I am reminded by the state of my rejection per submission rate, that publication success is aggregation, but it does not gather interest of itself. I have learned each little success does help with my motivation, even it doesn’t equal building momentum towards more successes. What I am trying to say is that being accepted here, does not automatically see writing acceptance there, and there and there. Perhaps, one day, the accumulation of publication credits might amount to something, and that something will be another form of getting my work out there. Maybe a collection, or a chapbook. We will see.

• 

There are no guarantees. I need to tell myself, my publishing track record for 2020 has little bearing on 2021. It’s what those superannuation ads say – past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. So, while I collect data on submissions and rejections and publications, and can compare it to data from last year, every submission is like a roll of the dice, the odds remain the same each time I roll, no matter the result of the previous roll. Or almost. The more I know about where I am submitting my writing, the better I can try to match their needs with my work, and each rejection is an opportunity to look at my writing anew and attempt to improve it.

Anyway, last year’s publication results were welcome, but they also indicate the need to write new works, which I am doing, slowly. I also need to ensure what I have already remains fresh, and is as good as I can get it for the editors who may come across my stuff. The other thing last year gave me is the knowledge that there are places for my writing, more than I can tally, and all I need to do is keep doing the work.

The work of course, is to keep refining my writing, keep actually writing, keep looking for publications, keep submitting to them, editing, and submitting again. So it goes.

The 2021 writing update

• Pending submissions: 27
• Rejections: 53
• Publications: 3