I'd been averaging about a hundred rejections every six months. But this time it took less than four!
- 300 – August 8, 2008 (401 days to next milestone)
- 400 – September 13, 2009 (282 days to next milestone)
- 500 – June 22, 2010 (268 days to next milestone)
- 600 – March 17, 2011 (208 days to next milestone)
- 700 – October 11, 2011 (185 days to next milestone)
- 800 – April 17, 2012 (197 days to next milestone)
- 900 - October 31, 2012 (173 days to next milestone)
- 1000 - April 25th, 2013 (198 days to next milestone)
- 1100 - November 10th, 2013 (111 days to current milestone)
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.
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.
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.
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.