December 2022 and Overall 2022 recaps
Ringing the bonsho at Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple on New Years Eve
By the numbers:
Stories out at the beginning of the month: 74
Acceptances received: 0
Rejections received: 42 (2)
Stories withdrawn: 0
Resubmissions: 45
New Submissions: 8
Stories out at the end of the month: 83
December was a little on the slow side for submissions, but also on the slow side for rejections. I had a couple of stories where the markets never responded, but mostly I was able to send out things as they came back in, and a few extra.
I finished eight new pieces in December, which was five poems, two flash fiction pieces, and one very short story. This included moors and pig clones from my December goal list, along with the “some flash or poetry”. In addition, I worked on wolf, but it’s not quite done and scooted woe to the backburned while I finish wolf. I got the cover art for my next collection done, wrote two fiction book reviews, read and reviewed some writing craft books, worked through the next section of Stephen Fry’s poetry book, and got my newsletter out mid-month.
In January, I plan to:
- Finish writing wolf
- Write the first draft of another short story (Munchausen)
- Write five flash fiction pieces (four for a contest, one for another contest)
- Write a micro fiction piece for a different contest
- Write a couple more poems or flash pieces
- Review one fiction book, one craft book, and one section of another craft book
- Work through the next section of Stephen Fry’s poetry book,
- Beta read a friend’s novel
- Proofread my collection coming out in April
- Promo for my collection coming out in February
- My newsletter and DefCon One newsletter
That looks like a ton, but it all appears to be doable, based on my schedule!
~
And now, the 2022 recap!
My numbers for 2022:
Stories out at the end of 2021: 146
New Stories Written: 100 (10 short stories, 36 flash or shorter, 54 poems)
Old Stories Making the Rounds: 153
Total Submissions: 804
Total Rejections: 812 (25)
Total Acceptances: 23 (+7)
Stories out at the end of 2022: 83
I didn’t have as many submissions this year as I’ve been making the last couple of years. Some of this was that over time, my available stories has started tilting toward far more flash and shorter pieces, which not as many markets take. I also wasn’t quite as aggressive about submitting as I’ve been in the past.
I didn’t have as many acceptances in 2022 as in 2021, but I’m still really pleased by my numbers. I’m getting a good mix of pro-rate and semi-pro rate sales, which is always nice. And I’m selling a variety of lengths and styles and genres!
I finished 100 pieces in 2022, which was a pretty good number, up from the past couple of years. My overall word count was a bit smaller than in past years (again, because of the shorter pieces), but I’m okay with that, as I know I’m getting better at writing compactly.
From my 2022 goals:
- Combined total of 102 new pieces (16 short stories, 20 flash fiction pieces, 4 poems, and 62 TBD lengths)
I came VERY close to this goal, with a lot more flash and poetry, but fewer short story length pieces. I’m a little surprised that the numbers were so good, since most of my Drawlloween pieces this year were actually just notes for stories to write in the future.
- Write 18 book reviews
Exceeded this goal with 23 fiction book reviews this year! There were a couple of books I just flew through, giving me time to read and review more!
- Publish four short story collections
I got these all published (Avatar of Freya, Doorways in the Gloom, C. and M. Marsh, Girl Detectives, and Conceits of Whim and Fancy). I also republished my epistolary YA horror novella, Camp Haunt, which had previously been available online only.
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