Forgot to mention my latest rejection: no on a short story. I’ve just been so busy that it hit me—stung for a few minutes—but no whiplash and I went on my way. Busy with my revision. Busy at home, no time for housecleaning and so stressed about it. Busy at work, basically killed myself to get something out on Friday and wonder why I work so hard. Oh now I remember: Distraction.

Tired too. Very tired.

The latest rejection said they like my writing, but the story wasn’t the right one. Pretty standard. But the latest rejection is also a big deal because it’s the last rejection from my latest round of submissions. That means I have no more stories out in the world. I have been rejected down to the ground and there’s nothing left.

Of course, I can send that story out on another round. I could revise it. I could also tweak the story I workshopped this summer and send that out. And I have a whole new story I haven’t submitted anywhere yet.

But…

I am getting less and less interested in sending out short stories for publication. With the book possibilities so much closer, more attainable, in this new genre, and the rewards so much higher (yes, I am talking paychecks), how does it make sense to focus so much time on getting my story in a literary journal—when it takes close to a year for an answer, and that answer is usually no, and even if the answer is yes no one really reads it?

That’s right, because I love short stories.

I love stories so much I’d keep on writing them even if no one was reading.

That’s what I tell myself. But in the world where I try to be practical and think of having a future career as a real writer… I have to write novels.

Writing a litfic story—rewriting a story—takes me months. For twenty pages. It took me months to write a novel. For young adults—188 pages. Make sense of that one and I’ll buy you candy.

I think the story submissions will have to wait till I’m done revising. They actually may have to wait until after I complete my next novel. At least I know I can’t be rejected until the New Year—it would be physically impossible for them to reject a story they don’t even have!

I hope.

Anyway, I will be rejection-free for at least a few weeks. Happy Holidays to me. 🙂