2016 in rejections (and acceptances)

I set a goal for the year of 200 rejections (with the idea that the number of acceptances would likewise increase). I fell well short of my goal, however, with only 144. The number isn’t reflected in the chart above since it also includes rejections from queries and poetry (more about this later). I tweeted most of the rejections.

The green section of the chart is a bit thicker this year courtesy of two acceptances, “Our Lady of the Freeway” at Headland Journal (it won the 2016 Headland prize as an added bonus) and “Girls” at Flash Flash Click.

Rejections from queries were mostly form, although I did get two helpful rejections and one full request (which was ultimately turned down). I’ll continue putting out queries on the novel until my premium QueryTracker subscription is up in April or May and then I’ll declare the novel dead.

And then there’s poetry. I didn’t mention this last year because frankly, I wasn’t sure if what I was writing was any good or not. Mostly, it’s not, but I did manage to place two poems, one at Westerly and the other at Meniscus, both Australian journals. Given that Headland is a New Zealand journal, apparently, Oceania is the best place to sell my writing.