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I’m Proud of Being Rejected Over 100 Times This Year

The only way to become a winner is to be a better loser

Dr. Casey Lawrence
Publishous

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Photo by Madalyn Cox on Unsplash

I am pleased to announce that this year, I got rejected over 100 times!

(Please, hold your applause!)

How did I do it, you ask?

First, I collected submission guidelines from resources like Sub Club on Substack, Erica Verrillo’s monthly lists of writing contests and upcoming submission windows, and this list of literary magazines in a spreadsheet.

Then I submitted, submitted, and submitted some more. What did I submit? Everything. Poems, short stories, creative nonfiction, reviews. The point was just to write and submit.

I tracked all my submissions to writing contests, lit journals, anthologies, magazines, and other paid writing opportunities using Submission Grinder.

Screenshot of the author of their Yearly Statistics on The Grinder

It can take anywhere from a week to 6+ months to hear back about a submission. When I only had one pending submission, I would check it anxiously and be disappointed when it took ages or resulted in rejection.

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