“Tumbleweeds and Highways” was published in Clean Sheets.

“Web of Death” was published in MicroHorror.

I also finished the month on 100 Words which you can read at Val Gryphin’s December Batch.

Go check them out and if you have any comments feel free to leave them for me.

Go! Shoo! Then you can come back and read my stats!

Now, where were we. Ah yes.

In the year 2008, (According to my lovely Duotrope) I had 74 new submissions to 57 different markets, on 17 different pieces, with 11 submissions still out for consideration.

Of those 63 completed submissions I had 48 rejections:

• * 1 assumed rejection
• * 7 personal rejections
• * 40 form rejections

I also:

• * had 1 rewrite request
• * withdrew 7 submissions

And, (the best part) I received 7 acceptances, of which 3 have gone to print.

Other interesting facts:

• * the shortest response time was 0 days
• * the longest one is still out at 216 days
• * the next is an assumed rejection at 200 days (yes, I had emailed to check on it.)
• * the longest actual rejection was 189 days
• * of the acceptances, I had one that was 0 days and one that was 127
• * the piece that went out the most went out 13 times so far (and still not accepted!)

Overall I consider it a very successful year. I met agents and learned more about the business at a writer’s conference, and developed an elevator pitch I was able to give to an agent I respected. I was also requested to send the first 100 pages of my novel, which, even though it was rejected, was a great experience. I completed both NaNoWriMo and a month of 100 Words. I did a hard revision on Moving on Nightfall and am 2/3rds of the way through my second novel.

Yes, overall, it very good writing year.

And in that time period between this and my last acceptance I have also received 1o rejections.

And I have 8 stories out to 15 markets.

AND! NaNoWriMo starts in about 48 hours! I’ll be blogging my progress heh heh heh. I am invoking the Zokutou Clause as I have won NaNo before, and will be rewriting and continuing the one I started in 2003 – it is at 33k, but my writing has improved and there are some changes I want to make. I’m also shooting for 70k words rather than 50k – which means I am shooting for writing 2334 words a day. Yikes. I’ve been busting ass for a while writing though, so I’m going to try like hell to pull it off.

*starts sweating already*

I also edited my Twitter box so it doesn’t take up so much room. I have it partly so people can have another way to follow my posts as this blog pings Twitter whenever there is a new post.

I had another short story accepted, this one by Ruthie’s Club, titled “Winter Showers.” I also have received 8 rejections this month, which brings my total this year to 27. I currently have 18 stories out.

And in non-writing news, my daughter has the chicken pox. She had recieved one of the shots in the 2 shot series so far, so even though she tends to catch anything like that very severely, she has a mild case with just bumps and itching. She’s quite pleased however that this means she doesn’t have to have the second shot after this!

congratulations! “liturgy of the abandoned” has tied for 2nd place in our “picture worth 500 words” contest.

Sweet! I’ll post when I know for sure the publication date.

And I get paid!

*sigh*

I felt like my daughter did when she got Corbin Blue’s (one of the hottest “tween” crushes) autograph by catching him at the back fence after a show. She was on air for days and laminated the fair ticket he signed. I felt like that. (Although, from my older, more cynical self this doesn’t count as a personal rejection exactly, but it was the most personal I had received up to that point!)

So far in the last twelve months I have submitted twenty-nine short stories. (Perhaps obviously, several have been out more than once.) Of those, I haven’t heard back on six, one was published (“Spring and Fall” in Khimairal Ink), and the other twenty-two obviously were rejected. However, of those, five were personal rejections, which means over twenty percent were personal. (Yes I am that much of a geek.) I’m not sure what the average is, but I do know that that’s not a bad average, considering some of the publications I submit to. (I tend to aim high, perhaps I shouldn’t but I do.)

I will post some of the personal rejection letters I’ve received over time, but there was one form letter I received that was so funny I have to post it here. It was from Postcards from Hell, and it went:

“Val,

We have subjected our victims to your story but they were not sufficiently traumatized. Your story has been consigned to the Lake of Fire. Thanks for trying Postcards from Hell. Have a nice day.

Minion

editor from hell”

How great is that??????