Today I received another rejection. I’m so used to getting them every few days, it’s my habit now to check the email app on my phone when I wake up in the morning to see if another rejection has come in. In a strange way, I’m excited when I wake and almost hopeful for another rejection. It’s true, I would much rather receive an email of acceptance than of rejection, but a rejection means that I will send out three more submissions. More submissions sent means a stronger literary presence, and increases my chances for publication.

I have also sent out new submissions to literary journals in celebration of receiving an acceptance letter. But the motivation then is different than when I receive a rejection. Instead of feeling motivated and energized, like when I receive a rejection, I feel as if I’m going through the motions. The excitement of sending out new submissions is (understandably) overshadowed by the excitement of publication. So I am usually much more motivated when I send out submissions if it’s in response to a rejection.

My process is, for every single rejection I receive, I send out three more submissions. I keep track of the pieces I submit and how many times I’ve submitted them so that I can space them out. This helps me maximize my chances of success, since I’m sending out multiple pieces at once. I also keep track of the types of rejections I receive. Many of them have been “second tier” rejections, which means I have been invited to to submit to them again in future. These rejection emails are in a special folder in my gmail account so that I remember them and submit a difference piece to them in a month or so.

This is what I do, and I love doing it.