Jan ’22 Submission Challenge Round-up

Jan 01 – While I was all set to sub to Fantasy magazine, a quick scan of their guidelines say they’re only open to BIPOC authors this subs period. So I had to switch to my alt markets.
King Of The Mountain went to Clarkesworld. No clue how that’ll land there, Neil is so vague with his “What do you write?” feedback.
The Concentration Camp went to Galaxy’s Edge. It’s good to see them bounce back after Mike’s sad passing recently. Let us send them the best SF to honour his memory.
Subs made=2. Rejections=0. On Hold=4.

Jan 02 – Mission 334; Mannequin World subbed to Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Edgar’s Spaceboot Shop subbed to SFS Stories. I did have a 3rd market for today – Flash Point SF, but they are currently closed until Jan 15th, so I’ll be subbing there later in the month. This helps me a lot, some of the mid-month markets might turn out to be non-starters as many haven’t answered back since the September challenge. It’ll be helpful to have a spare to use when I need it.
Todays rejection came from The Arcanist, on Dream Journal #4. This was actually received in December but due to my terrible memory, I forgot to log it then, so I’ve logged it now.
Subs made=4. Rejections=1. On Hold=4.

Jan 03 – A Fragile Reality subbed to Seize The Press. I did have plans to also sub to Compelling SF but despite the fact the Flametree newsletter said they’d be open, their editor said otherwise. It would have been nice of him to say something on the subs page instead of the main page of the site. Nothing from this round has been rejected yet, I’m always of the mind, the longer they take to decide, the less chance it’s getting rejected. Although that’s one of the several million lies writers tell themselves.
EDIT, SEVERAL HOURS LATER:- After a ton of faffing about, trying to get the correct information, Sixteen Tons was subbed to Compelling Science Fiction Short Stories.
EDIT, EVEN LATER:-Got a rejection from Cosmic Roots on Mission 334; Mannequin World.
Subs made=6. Rejections=2. On Hold=4.

Jan 04 – A rejection from Clarkesworld on King Of The Mountain. No feedback because Clarkesworld just don’t. And now a 7 day wait before I can sub again there. Which I will, because I can.
Sent The Bounty to Apex Magazine & Escaping The System to Martian Magazine. No drama getting stuff out today, for the first time this year.
EDIT:-LATER THE SAME DAY… Got an email about a story being held for consideration, can’t say where yet.
EDIT, EVEN LATER:-And news just in, a rejection from Barrelhouse Cryptozoology on A Pale Imitation.
Subs made=8, Rejections=4, On hold=5.

Jan 05 – Sent Father, Are You Sleeping? to Dark Recesses (Online). I realised when I sent that I’d subbed my other story there to the wrong place. Still, it’s logged now. And sold.
Also sent The Suicide Drive to Micro Madness. No sales or acceptances yet, this year. So far, just rejections and submissions.
Subs made=10, Rejections=4, On hold=5.

Jan 06 – Just the one sub going out today. I’ve got spares but I am saving those for some of the more possibly awkward days in the middle of the month. Egg Witch went to Three-Lobed Burning Eye.
EDIT:- A rejection from from PodCastle on Dungeons, No Dragons. It’s not challenge related, that was sent in November but as it arrived now, it gets logged now.
Subs made=11, Rejections=5, On hold=5.

Jan 07 – Again, just a single submission today, same reason as yesterday. Handyman went to Electric Spec.
EDIT:- A rejection also arrived, from Felis Futura: An Anthology of Future Cats on Muse.
Subs made=12, Rejections=6, On hold=5.

Jan 08 – Quite a late set of subs today as I was with my writers group for a few hours actually writing stuff! First sub was supposed to be going to Rockets and Robots, after reading their guidelines for R rated stories, I felt what I had selected was a little too adult in the themes.
Sent Feeding Time to Spring Into SciFi.
I wanted to sub to Flame Tree’s Christmas Gothic call, but my story wasn’t long enough and I didn’t feel I could stretch it much longer than it already was.
Subs made=13, Rejections=6, On hold=5.

Jan 09 – A couple of nice easy subs today. The Recently Declassified History Of South Bend Flight School to Sci Phi Journal. They’ve switched from email to using Duosoma, where I already had an account so that was fairly simple for me to get that sent off. Also subbed In The Natural Language Processing Station to Daily Science Fiction. Another fairly easy sub, the minor matter of running the text through a diacritics remover then pasting it into the box.
Subs made=15, Rejections=6, On hold=5.

Jan 10 – My first sub, to Apparition Lit got thrown out the moment I saw their twitter feed today. It’s not merely a themed call, but they’d also put up a picture. Obviously my pre-selected flash piece had no chance of fitting that, so no sub there. They are coming close to making my shit list, if I’m being honest.
I sent Get Me To The Church to Asimov’s. Also had Andromeda Spaceways as a spare market so I sent them Wizard Of The Day. I wasn’t sure when they were closing so thought I’d get one in there as quickly as possible. ASM are one of my dream markets, so never pass up a chance to sub there.
EDIT:-Got a rejection from No from Apex Mag on The Bounty.
EDIT, LATER:-A rejection from SFS Stories on Edgar’s Spaceboot Shop. The Hauntings came back from The Periodical, Forlorn as they’ve cancelled that project. It’s not a rejection so I’m not logging it as such.
Subs made=17, Rejections=8, On hold=5.

Jan 11 – A nice easy day today. I sent Meat Is Murder to Penumbric & This Is Not A Side Quest to Clarkesworld. I had to have a quick goosey to see what else than SF they took, and it said fantasy so I said why the fuck not and punted that out to them.
EDIT:-I also got a rejection from Seize The Press on A Fragile Reality, later in the evening.
Probably my last sub there as I don’t have anything else like that & don’t generally write it often either.
Subs made=19, Rejections=9, On hold=5.

Jan 12 – No from Factor Four on I Screamed Into The Cosmic Void And All I Got Was A Lousy T-shirt. That was my final sub of 2021, not challenge related but (sing along if you know the words) as it came in now, it had to be logged.
Only sub of the day was The Doppleganger Exchange to Infinite Worlds. They don’t send out rejections so I marked the spreadsheet for when 90 days from today is. It’s in April, by the way.
EDIT:-Late evening rejection from Clarkesworld on This Is Not A Side Quest. I haven’t sent much fantasy there, so I’ll be trying them with more to see how it goes.
Subs made=20, Rejections=11, On hold=5.

Jan 13 – A few stories went out today, but we started with a rejection. No from Paper Butterfly Flash Fiction on Dear Toaster. They told me that made it to 2nd stage consideration. People are liking that story, but not enough to buy it. Got to look into what will make that last connection.
Sent One Night Stand to Radon Journal – They just got listed on the open calls Facebook page so will now get deludged with stuff so I figured I’d get in quick. Now I regret not subbing yesterday, like I was going to. Good intentions and all that jazz.
A Pale Imitation went to Splatter Ink Publishing; Cryptid Carnage. They’ve got a Facebook page but no website, very odd.
And finally I sent Method One to Analog.
Subs made=23, Rejections=12, On hold=5.

Jan 14 – An interesting day today. Facebook not wanting to load or taking forever or several refreshes. I was set to sub to Cosmic Horror Monthly but they haven’t replied to my last sub made almost a year ago, so nothing went there.
Lucky for me I’ve been accumulating spare markets so I sent Scenario Twelve to James Gunn’s Ad Astra.
EDIT, AFTER LOOKING INTO SOME SHIT:-I’ve Been Everywhere, Man was returned by Welkin Mag, as they closed.
As it’s not a rejection, my stats remain the same.
Subs made=24, Rejections=12, On hold=5.

Jan 15 – Just the one submission today, Dinner With A Dead Man to Fractured Lit. I also had Silver Blade as a market but they say you can’t sub there again within a year after being published there.
EDIT:- A rejection back from Cosmic Horror Monthly on A Monster Under Every Bed. Charles said I was okay to sub again right away so I sent The Concentration Camp to Cosmic Horror Monthly.
Subs made=26, Rejections=13, On hold=5.

Jan 16 – Another single sub today, I sent To My Amazement to Planet Scumm. Normally around this time of the month I’ve already made my 1st sale of the year. I can’t let that mindset pull me down, never assume sales are going to be made. That’s a sense of entitlement I seriously do not deserve. Yet. I’ll earn it the hard way though.
Subs made=27, Rejections=13, On hold=5.

Jan 17 – A bit of a busier day today. Started with a rejection from Martian Magazine on Escaping The System.
3 subs went out, eventually. Imogen Bleeds In A Paisley Beret to Anotherealm, Have You Seen The Lemon Tree to Flash Point SF. I was set to send out 2 today then had a quick look through who was open on the weekly Submission Grinder newsletter and ended up sending Fairytales, And Lies to Daikaijuzine.
Subs made=30, Rejections=14, On hold=5.

Jan 18 – Another market crapped out on me at super short notice today. Strange Horizons, who are already incredibly tough to break. Fortunately I was good for back-ups.
I sent Moon Walker to Bourbon Penn, I really do want to break them as their vibe very much resounds with me. Also sent Home Is Where The Heart Is to Tales from the Moonlit Path. It’s a theme of Bloody Valentine so I was thinking a vampire story might work there, especially that one.
Subs made=32, Rejections=14, On hold=5.

Jan 19 – Found a rejection which had fallen into my junk folder. No from Daily Science Fiction on In The Natural Language Processing Station, that was a bit of a shame, I was hoping they’d like that. Still, it means I can probably get a 2nd sub off to them before the end of the month.
I sent Loyalty Test to Interzone, I don’t think that’s been anywhere yet so it’ll be interesting finally testing the water. Dial Stuck On Summer went to Gwyllion Magazine, they are publishers of Welsh SF and I am half-Welsh so I qualify. I think my spleen is Welsh?
Subs made=34, Rejections=15, On hold=5.

Jan 20 – A bit of work today as I had some optional markets. First up, a rejection from Three-Lobed Burning Eye on Egg Witch. Bit of a shame that, I thought they’d like it enough to buy the samn thing, but apparently not.
How Do You Get To Memory Lane went to FFO, they were my main market for today. Also sent The Trouble With Being A Sword Of Truth… to Clarkesworld. I did have another market available but I’m saving them for tomorrow.
EDIT:-Got a rejection in the evening from Interzone on Loyalty Test. Andy is quick, honest & polite. I’ll probably try to get 1 more to him before the end of the month. Not sure how I’ll cope if he closes Interzone which I know is a possibility.
Subs made=36, Rejections=17, On hold=5.

Jan 21 – Busy enough day today, started out writing a story for 2hrs, from 1am to 3am. Decent sleep, just got my subs done. First, 2 rejections from Electric Spec on Handyman & Starward Shadows on Starliner Down. Starliner Down, they’d been holding it for over 200 days while making super encouraging noises, only to drop it now they’ve decided they aren’t doing quarterly issues due to money. I had the feeling that was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to take. Still, onwards and upwards.
A new story went out today, 11 Walls In The World to F&SF. As well as something I’ve been trying to sell for a while now, Death In Tunnel 3 to The Deadlands.
Subs made=38, Rejections=19, On hold=4.

Jan 22 – Short day today. Just the 1 sub, sent Volunteer To Be A Martyr to Proton Reader. I’m not sure if it’ll fit, but it was worth a punt.
Subs made=39, Rejections=19, On hold=4.

Jan 23 – Another quiet day. 1 rejection from Clarkesworld on The Trouble With Being A Sword Of Truth… I’ve got the room to get them 1 more sub this month if I want to. Not sure yet, we’ll see on the day, I guess?
And just the 1 submission too, Into The Labyrinth to Mythaxis.
Subs made=40, Rejections=20, On hold=4.

Jan 24 – Surprisingly enough, a 2nd quiet day for subs. I know it’s all coming at the end of the month, because that’s how I stacked it, when I was selecting my last 8 days.
Sent The Burning Towers to Metaphorosis.
Still no sales yet. I’ll admit, it’s quite disheartening, but have to keep telling myself I can’t expect sales, I have to earn them. I believe in the stories and am sure I’ve picked the right ones for each market. Things will turn around soon. Otherwise this is definitely the last year of the challenge.
Not as quiet as I’d have liked, got a rejection back from Metaphorosis on The Burning Towers.
I ardently dislike same day rejections but with certain markets you expect it.
Subs made=41, Rejections=21, On hold=4.

Jan 25 – These quieter days are starting to get to me. I need a lift, soon. Just the one sub today, I sent Sixteen Tons to Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award. Had to make minor revisions to the story so it fitted their date criteria, but otherwise it was fine. Oh, and some reworks on the quoted lyric so it no longer has copyright isses for being a lyric. I changed it enough to be covered under fair use or parody, both of which are legal.
Subs made=42, Rejections=21, On hold=4.

Jan 26 – Another rejection today, a fairly quick one – from The Deadlands on Death In Tunnel 3.
Managed 2 subs today, sending Cell 115 to Not One of Us and after a bit of picking and choosing I sent Hush, Hush, The Princess Is Sleeping to Factor Four Mag.
A late evening rejection snuck in just before 10pm, that was a no from Tales from the Moonlit Path on Home is Where the Heart Is.
Subs made=44, Rejections=23, On hold=4.

Jan 27 – More going out today because I want to cover as many bases as possible this month, whether I make a sale or not. Field Motivator Unit 349 Joins The Townswomens Guild to The Arcanist – I like that story & hope it sells somewhere, Playing For Keeps to Craft Lit – that was an attempt to channel Ray Bradbury, it hasn’t been to many places so I’m curious to see how it fares & I sent Welcome To The Death Machine Factory Tour to Fantastic Other. That’s a new market with token pay but I’ll try anywhere if they are paying.
EDIT:- Made a teatime sub, Benchmark to Horror That Represents You. I wrote that sepcially for teh call, but it’s open enough to go to other SF & lit/spec markets if it craps out.
Subs made=48, Rejections=23, On hold=4.

Jan 28 – Quite late doing my subs today, almost teatime before I got done. Did a bit of shifting about, 3 went out today. I sent She, Of The Tribeless to The Future Fire, Wondershit to Daily Science Fiction & The Death Of A Secret Policeman to Interzone.
Subs made=51, Rejections=23, On hold=4.

Jan 29 – Just the one submission today, I sent The Payment Room to NewMyths.
It was supposed to be two but the other market isn’t open until Feb 1st, so that’s not happening.
Also got news from Dark Recesses Press that my story there made it through 1st stage reading to further consideration.
Subs made=52, Rejections=23, On hold=4.

Jan 30 – Another day where it was supposed to be 2 subs & ended up being 1. I sent A Fine Body to The Lorelei Signal. I had The Mesozioc Reader as my other market but they haven’t reopened again yet. I might still sub to either Clarkesworld or SFS Stories today. We’ll see, I guess? I’ve got a story to type up which I should have done yesterday and didn’t. Hopefully I’ll get that done too.
EDIT:- A series of late evening rejections all from the same place. No from ZNB Noir on Befriend a robot, ZNB Shattering the Glass Slipper on Life Is Grim & ZNB Brave New Worlds on Mission 334; Mannequin World.
Subs made=53, Rejections=26, On hold=4.

Jan 31 – A few more rejections today, from NewMyths on The Payment Room, Galaxy’s Edge on The Concentration Camp & Interzone on The Death Of A Secret Policeman. I forgot to log Interzone on the 29th so I’m logging it today, my bad, sorry. I got some really nice feedback from Galaxy’s Edge which made me feel a bit better.
I could have made 5 subs today but I went with 3, sending They Who Dare to Escape Pod, Empty Chest to 34 Orchard & I Dream Of Plastic to Electric Spec.
Subs made=56, Rejections=29, On hold=4.

Despite making no sales, it hasn’t been a bad month. I have to keep faith in the stories & that I chose the right ones for each market. Only time will tell.