I have so many things out at magazines and contests right now, I'm afraid to send anything else out, in case I have already sent it somewhere. Of course, I haven't kept track of what I sent. So I'll let it ride for a while, and promise myself that I will note in the future what I sent out to whom and when.
It reminds me of the many job hunts I have carried out in the past. There is always the feeling that the next one or the next will do the trick. So I kept on going. But I think I have much more luck with sending out my work than with applying for jobs. I hope that holds true when it comes to farming out a manuscript, but it probably won't.
3 comments:
I suspect you'll do better than you think with your manuscripts. And, if you do get a few rejections along the way, think of all the writers who got hundreds of rejections for quality work before their first acceptance. I remember having received notes from publishers saying that this or that poem, etc. was rejected simply because it didn't quite fit in with the magazine's theme or philosophy, etc. And this is after I went to the library to read the mags before I sent them my work. It can be very frustrating, but at the same time when you do get the occasional acceptance, what a great high that is!
You are doing such a very good job of sending out your poems and stories that you owe them a little record keeping! Try the method I described to you--the 3X5 cards, one for each work, then just note the latest publisher you've sent to, file alphabetically in a recipe box, and voila, you know where all your children are. :)
I promise to do better with record keeping, Lou. I probably will use the computer though, maybe Excel or just Word documents. It's faster, and I don't have to find a place to put the box! That's daunting around here!
As for rejections Robin, I could paper a room with ones I have gotten throughout my life. I got so desperate years ago that I sent a poem about fish to Tropical Fish Hobbyist and they sent me back a note on how to write limericks!
But since last year or so, I've gotten nearly as many acceptances as rejections. That's pretty good, considering my past record and the ambitiousness of the places I was sending things to! I still have a story out to The New Yorker! I don't exactly think they'll take it, but who knows?
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