I got one poem accepted by the revered British magazine Snakeskin Poetry… from what I hear, it has a low acceptance rate, and accomplished poets take years to be published in that one. The editor rejected 5 others I submitted to him, so that boosts my rejection count for 2023 to 16.
I'm just tagging along here admiring the champs. I only have a few rejections that I forgot to count.
Top tip- don’t check email after having an amazing night out and lots of beer. This pro forma rejection hurts!
A 113-day form rejection (I did not make the longlist on their website) from the Welkin Writing Prize. Followed by my first of the year!
Short story rejection: 5 I was hopeful for this one. The last time I submitted to them, it was a 2 day rejection. This time went way past the 2-day mark..... And still a no
Told you I’d had beer. Went to log the rejection on my spreadsheet. It was for my first book and I’d subbed it 18 months ago! Yeah I’d kind of got the hint and given up on it! Still, at least they replied. I really can’t stand those who don’t reply.
I'm right there with you guys. So much rejection and we're only about half way there. I'm definitely trying more than I would have if I wasn't aiming for 100 rejections in a year. It does take the sting out of the rejections with this shift in focus. I mean not everything is going to be a no, right? It just can't be, right? I've got around 40 submissions pending which means I still hav e to make more submissions to reach that 100 rejections mark. My oldest submission is right around 500 days and it's the one I want the most. It would make all the rejections worth it to sell a story to this publication. I could really use some good news.
I had 4 rejections from Nanoism last year, and the one the editor accepted recently was in his inbox for 8 months before he finally looked at it and got back to me. It was my first payment for publication (I got $1.50), and it was just published online over the weekend.
You're right about that. If i cant get a win with an acceptance, i want to get a 'win' at the most rejections ( ) My competitive side came out when i saw @Set2Stun coming up behind me I have to remind myself of this often or else i'll get sad and not want to do much submitting....
Got a 66-day agent form letter rejection, and a 2-day rejection from Flash Frog. That makes it 46. It still stings, but at least it means that I am still trying. And I've had two personal rejections out of the 46, which is kinda neat. I am starting to feel like maybe I need to spend less time submitting and more time writing, though..
I feel like submitting a lot makes me read and write so much more. I want to send certain places a new story almost right after a rejection. So I want to have something they would maybe like more if or when they reject me. And how do I know what they might like more? I read the stories they publish. And that make me then buy a book by that author. It's almost like I'm obsessed with the literary world and so forth. Anyway, I don't think it's a bad cycle to be in for me at least.
We're totally on the same page with this. It's an interesting experiment. I'm happy you all wanted to take part in this challenge too. Right when I get rejected I can't wait to tell you guys. LOL. And you haven't won yet. All it's going to take is one agent saying yes to you and then there's no way you'll reach 100 before me.
Shortish form turnaround from The Forge, putting me at 20. Apart from this one, it's like my Submittable account is stuck in some kind of time loop, so maybe now some movement on it.
My two acceptances this year have come from publishers of anthologies who have published me before. I don’t think they are particularly choosy, to be honest. But still, I’ll take them.
i've been obsessively checking QT for updates on those manuscript requests. One of them typically has a positive response after 44 days and will tend to reject you before 41 days. My submission is 43 days old. Another lists negative response aver as being 43 days and a positive response average as being 36 days. My submission for that one is 22 days old. the third one is only 9 days old so im not as stressed about that one since its still 'new' As far as my queries.... i've heard absolutely nothing for the ones that still remain out there lastly, a journal requested additional materials from me a couple months back with directions to email the editor personally. I didnt have anything back then, but I emailed him 2 days ago with some new material. he says he'd get to it and let me know. so i'm waiting on that too. so much waiting!
I DIDN'T GET REJECTED!!! Is it okay to share that here? I just a few minutes ago got a phone call from Wyoming Arts Council telling me my short story collection won the Neltje Blanchan Award for "for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script informed by a relationship with the natural world." Years ago, I got honorable mention for a related award, but this is the real deal. The Award is $1000 and something to put in my query letters. Callo callay! O frabjous day!
@Catriona Grace -- I'm so happy for you. That is wonderful! Congratulations!!! Just so you know our little code for acceptance is a . But I'm glad you shared the details. It seems like a pretty big deal with a big payday attached to it. Good for you.
