100 rejections program – Women Who Submit

For this week’s “Closing the Gap” article, I’m bringing back an oldie but goodie from 2016 written by our web designer and co-organizer, Rachael Warecki. Since writing this article, Rachael has continued to receive publications and acceptances to residencies such as Ragdale Foundation and Wellstone Center. Most recently, she won the 2017 Tiferet Prize in fiction. I hope her advice on finding your audience through submission inspires you to join us this Saturday at our WWS New Member Orientation and Workshop in the Los Angeles Arts District. We will be submitting to journals, contests, residencies and fellowships in real time. If you are not in the L.A. area, please consider submitting with us remotely from the comfort your home and be sure to notify us Twitter, Facebook or Instagram when you hit send, so we can cheer you on!

– Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, Closing the Gap Editor

Learning Your Audience: The Benefits of Submitting to Literary Journals, Grants, and Residencies (Even If You Don’t Get In!)

by Rachael Warecki

Two years ago, I decided I needed to focus my submission process. I’d received acceptances from some wonderful journals, but I’m ambitious as hell and I wanted to take my writing and submission goals to the next level. Around the same time, I also decided to apply for grants and residencies, so I started to target my submissions and applications more strategically.

As I’ve written previously, this approach has had some success, mostly in the form of personal rejections. But the editorial notes and feedback have given me more than just warm, fuzzy feelings of validation—they’ve given me a better sense of my most receptive audience. In the two years since I decided to submit more strategically, I’ve discovered that my writing seems to appeal mostly to editors and directors who are women. The judges and editors who’ve written me the warmest rejections have identified as women or represented women-centric organizations, or both.

Continue reading “Learning Your Audience: The Benefits of Submitting to Literary Journals, Grants, and Residencies (Even If You Don’t Get In!)”

by Loren Rhoads

In January 2012, I read a blog post that set me on fire. Business coach, Tiffany Han was aiming to get 100 rejection letters that year. Her goal was not really the rejections themselves, but to stretch, force herself out of her comfort zone, take some risks, and see where she could land. I was inspired by the thinking behind the project, which made collecting rejections a game as opposed to wallowing in the sting of them.

I’ve been on both sides of the editor’s desk, so I understand that things get rejected for a lot of different reasons: too long, too short, not to the editor’s taste, they just published something similar, they’re overstocked, they’re changing direction, you’ve hit one of the editor’s pet peeves… As much as I know that I am not my work and I as a person am (probably) not being personally rejected, it still hurts. Continue reading “The Rejection Game”