Those of you who have followed me for years will know that I initially tried the Write 1, Submit 1 challenge, where I tried to write and submit one story every week. That later changed to the 100 Rejections challenge, which was to aim for 100 rejections a year. While I never succeeded in either of those challenges, it did lead me to start a habit of tracking all my submissions and new writings, which I have managed to keep up for going on 7 years.
2020 has definitely been a unique year, both in the challenges and opportunities presented. A lot could be said, but I think I’ll just focus on the statistics as a way to sum up the year:
Writing submissions rolled over from 2019: 9
Writing submissions in 2020 (including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry): 32 (though I may sneak in one more today, if possible)
Non-writing creative submissions in 2020: 4 (all photography)
Total submissions tracked in 2020: 45
Acceptances: 4 (1 fiction, 2 non-fiction, and 1 poem)
Rejections/Abandonments: 29
Still under consideration: 12
Acceptance Rate: 12.1%
Shortest submission to decision: 2 days
Longest submission: 539 days (and counting…I’m hoping to get the decision soon per a previous email query. Surprisingly, this is not the record of longest submission to decision!)
New writing: 6 (1 flash fiction, 3 non-fiction, and 2 poems) – I’m trying to finish a few more by the end of today, but we’ll see!
Main takeaways and highlights from 2020:
- Very cool that my story, “\’in-glish\”, was included in the Best of Brevity anthology alongside a lot of fantastic authors, which was a huge honor. This is still, by far, my most popular piece of writing, and I am so glad people seem to really resonate with it.
- Also, one of my acceptances was first place in a haiku contest, which has to come with the most interesting prize I’ve ever received in my writing career: my poem etched in handmade soap.
- There seemed to be a lot of abandoned submissions this year, which are when submission venues never get back to me officially, but it’s likely that the submission will not be published because another contest winner has been announced, the journal disappeared, queries are not being answered, or their policies state that after a certain time a submission would be considered rejected. While it’s understandable why some venues feel this is the best policy, it kind of sucks. I put a lot of time into each submission, and it’s disappointing that it’s on the author to decide when to move on, rather than the venue giving a clear-cut answer.
- Of the pieces still under consideration, there are a couple of interesting reasons as to why they fall under this category:
- One was for a contest, of which the prize included an in-person event. Due to the COVID pandemic, this event naturally had to be cancelled, and all the entries were rolled over for next year.
- One was long-listed, so it was technically not accepted in the initial round, but it has a chance in future rounds rather than being outright rejected.
- I really haven’t been able to complete any lengthy pieces this year. I have a lot of half-written/half-revised short stories that are waiting for me. Also, I think it’s been easier to complete non-fiction essays, because the events of 2020 have evoked a lot of strong emotions in me that needed to come out in written form, and they weren’t easily translatable to fiction.
Looking forward, I would like to be able to complete some long fiction, whether it be my short stories or (gasp!) a novel. However, I’m just glad to keep chugging along, doing a little here and there. I’ve learned not to push too hard, to embrace new opportunities, explore new things, and enjoy being a writer (rather than turning it into an obligation).
See you in 2021!