Week 30 — Year of Short Stories 2026

2026 is another year of short stories. In this weekly series, I track my short story writing, from idea and draft to submission. This is the week of Jul 27 – Aug 2. Stats Stories Finished: 3 Submissions Currently Out: 10 Submissions Total: 29 Rejections: 21 Acceptances: 0 Submissions and Responses The only response I received this week was a single form rejection—the very first for my new story, Beneath the House at Caen. I’m never looking for a rejection, but I do appreciate a publication with a quick turnaround on submissions. Now Caen feels “broken-in.” I scoured the listings and sent out three more submissions this week, bringing my total in flight up to a healthy ten. Trying to find publications for Red Eye and Taco Cat once again drove home the challenge of selling a 6700-word story vs. selling a 1000-word story. Even though 1000 words is too short for a few publications, there are still far more listings than for the long story. Not only that, but the places that do take longer…