My last "ruminating about rejections" tweet for 2020: So far this year I've gotten 189 rejections (!! whoa! and counting! I still could break 200), 26 acceptances. Those rejections include 34 stories I wrote this year (that sounds like a lot, but most of those are very short).

I post this in the interest of transparency. I think it's important for all of us, as writers, to embrace rejection as an inevitable (if unappealing) part of the process. For many years, fear of rejection kept me from submitting altogether.

And the fact is, if you're not accruing rejections, it's because you're either not putting your work out there, or not aiming as high as you should, as a writer. I still don't love rejections, but I've learned to (ha) accept them. Happy holidays, my friends! #persevere