Tag: Writing

Submission Statement: September 2022

September was a pretty good month on a number of fronts. September 2022 Report Card Submissions Sent: 9 Rejections: 6 No Response: 0 Acceptances: 1 Publications: 2 Further Consideration/Shortlist: 0 I sent a solid number of submissions out in September. Those nine subs bring… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: September 2022”

The Awful Agony of Almost

I have reached a point in my writing career where the majority of short stories I write accumulate further consideration and close-but-no-cigar rejections from pro markets. I have three stories circulating at the moment, each with a minimum of three such rejections. In this… Continue Reading “The Awful Agony of Almost”

Submission Statement: August 2022

August was somewhat disappointing, mostly because I’ve fallen behind on my submission goal. August 2022 Report Card Submissions Sent: 8 Rejections: 7 No Response: 0 Acceptances: 0 Publications: 0 Further Consideration/Shortlist: 2 More submissions than last month, though most of those went in the… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: August 2022”

Three Things I Learned as a Magazine Editor

From March of 2010 to September of 2013, I was the editor-in-chief of Privateer Press’s in-house magazine No Quarter. I directly produced twenty issues (plus two special editions) as EIC and then another ten or so after I was promoted to publications manager (though the magazine… Continue Reading “Three Things I Learned as a Magazine Editor”

Submission Statement: July 2022

July was another good month. The third quarter is definitely looking better than the first two. July 2022 Report Card Submissions Sent: 5 Rejections: 6 No Response: 0 Acceptances: 2 Publications: 1 Further Consideration/Shortlist: 0 Slightly better than last month, but five submissions in… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: July 2022”

Should You Read One-Star Reviews?

A common topic in writerly circles is whether or not authors should read bad reviews of their work on Amazon, Goodreads, and elsewhere. Just for clarification, when I say bad review, I mean a one- or -two-star review, though I know some might consider… Continue Reading “Should You Read One-Star Reviews?”

Submission Statement: June 2022

June has come and gone, and it was one of the better months of the year for short stories. June 2022 Report Card Submissions Sent: 4 Rejections: 1 No Response: 0 Acceptances: 2 Publications: 0 Further Consideration/Shortlist: 1 Like May, June was not a… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: June 2022”

Effectively Wild – A Horror/Baseball Novella

Way back in August of last year, I was joking with my wife about writing a baseball monster story featuring a certain type of monster. I offered the title Effectively Wild as a haha-isn’t-that-funny and got the appropriate eyeroll. Well, friends, that slightly silly idea… Continue Reading “Effectively Wild – A Horror/Baseball Novella”

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”