Tag Archives: submitting

Update: More writing, more submitting, more rejections

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I got, I think, three rejections this past week. I’m not sure. Maybe it was one the week before, and two this past week. I guess it doesn’t matter. Anyway, the good thing is that people are reading my work, even if they don’t like it or at least don’t want it. The thing is that it’s getting out there. I told a friend of mine today, “If you don’t submit, you a zero percent chance of getting published. Therefor, if you do submit, your odds of being published immediately increase, even if you’re up against three hundred other people.”

I was reading a great interview with novelist James Lee Burke today in Writer’s Digest. He said, “Never let a manuscript stay at home longer than 36 hours. It’s that simple. You keep it in the mail, and if you do not you are ensured to fail…because you’re not a player. The manuscript’s sitting in your desk drawer. It’s never going to be published. And that’s how you do it. And you’re always a player. In other words, you write it as well as you can, you let God be the judge of it, don’t worry about critics and rejection.”

I suppose I’m not super jazzed about getting rejections, but Burke received 111 rejections on ONE SINGLE MANUSCRIPT before it was published. It took nine years for “The Lost Get-Back Boogie” to find a publisher, but once it did it was nominated for a Pulitzer.

I don’t know if I have Pulitzer material in me, but I’m taking Lee’s points to heart all the same. My odds of getting published are far worse if I’m not putting my work out there, and I need the odds in my favor as much as possible. Even better, the more I write, the more I’ll improve, and those odds will rise even more. Not a bad deal if you think about it.

My stats at Duotrope’s Digest say that I now have written 14 pieces since June of this year, and that I’ve submitted 36 times (which leaves out one submission that Duotrope doesn’t have listed). This weekend I sent out two rejected stories to two new markets, plus I finished a story this evening, found a market, and sent that one out as well. Tomorrow begins work on another story. After all, I only have a week to write it. And who knows, maybe this next one will turn into something special, or maybe I’ll at least learn a bit more about perseverance and patience – both good qualities to foster when writing.

Salvo number three fired!

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It seems I’m building up a bit of a head of steam here. Today I managed to get another short story sent out to another publisher, Library of Horror Press! This is the third story I’ve sent out in three months, which makes it a record for me in the number of submissions I’ve submitted within one year. I realize that three per year isn’t exactly anything to write home about, but it is something to blog about. After all, it was only a few short years ago that I wasn’t even writing anything, and then I was writing and not submitting. Then there was writing and submitting one piece. Now we’re up to three pieces. Progress, kids, progress. That’s what we strive for here. Maybe one day I’ll be celebrating getting my 20th submission in six months. Or maybe a single novel? It’s impossible to say, but the facts remain that I’m doing more writing work now than I used to, and that’s nothing but good.

The latest submission is a piece I have sent out before, but I did some editing before I sent it out again. None of the changes were really large. I feel they tightened things up a bit, hopefully added a few bits for clarity, and overall made it a better read. The previous editor’s personal rejection told me that he really enjoyed the piece, but that he was short on space by the time I submitted it. I’m getting this one in over three weeks prior to the deadline, so maybe I’ve given myself a better chance of seeing it in print. One can hope.

The story I submitted early this July has not been responded to yet. I’m concerned, as it states on the site that acknowledgment of reception is usually given within 24 hours. I’m primarily concerned, because I’ve already identified another market for this same story, should it be rejected. I don’t want it to be stuck in limbo and only find out after this other deadline has passed that they somehow never got mine. As this second submission deadline closes in I may have to write and inquire. It’s too bad if they didn’t receive it, as I understand that they personally respond to ever single submission, and feedback from publishers is always nice. When you’re not getting paid, feedback is currency.

We shall see how all this pans out. In the meantime, I’ve come across another market I’d like to submit for, but this one has the caveat that the deadline is in three days, and I literally have to write the entire story from nothing in that time. I’m excited about the story idea, but not sure if I can make it happen. I think I’m going to give it a shot, though. It sounds like a fun story – creepy things in the depths of the ocean! Who can resist?!