If you go to your calendar app on an iPhone, you can scroll back centuries. At 1582 and see that October goes from the 4th to the 15th the following day. This is the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar, a papal decision because the previous measurement of time made the year a tad too long. Yes, this is really cool and I love it because with the dates I have gotten for the history in my novel, I look at the years of 1590 to 1646 to learn what day of the week my protagonist was baptized and what day her death was recorded.
Anyway, time does not matter. Nonetheless, I still use it to keep track of my progress as a writer. I’m sure you know about that article Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejection in a Year. I entered this new year not feeling as accomplished as I have in the past. So I took a look at my stats to see how I fared.
Total Submissions: 46
Rejections: 30
Withdrawals: 7
Acceptances: 2
Publications: 2
I’m proud of this because for the past two years I hadn’t submitted much. The pandemic and the breakdown of my marriage made me unable to sit down and turn to creative pursuits.
Now that I am pitching stories and submitting applications, I feel rejuvenated. Every time I submit something, I’ve given myself a chance to get the opportunity.
Even with all of those rejections I had some great moments in my literary life for 2022. I interviewed the brilliant Azar Nafisi and had our conversation published in The Rumpus. I traveled to Belize and attended an intimate writers’ retreat where I had a chance to hang out with literary agents and other amazing human beings forging literary citizenship. I had a little essay published in Coachella Review, my first published essay in two years. My biggest accomplishment has been getting a strong draft of my novel completed. I’m awful at finishing big projects, but thanks to being in class and working with like-minded peers, I have stayed the course. My hope is to start submitting to agents this year.
How did you do in 2022? Did it get easier? Did it get harder? Will you champion your work this year?
I will try to post more frequently in the coming year, sharing more about the creative process, my experience as an editor at a literary journal, some craft ideas, and providing book recommendations. I’m also open to questions on any of these topics, which I can dive into in a post, so fire away!
Congrats on those stats, Anita! Another thing to add to your list of accomplishments in 2022: inspiring and shepherding students! Thanks to you and some other instructors, I made my first submissions in 2022 and received my first rejection (woohooo!). Your Coachella essay is great - compelling, poignant & poetic. May 2023 bring many more writing adventures and stats to celebrate.