Today is a momentous occasion in my so called writing career. Today I received my 2,000th rejection by a literary review. Now some might say that 2,000 rejections might be more than a subtle hint that it's time to move on to something else, but I don't really see it that way.
At this time I have around 90 or more short stories which I'm actively shopping around. At any given time I have somewhere between 100 to 200 submissions out there waiting for responses. Sometimes responses come in less than a month, other times they don't come for over a year. Usually I make submissions twice a month.
Getting a response is somewhat of a crap shoot. There are a lot of factors that have to come together. Sure the quality of the writing is damn important, but so is a hell of a lot of stuff out of the author's control. Does the editor like your voice and tone, do they like the theme of the specific story, does it fit the overall theme of their next issue, are they in a good mood, what time of the day did they read your story, did they just get in a fight with their significant other, do they have to poop? All of these and more decide whether or not a story gets published.
Long topic short, 2,000 rejections is just a start. On to 3,000.
You want to check out some of the stories that made the cut? Check out these.