The Submission Count

I attended AWP in Boston last week, where there was much talk of women's place (or lack of place) in contemporary literature. (If you haven't seen VIDA's somewhat disheartening count comparing the number of men and women appearing in journals in the last three years, you can find it here.)

One response to the disparity found in the charts is the suggestion that women submit less often than men, and at one of the VIDA panels, Laura E. Davis, editor of Weave Magazine, asked women to give a show of hands if we had five, ten, or fifteen submissions out in the world currently.

I guessed that I had more than fifteen, but I wasn't really sure.

When I got home I decided to do my own little submission count. Keep in mind that I'm submitting poetry almost exclusively, usually three to five poems at a time, but also  poetry manuscripts.

My results for 2012:

Submissions sent: 71

Form rejections: 34 (ouch)

Personal Rejections: 12

Acceptances: 13

Other: 12 (mostly due to my poor record keeping)



As of today, I have 29 submissions drifting in the winds, waiting to land in the soft hands of a kind editor. I'm wondering how that compares to others.

If you've got a minute, and you feel inclined, drop me a line. Let's compare numbers. Men are invited, too, of course.