It hasn't been such a great year for me. I got into a few good places, but we're talking about being able to count them on one hand. I wrote some new stories this year that might have a chance and are just going out now. I've decided that I'm going to make at least one submission a week. I've done it before and it was good for my writing. It also helped me get in places I thought I had no chance with. Sent them something (my best, still) just because I have to send something out. The discipline was good for me. Anyone else have any sort of plan when it comes to making submissions in the new year? I've thought about trying to get 100 rejections in a year since that has seemed to work for some people. Are you planning to do anything to increase your odds and get your work out there?
I usually try and amass rejections, but really that just means I need to produce enough work to submit consistently. But it’s a useful perspective for viewing the whole process. I’m mostly going to get rejections anyway. I also like to figure out my acceptance rate. In general, a 1-2% acceptance rate feels good to me. Still not totally sure on the etiquette in this thread, so ignore this question if you want, but where is everyone getting published?
Hi, deadrats! It’s nice to see you back. I was still lurking the last time you were really active in this thread, but I enjoyed seeing your posts and took inspiration from them. Let’s all keep soldiering on and submitting in 2022! I wouldn’t say I have a plan for the new year, just a determination to refocus on writing. I had a lot of obstacles this year, some practical, some mental, and I didn’t write anything at all in the last quarter. But I finally got my life (mostly) in order, and now I feel ready to get back into the game. I need to work on my discipline (in writing and submitting) and to prioritize my many projects, but I think that this should be a good year for me. My main niche is humor writing; while I haven’t cracked the bigshots like The New Yorker and McSweeney’s yet, in the past two years I’ve gotten pretty good at making the upper-middle-tier publications like Points in Case and Slackjaw. I’d like to keep working on humor shorts, building a reputation and an audience, but I also want to develop my short fiction and poetry. I still don’t know exactly what balance I want between everything, but I do have some concrete, achievable goals for 2022. 1. Develop a writing schedule and stick to it. I attend a friend’s virtual writing session every Saturday, and that’s a good start, but I can definitely do more. 2. Take a fantasy writing class that a local writers’ group is offering this winter, both to develop my skills and to meet other Philly fabulists. 3. Actually complete at least one piece (of any kind) that I’m proud of every month. And if I finish more, even better! 4. Get a humor piece into McSweeney’s (or Shouts & Murmurs, but I ain’t holding my breath on that one. Still gonna try, though). Of course, my other big goal this year is to work on my social life and start dating again, so if that goes really well, I still might not have time for writing. But at least it’ll be for a worthy cause ;-)
This year, I'm hoping to have at least 2 or 3 pieces on submission at the same time. I feel like I need to generate more stories. I've been spending 90% of my writing time on my novel, and I only have one short story out for consideration right. Speaking of my one story currently making the rounds, I'm curious when other writers here feel it is appropriate to start a new round of submissions. As a rule of thumb, I submit a story to about 5 markets at a time. I've had four of those markets holding onto to my story since September. In a situation like that, do you think it's best to hold out for responses before starting a new round of submissions? Or do you wait a certain amount of time (3 months, for example) and then submit again, even if you haven't gotten responses from your last round yet?
I’m kind of impatient and anxious, so I tend to submit again after a long wait or if a particular journal opens and I think the story is a good fit. I learned the hard way to make sure I want to be published in the places where I submit, so now if a journal from the new round of submissions says yes, I’m not disappointed. This did happen recently. Pleiades had a piece for 200+ days and I sent it off to another journal I liked and had some success. I doubt Pleiades would have taken it (maybe!), so it worked out. I should add that other places had rejected the piece already, some form rejections, a few “we like it, but not for us.”
@Mckk I sent you a private message with my thoughts on the third paragraph, but of course, take them with a grain of salt.
What do you guys think about contests? I’ve come across a contest for unpublished novels, judged by a decent panel of agents. Cash prize for top 2 and a guaranteed para of bespoke feedback. They want 5000 words in January, then can ask for a full if they want it in the next phase. Costs £25 to enter so someone is making a decent payday however the agents on the panel will want paying and some goes to charity
I'm very much against paying to enter contests. They aren't interested in your writing if the winner isn't getting a publishing deal. I'd stay away, but to each their own. I only enter when it's free to do so and at minimum the winner gets their work in a quarterly magazine or anthology.
yeah I wonder if it’s just desperation on my part- it’s not going to get me where I want and I’m sure the contest isn’t going to let a SF novel win! Should focus back on my wip
My approach, and not one I'd advocate for but where I'm comfortable, is to only submit to both publications and contests where's there's no charge. I just know I'd end up like a granny on pension day with a whole bunch of useless scratch cards and an electricity bill that needed paying. On rejections, I mentioned a while ago a rejection that mentioned a preference for "overtly surreal and dark". I sent them something I thought might fit this brief and got a reply from the same editor saying they preferred a "traditional narrative arc". Maybe those things are not incompatible....maybe he should just tell me the stories were shite.
I always think of Flannery O'Connor when I see a contest for unpublished novels. She won a contest for her first novel Wise Blood and then spent years trying to wrest control from the publisher, who was small time and uninterested in publicizing or reprinting her book. I think it's a case of careful what you wish for, although having agents judge the contest is a little different from having a publishing house take the rights to your novel if you happen to "win."
I guess my motivation was seeking feedback, albeit at a cost of £25. Maybe I just feel the need to seek responses, even if negative. I’m in limbo between finishing projects so I’m not having any interaction with agents or publishers at all- and I don’t like it. At least if I’m being rejected I’m in the game- currently I’m not!
I did that once - entered some paid contest and even paid extra for the feedback promised. I didn't keep a log of where or how many I submitted to, unfortunately, but I do know I only ever got a response from one of them and the feedback was awful. It basically said nothing, read like some generic, form feedback they give everyone with some token praise. Another time I actually paid for an agent to review my query (it's a legit agent from Belcrastro - might have got the spelling wrong - and she made it clear that she will not represent any MS she's reviewed via her role as an independent, freelance editor) and again, it was awful. She changed some proper nouns to pronouns and said it was great. When pressed for something more, she suggested something that didn't ring true to the query at all. Honestly, I've had way, and I mean way better feedback from CPs and other writers doing it for free. Paid feedback is money down the drain, in my limited experience so far.
I was in therapy one day a week for two years but it finished at the end of last year. Now I am going part-time at work, 4 days with one day writing. I seem to be having most luck with anthologies, personally.
Three rejections arrived today: a 73-day rejection from Witness Literary Awards, a 120-day rejection from Epiphany Online, and a rejection from Kenyon Review's free workshop for teachers.
When I first started submitting, I found a website that suggested treating rejections like experience points in an RPG—you'd get 1 point for a basic form rejection, 2 for a higher-tier, 3 for a personal, etc. He also assigned a 1.5x multiplier for multiple rejections on the same day. So, if all three of yours were forms, that would be a solid 4.5 point day. Impressive!
Yikes, that’s awful. I think I’ll park it. As it happens I got a full MS today so I’ll wait for that instead!
upon looking back on my query letters, i realized i made a bunch of tiny errors and i feel so stupid for making them! like, i "stuttered" in the first line... 'my my'.... and I reread it a dozen times before i sent it and its like my brain didnt process that there was the word twice until AFTER i sent it! and then I was basically copying and pasting the information from Query Manager where it has slots for contact information, so in my emailed query, i put "I'm reachable by phone and email" but then never provided a phone number. i'm nit picking because I just got my 18th rejection and im on the verge of pulling my hair out.....
we all do daft stuff, it’s a learning curve. I’ve emailed and used the wrong agents name, then again I’ve had an agent email and get my name wrong!
I watched a video last week about agents and publishing, and I realized that most agents only gets a few new clients a year from the long list of submissions they receive. Every detail counts to show you are on top of things, but there has to be quite a few to make it into a deterrent. The important thing is that you are learning from it, how you approach letters and what happens when you rewrite them many times. You can find ways not to make the same mistake again. Keep trying, there are many people who want to publish. And you don't only need to find an agent...you need to find the right match!
