A year of stories

I'm coming up to a year of committed writing effort. At times I've taken on too much and had half a dozen or more deadlines looming for calls for short story submissions. And I still haven't got very far on writing a longer work. But I've learnt a few things along the way. Bear with me while I give you the stats.

Since last spring, I have written 32 stories. I've just gone through and totted up the word counts: 111,300.

The shortest is a 500-word piece, Vermilion Number Six, published by the For the Girls website. The longest is a 13,500-word story that I sent in for a submissions call at Storm Moon Press in February. Fingers crossed. 

I have five stories out in multi-author anthologies and a collection of three of my own in Miranda's Tempest. I have eight stories round and about on the web.

I have six stories out for submission that I'm waiting to hear about and five in the hinterland between an anthology editor's acceptance and the final say-so from the publisher.

I'm currently writing one short story and have another couple of antho calls I'd like to go for. 

I have started three novellas, which are in a state ranging from a first chapter done to 15,000 words that need completely rehashing.

I've had three stories rejected, two of which were repurposed in some way for another anthology. I sent one submission email that never arrived and one publisher suddenly cancelled their short story calls.

What have I learnt?

• When you submit one story, you get on with the next. Waiting for acceptance or rejection will do your head in.
• If you don't get an acknowledgement of your submission, check it got there.
• If you're going to be a writer, it's going to take over your life at times.
• Having stories accepted is a wonderful thing. Seeing the resulting book is even better.
• Having stories rejected is not the end of the world. You can often use the ideas again and all writing is good practice.
• The more you write, the better you get. And the faster.
• Short stories are great fun, a great place to try things out, practise your craft and get quick gratification. But I could have written four or five novellas or one long novel in the time it's taken me to write 32 short stories.
• It's good to try new things. I've discovered I love writing m/m stories and I can write stories that are quite sweet and contain no rope. Who'd have thought it?
• I have no willpower to overcome internet distraction and I would dearly love a nicer shed than the worm-eaten one at my allotment where I could write without wi-fi and preferably with a little woodburner crackling away.

So what are you pissing about here for when you should be writing?