Update: 80 of 100 rejections

 

I've now received 80 of 100 rejections for essays and story I've submitted to literary magazines and journals. But of the roughly 28 pieces I've written, two are due to be published this year. That is good news.

There are approximately 80 submissions pending, but I have stopped sending out pieces, and I am instead focusing on producing new work. Of course I would love to see every good thing I have ever done wind up published. That ought to go without saying. But I'm teaching myself to be a little more content with the sheer pleasure of the writing process, the effort it takes to try to make a complete polished story or essay. The ultimate goal is to write pieces I'm proud of.

The other day I read this in Montaigne's essay "On Solitude." He writes about a man "who was asked why he toiled so hard at an art which few could ever know about." The man responded, "For me a few are enough; one is enough; having none is enough." The man was content to do his art for the sake of doing it.