One piece of advice I've been given multiple times is: send out your work, then start writing something else. Always be working on something.

Last week, I had that reaffirmed. In December of 2023, I submitted a story to Collective Madness. There was a very long window for submissions, so I didn't worry about it and worked on other projects. Then earlier this month, nearly ten months later, I got an email accepting my story. I'm thrilled.

I know the two editors. They submitted poetry to "Lost Between Light & Shadow" and they're in one of my writing groups. they also put out great anthologies. One that has received a lot of acclaim is called "Darkness 101." There are 101 stories of exactly 101 words. That is pretty impressive.

I was selling books with them and the publisher of Timber Ghost Press at a new Dark Arts festival. A K-12 teacher came through the room where were selling books and bought a copy. He was thrilled to take it to school and show his students that they could write micro short stories.

I submitted five poems that were out for two and a half months. They were all rejected this past week, but two of them had personal comments by the editor, which is great. It means they liked them enough to take an extra minute or two to let me know what they thought.

While I was waiting for word on those five, I polished three poems I'll be submitting to an anthology this month and another I hope to submit next year.

I am also writing a short story for the same anthology that closes at the end of the month.

You never know how long it may take to hear back on a submission. If you get a quick rejection, that's a sign the work needs to be looked at again because it didn't get past the slush pile reader. If it takes three or four months to get a rejection, then it most likely got to the editor. I've had poetry editors tell me in the rejection email that the poem made it to their short list and should have no trouble getting picked up elsewhere.

A rejection doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. On the contrary, it was good enough to pass two or three readers first. And if it's out that long, it probably means it wasn't quite the right fit, or wasn't quite what they were looking for. But it is good.

If you get a personal rejection, one that the editor actually commented on your work or said they'd like to see more from you, that means they REALLY want to see more from you. They're busy and don't often have the time to give a personal rejection. Take heart and send it somewhere else. Then remember that magazine or anthology or publisher and send them something else.

But do make sure the work is as good as you can make it. Read it out loud and see how it sounds. This is easier for a poem or short story, but you can find a lot of mistakes if you listen to it.

Being mostly blind helps me. I have my computer read to me. One line at a time for a poem, one paragraph at a time for a story. I can hear how the work sounds, and I can hear where it needs a fix.

Many famous writers and famous books were rejected. Some many times. "A Wrinkle In Time" was rejected by over 26 publishers. Most authors have been rejected multiple times—even after they've published several novels or stories. Keep at it.

I have a decent number of publications, but I'm not great. I'm not publishing novels and I'm not on bestseller lists, but I'm writing, and I'm getting better. Some of my earlier poems are really good. Some are terrible. I'm doing better in many ways, but I'm always trying to improve.

My short stories are definitely getting better.

Now I'm working on novels. I only have first drafts, and some in the second draft phase, but I'm working on it. I've had a lot more time since I stopped volunteering as an event planner and working on science fiction, fantasy, and horror conventions. I don't regret that decision. I'm much less stressed and I have a lot more time to write.

It's all about choices and about writing. Even a little time each day or each week is enough. Just work on consistency. And read. Read in your genre, read outside your genre. Read poetry. It'll help your writing. So will writing poetry, but that's another blog post. :)