45 acceptances (vs. 41 in 2015).
35 rejections (vs. 32 in 2015).
40 original short stories published and two reprinted (vs. 37 in 2015), 4 articles/essays published (vs. 3 in 2015).
I completed 56 short stories (vs. 41 in 2015).
I completed (to final draft) 169,430 words of short fiction (vs. 153,000 in 2015).
35 rejections (vs. 32 in 2015).
40 original short stories published and two reprinted (vs. 37 in 2015), 4 articles/essays published (vs. 3 in 2015).
I completed 56 short stories (vs. 41 in 2015).
I completed (to final draft) 169,430 words of short fiction (vs. 153,000 in 2015).
That's an average story length of 3,026 words (vs. an average of 3,732); the shortest story was 300 words; the longest was 8,000 words.
I completed and submitted an average of 1.08 short stories each week (vs. an average of .79 each week in 2015).
(I only track completed short fiction word counts, not words written for incomplete projects, nor words written for other forms of writing.)
Observations:
1) The increased number of completed stories and the decline in the average length of my stories is partially attributable to a mid-year attempt to crack Woman's World. I failed.
2) Woman's World and a few other publications do not send rejections. Non-responses are not included in the rejection count.
2017 Goals
1) To complete and submit an average of at least one short story each week. This goal is completely within my control.
2) To receive an average of at least one acceptance each week. (Reprints and non-fiction pieces count for this goal.) This goal is under my control to the extent that I control how much I write and how much I submit. I do not, however, have any control over editorial tastes and requirements.
3) To continue to have one or more short stories published each and every month, as I have for several years now. This goal is under my control to the extent that I control how much I write, how much I submit, and how often I write seasonal stories (for example: Valentine's Day stories for February, Thanksgiving stories for November, etc.). I do not, however, have any control over editorial publishing schedules.
3 comments:
I'd argue that number one is not completely under your control. One never knows what freight train will come through our lives unexpectedly. You recovered from your medical incident aqnd other situations and continue to generate output.
I have never recovered from my medical deal--seven years come March---and you know what happened with my wife. A major chunk of everything goes to care giving on that deal. Both situations and several others I have not talked about at all are definite impediments to my generating output.
Of course, we disagree on the reality of writer's block, so no wonder we disagree on this. lol
I'll grant your point that fate may conspire against us and negatively impact our ability to produce new material, Kevin, but writing is the only part of the process over which we have any real control. We have no control over editors, reviewers, readers, and the rest. We can only hope to influence them by what we write, how often we complete new material, and how frequently we put our work in their hands.
Hell of a year, Michael. Your output and acceptance rate is simply astonishing and, honestly, quite inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
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