Tag Archives: numbers

Running the Numbers 2010

Posted on by
11

In all my reorganizing, I almost took this off the list prematurely! As of 6-16, I had enough rejections/acceptances etc in that I could finally report on how I did for 2010.

  • My 2nd full length book: sent it out about 8 times in various formats and then I head it back to continue to work on it. It is still out to a few places with no permanent home..yet
  • At the close of 2010, I had only sent out a few photographs. I sent out four sets with one accepted so that was actually quite good.
  • Chapbooks I have previously reported on because the upcoming Fat Girl finally found a home! I’m sending out a fiction chapbook this year.
  • In non-fiction I submitted essays 34 times (many went out more than once of course!) with 5 accepted for a rate of 15% acceptance. I like that number. Although, I have very few essays that need to be submitted anymore and I haven’t really been writing any new ones . . .
  • In the fiction category I had 38 submissions (again, many were sent out more than once) with 8 accepted for a really nice return of 21%. As with non-fiction, I haven’t been writing much creative prose so not sure how much will go out in 2011.
  • On the poetry end I submitted 98 different sets of poems. I always record my poetry submissions in sets versus individual poems which makes running the numbers an interesting problem. I’m actually down on the number I sent out to below what I sent in 2008 and 2009, but I was more selective in a good way. I had 27 sets of poems (some “sets” in this sense were only one accepted) accepted for publication which gives me a 28% acceptance rate! I am THRILLED to see that number because my 2009 percentage was 12%. I’ve managed to inch up each year but I’m really amazed by this new number. I’m not sure how 2011 will pan out because I seem to be well below that amount this year (which is half over!)

I won’t be reported in on a regular basis about numbers of rejections etc (like I used to per week), but I’m still keeping records so I’ll let you know how it goes. It can be really eyeopening to keep these kinds of numbers so you see where you have been and where, perhaps. you are going.

As I finish up 2011, I want to continue working to find a final home for the second book. I’ve missed a few weeks but I want to keep as close as possible to sending out at least one submission a week in some genre. Then this time in 2012 (can you believe that!) I’ll report in again :)

Speaking of publications:  I have a short essay in the new 234 Journal

How Many?

Posted on by
23

I’ve been reading quite a few author bios lately that mention things like: has had 400 individual poems published or 100 short stories. I usually do my calculations yearly, but I am not curious as to how many individual poems, stories and essays I’ve published. And, consequently, what do I think the numbers mean?

So here is a look back although I’m just doing a rough count instead of spending a lot of time picking out things like – well that was for a friend’s guest blog or that only went into my dorm’s lit mag…

  • Before 2001 – 16
  • 2001-2007 – 8
  • 2008 – 7 (and one book review)
  • 2009 – 27 and 10 various non-fiction pieces (articles, book reviews, interviews). 2 chapbooks.
  • 2010 thus far – one full length collection of poems, 36 poems, 3 short fiction pieces, 18 non-fiction pieces which are a mix of reviews, interviews, essays, guest blogs etc (didn’t count some video reviews I also did) also didn’t count photo credits. Upcoming pubs include 9 poems, one essay and at least more more guest blog.

So what are the final numbers in all that mess?

  • Since 2001 I have published 94 individual poems with 9 more accepted but not yet pubbed. This does not include some overlap with poems published in chapbooks or full length books. I didn’t count those poems individually.
  • Since 2008 I have published 29 pieces of non-fiction (this does not include anything published on this blog)
  • In 2010 I have published 3 fiction pieces

Now, what do these numbers even say? I think they show that I keep working and that I am getting smarter about where to send my work while branching out into new avenues. They do not show the hundreds that I have heard from other people or even the 100 in one year, which I can’t even imagine, but the gradual improvement just gives me hope that not only is my writing getting stronger, but I’m finding the right places that want to publish my work as well.

It is fun to look back once in a while to see where you have been but I’d never set a goal for the year of: I want to publish 100 poems this year because you can’t really control how many are published. I can control how many I send out.

That being said, I’m still hoping to have a 3rd chapbook come out next year and a 2nd full length collection in 2012. I’d also l like to have enough personal essays published to someday have a collection I could shop around. I’m also wanting to start some more short fiction so that maybe, in a few years, I’ll have enough for a fiction chapbook. But, all in all, the goals are just to keep writing and to keep submitting work.

Don’t you just love numbers?

Back tomorrow for Thursday Poem Share!

A Numbers Game

Posted on by
6

I’ve posted before about how many of my submission packets, per year, are accepted. I report this by percentage. Readers, however, have asked me about whether or not I submit and/or accepted by more online vs print so I thought it’d be fun to look at some of those numbers.

  • Number of print journals I submitted to: 80. Now this is actually somewhat of an approximation because as I scrolled through my list I was having a hard time remembering whether or not some of the journals were print or online. Journals that have print and online were counted as print.
  • Number of online journals I submitted to: 40. As above, not sure if that is completely accurate given what I mentioned above and I didn’t include any contests or anthologies I sent to which was limited.

So that is a rough idea of number of submission packets I sent out. Looks like roughly 70% went to print journals and 30% to online. I thought I was doing closer to 50/50 so that is interesting to see where my preferences still seem to lie.

Now what was my acceptance rate like for print over online?

  • Online: 13
  • Print: 5

Although these numbers might be a little off as well because I note 20 acceptances for 2009 but, I’m tired (long story) and these numbers still give you an idea of what I am driving at. Which is what exactly you ask?

I submit more to print journals but my acceptance rate is much lower. 6% of the time that I submit to a print journal, I am accepted whereas when I submit to fewer online journals my  success rate is 33% for every set of poems I send.

What should I do with this? Well, for this year, not much because I’m just submitting when I have time but I want to have a better game play for 2011 when I make my new “where to sub” list.  Should I be focusing more on online journals, especially the ones I really admire (see side bar I’m reading A LOT more online work)? Should I rethink the number of print journals I am submitting to?

I’m not sure but one idea I have is to only submit to print journals that I have actually read. And by read, I mean, I have read at least a poem of theirs in Best American Poetry, on their website or in their print publication. I submit to some of the larger university presses each year even though I haven’t read them. That might be an extra challenge for myself as I move into a new submission mode next year, to use the fact that I read a lot to corner me into submitting to only those places I read regularly or have at least read in brief.

What do you guys think? Do you think my plan sounds doable or like a good idea? Or do you want to give me a new plan? What are your strategies for sending your work out if you do so? How do you decide where your work goes? Does the prestige of the publication (whether print or online) matter?

Food for thought.

Speaking of food. Can I haz some?