Stats and Milestones

I was just having my daily poke around Duotrope, when I decided to take a look at my submission history. Not just what I'm waiting to hear back on, but everything I've submitted. And I found some interesting stuff.

My first submission ever was the original "GPS," and I sent it to Macabre Cadaver on March 9th, 2009. I received a form rejection letter a little less than two months later, on April 20th.

I obviously wasn't ready for the rejection, because I didn't submit another story until October 1st of that year. The story was the first incarnation of "The Bright Walk", and it was rejected by Clarkesworld Magazine the very next day. Talk about a kick in the pants.

Shock Totem rejected it next, and I sent it off to Dark Discoveries around Halloween, and wouldn't hear back for months.

Proving how much of a delicate flower I am, I went through another period of not writing, which saw me not submitting another story until January 4th of 2010. That story, however, was "Goldie," which was accepted on February 19th and appeared in that month's edition of Midwest Literary Magazine. This spring, the story was anthologized in "Hanging By Threads."

Two days after acceptance, I received my first personalized rejection letter (PRL). It was from Dark Discoveries, for "The Bright Walk." My next rejection was personal, as well, from Flash Fiction Online for the short story version of "The Machine."

Fast Forward to August of 2010. There were eight submissions in the month, a new record for me. I received  four responses: three form letters from Daily Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and The Absent Willow Review; And I received one PRL from John Joseph Adams at Lightspeed Magazine.

August was huge for me. Still looking for that first pro sale, but it looks like I'm getting there. I wonder what September will bring...