Tag: Rejection Letters
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”
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”
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?”
On This Day in Submission Land: June 21st
Time for another installment of On This Day in Submission Land. Slight change in format going forward. I’ll show you the submissions I sent on the fateful day, including my cover letter if it’s interesting, as well as responses I received. So, let’s take… Continue Reading “On This Day in Submission Land: June 21st”
On This Day in Submission Land: June 12th
It’s time for another installment of On This Day in Submission Land. Today, we cast our gaze back to the dim, misty past, to the ancient before times of 2015 and 2020, and a pair of rejections for two of my most-rejected stories. Let’s… Continue Reading “On This Day in Submission Land: June 12th”
On This Day in Submission Land: June 10th
Over the last decade and change, I’ve sent 803 submissions. Most of those submissions came back as rejections, with the occasional further consideration, short list, or even an acceptance providing a bit of sunshine in the nigh-perpetual gloom the clouds every writer’s literary skies.… Continue Reading “On This Day in Submission Land: June 10th”
Effectively Wild – A Baseball Horror Story
Night Walk & Other Dark Paths
Acts of War: Flashpoint
Acts of War: Aftershock
Acts of War: Stormbreak
Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy 