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My 2021 Submissions Round-Up

Georgina Jeffery1 Comment
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Each year I keep track of my writing submissions with a spreadsheet of all the short stories and poetry I tender for publication, along with the successes and failures for each. I’m feeling really good about this year’s results. Let’s tally up!

Submissions to magazines, anthologies, and competitions

Number of Submissions: 29

Submissions Declined: 24

Submissions Accepted: 4

Still under review: 1

Hurray! That feels like a decent ratio of success.

Of those Accepted submissions, two have been published this year. I wrote a folklore-themed piece called Denizens of the Deep Dark for Copperfield Review Quarterly published in July, and a dystopian-alchemy story for a speculative fiction anthology, Unbreakable Ink, published in September.

Piece number three is a slightly weird horror story-graphic which will appear in a future issue of Sci-Fi Lampoon. The fourth one I’m not allowed to announce – though I desperately want to be able to brag about it – until it has been published.

I’m proud of all of them, but especially this last un-named story simply because I persevered with it all year. It had the most Declines out of all my submissions, but was eventually accepted by one of the more impressive (to me!) publishers on my list. This piece, which is a foray into Weird Horror, also gained some magnificent feedback from those who declined it, which stoked my enthusiasm and led me to go back over and refine the story even more, before it was finally accepted.

My message here is to keep going. Don’t allow yourself to be dragged down by a few negative responses. Consider criticism carefully and learn to identify which parts make your writing shine. Keep polishing your work and putting it in front of people. Eventually, you’ll find the right people to appreciate it.

If you need ideas for where you can submit your writing to, check out this list of 5 Places To Find Story Submission Opportunities.

My other Big Achievement this year has been to finish writing and editing The Jack Hansard Series: Season Two, ready for release in January 2022. Considering it took me around five years to properly publish Season One, getting a whole book done in one year is a big step forward for me. This time I had a plan, and I managed to stick to it (just). I also have a better idea of how this publishing malarkey works now, and I’m optimistic for the year ahead!

How has your year been?

Have you had any great writing achievements this year? Tell me about it in the comments! It needn’t be an acceptance or publication – maybe you finally finished a story that’s been clawing at your brain, or you’ve just started the journey of a new one. Now’s a great time to reflect on all the progress you’ve made, and recognise even the smallest successes along your path.

I hope you go into the new year with a similar feeling of optimism. Wishing you all the very best, and a very Happy New Year~

2021 Submissions: Halfway Checkpoint!

Georgina Jeffery2 Comments

SHORT STORY SUBMISSIONS

Stats & Stuff

Story submissions to magazines, anthologies, and competitions

Number of Submissions: 23

Submissions Declined: 15

Submissions Accepted: 1

Still under review: 7

Wheeeeeee! We’re only halfway through the year, and I’ve already bested last year’s results (which, let’s face it, were pretty abysmal anyway). I expect to slow down on submissions towards the end of this year, but only because I hope to be extra-focused on handling edits and the publishing process for Season Two of The Jack Hansard Series.

The Accepted story on this list is a flash triptych called ‘Denizens of the Deep Dark’. It will feature in the upcoming July issue of Copperfield Review Quarterly.

Why are my submissions going better this year?

Having been at this for a while now, I’ve built up a larger catalogue of short stories to send out. This means I can have several different pieces out at the same time, rather than waiting for just one to be assessed by a publisher before being able to submit it again. I’m also quite proud of some of my newer works (tangible evidence of improvement in my writing) and this confidence keeps me eager to edit and resubmit after every rejection.

I’ve also been helped by some very fast turnarounds from a few journals. While it can be disheartening to receive a rejection in less than 48 hours (24 hours, in one instance!) this does then immediately free up the story for submission elsewhere, as many of these publishers don’t allow you to submit to multiple markets at once.

An extra note is that I’ve broadened my horizons this year by making a return to poetry, which I’ve dabbled in on-and-off over the years. There are just two poems of which I’m proud enough to have included in the above submissions list, and one which I’ve entered into a humour competition that will announce winners in August. Let’s see how we go!

How are your submissions going?

Do you keep track of your submission stats like this? How’s this year shaping up compared to last year? Tell me all about it, I’d love to know! We can celebrate our wins and commiserate our rejections together. And if you’re yet to submit anything, then I’m here to shout you some friendly words of encouragement.

If you need ideas for where to submit your stories, check out this list I made of my own favourite haunts for scouring short story markets.

Happy submitting!