[Kelsey Posts: 13 Status: Offline Writer of words and worries. WWW]

Hello, all! I've been making my way through the Magazine board archives, and there was a really interesting post (from almost seven years ago!) about where authors first received an acceptance and where they were first published.

I thought it would be interesting and helpful if those who are comfortable sharing could post their personal statistics with  regards to acceptances, publications, and rejections. (Or any other details that they'd like to share.)

ETA: I am specifically referring to how many submissions you have made, and how many of those submissions were accepted. But I'm interested in anything you want to share!

I'm pretty new to the world of children's magazines, so I don't have anything to share, yet. But currently...

1. One fiction submission to Highlights (in progress)
2. One action poem submission to High Five (received)
3. Two poetry submissions to Babybug (received)
4. One poetry submission to Spider -- Raining cats and dogs theme (received)

I also just submitted a flash fiction piece to Enchanted Conversation Magazine, which I found through Evelyn's magazine listings.  I received an email fifty minutes later saying that they want to publish my story! Woo!

I'm not looking forward to the long slog of waiting to hear back, but I am looking forward to eventually knowing one way or another.

[carrots Posts: 694 Status: Offline]

Welcome to the Blueboard, Kelsey!! And congratulations on your acceptance - -  in record time, too!!

I know what you mean about the "long slog".....

The two places I often lurk during that time are:

1) the Response Times thread (there are spots for Books, Magazines, and Agents). It doesn't generally contain the wait time to publication, but it does have date of submission and date of rejection/acceptance. This is the place I visit while wondering, "Is it just me or has it been a reeeeeeeeeally long wait?" Usually, I find reassurance and sometimes I realize a status query is in order.   

https://www.scbwi.org/boards/index.php?board=44.0 

2) the Good News thread. This spot is a great source of inspiration, with dates of submission, acceptance, and - if you check back in a couple months or years - art and publication. Best of all, the stories behind the stories are found here!!

https://www.scbwi.org/boards/index.php?board=149.0

Another great spot is the trench. It's a special camaraderie zone to let others know how much you've sent out over the month and what you're waiting on.

https://www.scbwi.org/boards/index.php?topic=85515.msg1072205;topicseen#msg1072205

Best wishes on all your subbing, Kelsey!! You've got cheerleaders here!!

 

(Edited to add links to the threads)

[Hopeful Posts: 26 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I usually log my submissions in submission grinder which is a free website
https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/
so my wait times were easy to find.  (Incidentally, even if you don't create an account on submission grinder, it's another resource for looking at response times.  They have a lot of data, for example, on submissions to Cricket magazine: https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Market.aspx?mid=67   )

Anyway, here is my own personal experience with submissions to children's magazines:
Highlights magazine (poem) rejection response times:  179 days minimum - 228 days maximum
Highlights High Five (poem) rejection response times:  18 days minimum - 120 days maximum
Highlights High Five (poem) acceptance response times:  20 days minimum - 224 days maximum
Ladybug magazine (poem) acceptance response time:  283 days
Ladybug magazine (poem) rejection response times:  34 days minimum - 58 days maximum
number of days after acceptance to publication:  1 year minimum - years and years maximum (I'm still waiting)

Is this the kind of data that you were looking for, or did you want to know the number of acceptances vs. the number of submissions?

[Kelsey Posts: 13 Status: Offline Writer of words and worries. WWW]

Hope, I was referring to numbers of acceptances vs. rejections. I was unclear in my initial post, and I'll edit for clarity. That being said, I find your statistics incredibly interesting! I've already read through the wait times board, but it's nice to see a summary for one person. Thanks for sharing! It was an incredibly useful post.

In addition to numbers of acceptances and rejections, I would definitely be interested in seeing the sort of info you shared.

[Vijaya Posts: 8,479 Status: Offline LISTEN. Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... WWW]

Kelsey, I still record all submissions/responses but haven't compiled any records for quite some time now. However, when I first started writing, I did and the pattern is interesting. As I got better at targeting my submissions, the rate of acceptance went up. The magazine work started to dwindle as I focused more on books but I still enjoy writing for magazines. Fun to dig out my old index card and see the progress. I've been at this a long time (I pretty much equate it with the birth of my second child :baby She's 16 going on 17 this year   

Year     Submissions Accept (mags)    Books   Comments
2000              1                    0                                               take my first writing class
2001              8                    0                                               get personal rejections
2002            72                    1
2003          123                 18
2004          111                 27
2005            41                    8                              22            books were sold with audition/proposal
2006            27                    3                              13
2007            36                    4                                 4 ?         stopped counting

  with all the subs. I hope you keep track of your sub history. It's so helpful to see progress/setbacks.

[Kelsey Posts: 13 Status: Offline Writer of words and worries. WWW]

Year     Submissions Accept (mags)    Books   Comments
2000              1                    0                                               take my first writing class
2001              8                    0                                               get personal rejections
2002            72                    1
2003          123                 18
2004          111                 27
2005            41                    8                              22            books were sold with audition/proposal
2006            27                    3                              13
2007            36                    4                                 4 ?         stopped counting

Wowza! Thank you so much for sharing! This was exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to see. You're an incredibly prolific writer!

Congratulations on your many successes, and happy future birthday to your daughter.

[Vijaya Posts: 8,479 Status: Offline LISTEN. Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... WWW]

Thanks Kelsey. It was fun to remember the early years of writing.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 4,949 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

V, are these all traditionally published trade book or are some work-for-hire? There's a big difference between the two. My sales for trade is one. My sales on wfh are three, but they were fully to spec so more likely to be taken. I also earned a couple of kill fees on others. (This doesn't include work I'm currently doing which is contracted with the idea it will be published.)

[tracy-vonder-brink Posts: 23 Status: Offline WWW]

Kelsey,

I haven’t kept as extensive records as Vijaya (wow!), but since 2016 I’ve done 22 magazine submissions, with 9 acceptances and 8 rejections. I’m waiting for word on the other five that are still outstanding. 

I completely agree that targeting your submissions is key, but even then, there will be times when your submission doesn’t fit what the editor needs. It’s all part of the business!

Best of luck with your writing!

Tracy

[Vijaya Posts: 8,479 Status: Offline LISTEN. Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... WWW]

Debbie, all the books except for Ten Easter Eggs   are WFH. I still had to pitch about a third of them. The rest came to me for more work after those initial pitches.

Tracy, I found that pitching NF articles for themed magazines was the best way to target. I'd say that 90% of my pitches are accepted. You're giving the editors what they want, when they want.

[tracy-vonder-brink Posts: 23 Status: Offline WWW]

Tracy, I found that pitching NF articles for themed magazines was the best way to target. I'd say that 90% of my pitches are accepted. You're giving the editors what they want, when they want.

Absolutely! I think targeting any kind of specific call or themed calendar ups the chance of acceptance.

Tracy