The way I figured doing it was three days to write the rough draft. A day or two off. Then two or three days of revision. I mean it could work, putting a few hours in a few nights a week. But this was just an idea.
Definitely not a stupid idea and something to which I'd happily commit, only I'm very poorly disciplined. A while back I tried to set myself up for a story a month and still fell well short.
And the long awaited 603-day semi-personal rejection from American Short Fiction. There was one line in there indicating what they felt was wrong with the story, and I actually agree. 2023 rejection count: 74
I like the one short or flash per week idea. I could probably do it if I cut out other extracurriculars, but then I would basically be suffering the whole year because I don't really enjoy the process of writing. I'm a pretty quick writer, and I'm not obsessed with perfection (though maybe I should be, at least a little more). The main issue for me is coming up with ideas. Once I have a decent idea, I can bang out a 500 to 1500-word story in a couple of hours. But ideas are always in short supply, and lately I find myself struggling to come up with something even when there are contest prompts. I'd be up for a story-count or word-count "competition" of sorts, all in good fun. Anything that might give us a push to do just a little more can't be a bad thing.
Sorry to hear about a rejection after such a long wait. 603 days, that's got to be the rejection thread record. I also have some more rejections to tally. Got three more this week to put my total at 89 for the year. The two short story form letters from Interzone Digital (1-day) and Flash Point Science Fiction (46-day) did include invitations to submit again. I'm convinced that most of the time when they add this line, it means a higher-tier form. I have received a rejection for a different piece from Interzone a few months ago where they did not add that. Also got a personalized rejection for a novel from an indie publisher 2 days after submitting a query. It's always neat seeing evidence that they did actually read the query and the first several pages at least. They don't read for novels again until January, so I am wondering if I should try querying the newer manuscript this weekend...
@deadrats I can see why you were on tenterhooks if it was American Short Fiction. A pity, though it at least sounds like you might have an avenue for revision? (Unless it was one of those "problems" that isn't so much a story issue as it is a hard sell for the market, or a taste difference.) Not that I'd touch any story so fresh off a rejection wound, personally. I don't find it's a good state of mind for editing. Take care of yourself this week.
603 days. Okay, then. Find the deadrat a crown 'cause 603 days of patience oughta be some kind of record. Can I get you a bowl of ice cream or a glass of whiskey or a piece of cheese or something?
Deadrats, c/o this thread. Make sure it's the good stuff. I will spare no cyberexpense on her behalf.
Hang on to it, and we'll all drink a round together. To @deadrats for leading by example, and to everyone else who's putting in the work and enduring the stress and the heartache of this crazy endeavor. Cheers, rejection friends!
Lol, should i add this to my total or start another one I got a rejection from a publisher for the very first manuscript i finished and only queried like 15 times before i Realized it was crap and needed a lot more revisions. Its been well over a year.... And i even forgot that i sent that query. Spoiler alert: rejection
An encouraging one from the New England Review. Hypes the prose and invites me to send more. All I gotta say is, thank god this magazine likes me, because high word count is going to be my perpetual problem, and they're one of the few that actively invites long work. And Ploughshares Longform had already hit me with a super-fast form rejection. Which was predictable in that I tend to dislike what Ploughshares publishes, but I'm trying not to self-reject. That's 21 now for 2023.
Aw man, I'm sorry you got that out of the blue, J.T. Woody. The other day I got a rejection for some job I have NO memory of even applying to...it probably would've been nearly a year ago, if I even did apply. Like, thanks, guys???
Unrelated, but does anyone know what the heck is up with ZYZZYVA? Their submission page says they're closed and "anticipate reopening in Spring 2023." No updates on social media, either. Except I can see multiple submissions from the past few months on Submission Grinder. So many that I doubt these are all private/personal submissions. I emailed them a while back to no response. If you have Duotrope, is there any insight there? Or do you just...know what's going on??
All categories are marked "Temporarily Closed," without explanation. A note says the most recent response reported was received on 14 Jun 2023.
How can you not like Ploughshares? I think just about everything they publish is award worthy. Seriously, IMO they publish flawless works. Language is very important to them, but I don't believe it's ever overdone. It's more often stunning and beautiful. I have been a fan of Ploughshares for many, many years. Even before I was a writer I was reading Ploughshares.
