10/22/2024

Back in April of this year, I submitted my first piece in a long while. It was a nonfiction piece that was sent to Memento Mori Ink. In complete transparency it was a requested piece, so submitting it might be a stretch, though it could have still been rejected. I also sent a story to a contest around the same time. The story didn’t win, but it was nice to send a story out with hopes it would get published. 

In May, I sent two pieces to Lisa Vasquez for Napalm Psalms. I knew only one would get picked but I wanted her to have a choice. She chose the better of the two and one of my favorite psychological pieces titled, Duality. I sent one story out in June that was ultimately rejected.

Sending out those five pieces created an itch I haven’t had in a long, long time. So, in July I set out to submit thirty-one stories, one for each day of the month. It was a lot of work, but I managed to meet my goal. That put me at a total of thirty-six stories submitted on the year. Umm … I haven’t submitted thirty-one total stories combined since 2011. 

Let me tell you, the rejections rolled in. I mean, seriously. I received thirteen rejections in the span of two weeks, almost one a day. It was disheartening, but I knew this would happen, Then I received an acceptance for the Weird Wide Web’s podcast for my story, She’s A Vampire, I’m A Hobo. When I heard the story (done by Lindsey Goddard) I got really excited. 

Since then, I have really dug my heels in, trying to find places for my work. There is one very big problem, though: I’m not really a horror writer anymore. Sure, I write some darker words on dark, real life subjects, but I don’t write what I feel is stereotypical horror anymore. I’ve experimented with different styles and genres (like mystery, romance and literary, as well as poetry).

Even though trying to find paying markets is a little frustrating, I find I’m enjoying sending stories out. I’ve also been keeping track of all of the submissions in a spreadsheet. So, here are the latest statistics on the year:

Submissions: 64

Responses: 45

Rejections: 32 (bummer)

Acceptances: 13 (Awesome sauce)

Acceptance Rate: 28.9%

The acceptance rate is really good. I was hoping for something between 20%-25%, so I’m happy with that number. Thirteen acceptances is more than I have had in any year since 2010, when thirty-three stories were accepted. 

Of those thirteen acceptances, seven have already been published. Below are links to those seven stories. Please take a few minutes to check them out. Some of them are free to read, others are parts of books or magazines, so, yeah, there’s a purchase price.

I’m A Hobo, She’s A Vampire at The Weird Wide Web Podcast. 

The Hook of Relatability at Memento Mori Ink Magazine (Nonfiction)

The Scarring at Exquisite Death

Darkness at Dark Descent, Whispers From Beyond Volume III

Treats at the Aver Residence at Wilhelm Presents Frightening Tales

Wave at Micromance (yes, this is a love story)

Duality at Napalm Psalms 

Thank you for stopping by. Also, thank you for taking the time to look over some of those stories. I’m excited to be putting out work again.

If you have a few extra seconds, please take the time to like the post, leave a comment and share it with your friends. I greatly appreciate it.

Until we meet again, my friends, be kind to one another.

A.J.