100 Blue Flags.

For a while I was submitting stories ‘right left and centre’, but recently I have been a bit more selective.

I tell you this because I know I would have hit the magic 100 mark a lot more quickly if I had kept up the submission pace. [It took 13 months to hit the 100 mark]

As luck would have it, my 100th rejection letter was an excellent email which contained some very positive comments and a few suggestions.

I got the feeling that the story did not miss selection by very much.

Over the past few months, my focus has changed.

Instead of flogging a few stories to various Lit’ Mags across the world I have decided to concentrate on the ones that published my stories.

Amazingly, there are a few.

But the real focus is to select the best of my stories and self publish them.

This is a slow and mildly expensive process but it offers the prospect of reaching a wider audience, and of ultimately making a profit [most Lit Mags don’t pay and the ones who do, don’t pay very much].

I’ve been published enough times to know that every now and then I write a story that people will pay to read.

All I have to do is work out which stories work best and gather them together.

You folks help me a great deal in that regard.

Your reaction, likes, comments help me to sift the ‘also-rans’ from the better stories.

So, thank you for your help.

Hopefully you have some fun during this process as well.

So, here’s to number 100. Raise your glass and toast to her round number. [Actually, since I first drafted this post, the count has gone to 101].