When one is a self-published author, it’s easy to forget the struggle most writers have finding publishers for their work. You can read the stats, that only 1% of book submissions get published, that even bestselling authors received dozens of rejections, and one of the books I published with Brain Lag was rejected over 125 times before it came to my desk. But it’s not the same as understanding what receiving that many rejections actually feels like.

Well, for various reasons, I’ve decided to dive into the world of submissions and rejections, with short fiction. I have a few unpublished stories I’ve been shopping around, along with other stories formerly available in any of a handful of websites I used to use that are suitable for reprints.

Nobody likes rejection, of course, especially with something as personal as one’s creative output, which may have lots of untold meaning or suffering behind it. However, I’ve developed a thicker skin for rejections due to some recent(ish) experiences. First, when speaking with someone who was an editor for a major fiction magazine, I was given some eye-opening information: of 100 story submissions that he would receive, he would absolutely love 15-18 of them. The magazine would have room for 3. So, even stories he dearly loved—most of those, in fact—had to be rejected.

The first stories I submitted for publication consideration after learning this were rejected quite late in the selection process, which led me to believe that they may have been the victim of similar circumstances. So, that in mind, I vowed not to be discouraged by rejection of stories I truly believe have merit and have sent out various submissions in the past month.

But, again, it’s one thing to believe in something and another entirely to experience it. Especially when one receives rejections that are not generic “we cannot accept this at this time” or what have you, but instead say something more personal like I’m afraid this didn’t land with us.

And between the submissions I have out already, the waiting period on getting responses, the fact that I only have a handful of unpublished stories to shop out, and general discouragement from the rejections I’ve received already, my idea to start each business day by sending out two new submissions didn’t last very long.

But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean I shouldn’t keep trying. I wouldn’t have written novels if that were the case. And yes, there may be a lot of writers out there striving for the same space that I’m reaching for, but there’s also a lot more venues for submitting one’s work than one might think. As has been said by people who have achieved much more financial success than me, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

You just have to keep shooting.