking, though. Just how many distinct… Continue Reading “What Happens to Rejected Stories?”
Ten Years of Rejectomancy – ALL the Numbers
So, this is truly the final post in my Ten Years of Rejectomancy series. As promised, I’m gonna give you ALL the numbers for each year and then a total of subs, rejections, and acceptances for the entire decade (plus the years before and… Continue Reading “Ten Years of Rejectomancy – ALL the Numbers”
Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Ten – A Decade of Denial
Welp, here we are. Ten years of Rejectomancy. It’s been a long and bumpy road, and year ten certainly had its ups and downs, but it feels good to say I’ve been doing this for a decade, and I have no plans to stop.… Continue Reading “Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Ten – A Decade of Denial”
Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Nine – A Question of Querying
Peaks and valleys. That’s the best way to describe the submission experience and my own meandering path as a writer. I’ve had some exceptional years where it felt like every story I submitted had a legit shot at publication, and then I’ve had years… Continue Reading “Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Nine – A Question of Querying”
The Daily NO – Halloween Special
Today on The Daily NO, we’re celebrating Halloween by looking at all the rejections I’ve received on the spookiest day of the year. However, to my shock and surprise, in over 12 years and nearly 1,000 submissions, I have received exactly ONE rejection on… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Halloween Special”
Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Eight – Solid and Serviceable
Although 2021 wasn’t a terrible year for submissions, I definitely went into 2022 hoping to improve, and in some ways I did. Mostly, though, I kind of held course with a solid but not exceptional year. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it was… Continue Reading “Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Eight – Solid and Serviceable”
Effectively Wild – A Baseball Horror Story
Night Walk & Other Dark Paths
Acts of War: Flashpoint
Acts of War: Aftershock
Acts of War: Stormbreak
