I consider myself a serial submitter, as I'm most at ease when I have a minimum of two outstanding submissions at any given time. When my count is low, I either write something new or comb through an old piece for weaknesses and then resubmit—anything to fend off being confronted with an empty submission tracker.
I gather potential submission venues from online newsletters published by Authors Publish, from listings in Poets & Writers and Writer's Digest, and also from writing instructors. The anticipation of receiving a response, including a negative one from a highly reputable and competitive publication where I have a snowball's chance in hades to garner an acceptance, inspires me to keep writing.
If I'm unfamiliar with the venue, I research it online to rule it out as a scam. The one time I felt "scammed" was shortly after I pushed Submittable's "submit" button for a legitimate horror story contest at 9:10 pm PST. My entry was rejected because of tardiness despite the midnight deadline. I reached out to the publication for clarification, and I was told it's a matter of expectation that entrants assume the time zone for deadlines is EST when not specified. This explanation smacked of a bit of self-centeredness, if you ask me.
I'd put a ton of work into the failed entry and could have easily submitted the piece to meet an EST deadline of midnight. I plead my case, but the contest folks were not amenable to making an exception, blaming Submittable for preventing them from doing so. Needless to say, I was displeased with this apparent lack of transparency. Later, it became clear that the organizers knew they were at fault, as their subsequent submission calls included a time zone stamp.
But getting back to my propensity to be a serial submitter—I've convinced myself that submitting to lesser-known markets might increase my odds of acceptance—odds that, nevertheless, remain tremendously unfavorable. But the elation from an acceptance is tantamount to that of a child being surprised with a trip to the state fair. (Big fist pump; Oh, yeah!) So I try not to be too picky.
I suppose an end-of-the-year moral-of-the-story analogy (in lieu of blogging about new beginnings or the year in review) is the concept of finding ways to stay motivated with your writing. Let's face it, there hasn't been a whole lot to be optimistic about this past year. However, my submission tracker has filled a void when it comes to keeping the faith that something positive will come my way.
Thanks for reading, and I hope I've provided you with a little inspiration for finding positivity in your writing life this past year. May you have a productive New Year! Cheers!