My 2020 writing goal was 100 rejections and you may remember I didn’t quite make it. This year the goal was the same, with a similar result. I am not quite there yet. Or rather, I will reach 100 rejections sometime early in 2022. I am happy with this. Why? Because over these two years I have written more, edited and polished more completed works, and submitted more works, more often. That is a lot of more. My other goal, of getting two particular stories accepted and published is still halfway there: my story Terminus was published in The Raconteur Review in November last year. My other story is still hanging in the ether but continues to receive encouraging rejections. The secret ingredient to much of this success is a FB group. I know, it doesn’t sound plausible. Yet, the members of this group have been a cheer squad, and provided me with leads for my work (especially poetry) I would never have found on my own, or only found after immense effort. Thank you all.

Mostly, however, I am proud of having achieved so much in such a weird and difficult year. And there is more to come. A new story will be published towards the end of January, and there are more than 80 pieces of my work out there, being considered for publication right now (this is more than I have ever submitted). In addition, I believe I am improving as a writer, which has always been my unstated goal since I began writing in earnest.

I’m ending 2021 on a grateful note. I am thankful for the journals that published and promoted my short stories and poems. I am grateful too for the editors of journals that rejected my work, and enabled each of my pieces to improve or to find more appropriate homes. I am cognisant of the effort that goes into reading for and editing journals and I am so glad they exist, especially these days, when so much seems to be against the arts. On that note, I am also thankful for the people who run institutions such as Austlit, which recognise, maintain the records, and showcase Australian writers.

Thank you for reading.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year.

The 2020 count: