Got my twelve hundredth rejection in record time

I’d been averaging about a hundred rejections every six months. But this time it took less than four!

This is due almost entirely to all my submissions to literary journals, which’ve increased my submissions volume 2-fold. Nowadays, it’s rare for me to have fewer than 80 submissions out, and I frequently have more than 100.

I’ve gotten three acceptances along with the 100 rejections. I’ve sold stories to Daily Science Fiction, Nature, and a chapbook whose distribution channel I’m unsure of (I think it has something to do with a convention?) All sales were at pro rates.

I feel as if I’ve exhausted my stockpile of rejection-related wisdom. I feel as if I’m past the place where there’s any pride to be had from rejection volume. I’m only posting this entry because I’ve turned this into a tradition.

Comments (

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  1. Sean Patrick Hazlett

    I actually admire the fact that you post these stats.

    I plan to do the same once I make my first pro sale.

    Posts like this provide hope for those of us who also have a staggering number of rejections.

    1. R. H. Kanakia

      Haha, glad you’re deriving some comfort from them. Yes, what’s amazing is the number of rejections you get AFTER that first pro sale. It’s been almost 950 rejections since I made my first pro sale. Sometimes I feel staggered by that.

      1. Sean Patrick Hazlett

        Yeah, I think right now I have somewhere in the range of 300-350 rejections over a two-year period. After a while, you learn to laugh at them because the numbers are just so staggering. I’m at the point where I treat them as a sign of bull-headed determination and tenacity.

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