While finishing up my PhD, I took a break from writing fiction. Not long after my defense, I started writing again. “The Only Real Thing” was the first short story I completed after this hiatus. Now it is set to appear in Behind Revolving Doors: An Anthology of Choices, Volume II, by Celestial Echo Press. “The Only Real Thing” has a very long submission history, so I thought it would be interesting and helpful to others to run through it. Sometimes a story is lucky enough to get accepted right away. Other times it is a long, grueling process. This was the latter.
I wrote the first draft of “The Only Real Thing” around September of 2021, and spent the next 5 months editing it on and off until the story felt ready. I first sent out “The Only Real Thing” in March 2022. In the first year, I received 9 rejections, but many of them were positive. Here is some of the feedback (leaving out the names of publications, because I did not seek their permission):
“The ending of your story was strong. I really liked Priya, and I did quickly grow to like Otto. The concept was really interesting, and I was pretty compelled, but I think this story could be cut a little (Otto talks too long), to really hit the reader with the most impact. We wish you all the best with your future writing endeavors.”
“We really enjoyed your story, but we’re sorry this isn’t the right story for us right now. We did find much to admire in your work, though, and we hope you’ll send us more to consider soon.”
After a year of submissions, I got my first hold request. When this happens, usually you are asked not to submit the piece elsewhere, while the publication considers it among a shortlist of others. The rejection came about a month later. Which meant it was time to send out the story again! During the next year and a half, I submitted “The Only Real Thing” to an additional 14 publications, bringing the grand total so far to 24. Once again, much of the feedback was positive. Here are some of the messages:
“Your writing is very interesting.”
“Your story ‘The Only Real Thing’ has an incredible amount of potential.”
“Your hook was very good.”
“It was well received here, but after some thought we have decided not to accept it for publication. The major problem is that you’re presenting two stories at once, when really it’s only Otto’s story that matters. Priya has no agency in the story, while the tale of Otto and Steven has a dynamic all its own, especially the search for the coffee mug.”
“Your storytelling shows promise, and we’re confident you’ll find the perfect home for your work.”
After this round of rejections, in October 2024, I received my next hold request. The publication stated that the story had advanced to the selection round. Or so I thought! In a bizarre twist I have never seen before, in January 2025 I learned that this hold request was sent in error. It turns out that the story should have been rejected, and I’d wasted three months of submission time waiting to hear back. Arg!
It gets better, though. After this experience, I submitted the “The Only Real Thing” again, receiving this feedback in a rejection letter about a month later:
“I enjoyed this story overall, and I liked the primary story (nested within the frame). However, I think the frame itself either doesn’t get enough focus (I’d like it to become a major part of what’s going on and not just a vessel for telling the main story) or should just be folded in somehow with the rest (which would require a change in perspective, which might not work). It also felt a bit jarring to just get the ‘year from now’ ending with Priya; I wanted more to her if she’s going to be the focus at the end.”
I appreciated the detail, and considered making changes to the story based all the accumulated feedback over the years. But the more I looked at the story, the more I liked it the way it was written. Some readers might appreciate the nested narrative, but others might be turned off by this structural choice. Either way, changing it would mean completely altering my intention with the story, and I still found value in what I had written. So, back to the submission grind.
The next publication sent another hold request. My third—scratch that, second—so far, and not my last. The rejection came three months later. Well, at least this hold request was legitimate and not a mistake. By now, it was May 2025, and I’d sent out “The Only Real Thing” to 30 publications. 30 submissions, 30 rejections. Was it time to call it quits and move on? I considered it. But ultimately, I took the continued interest in the story as evidence that it had real merit, even if it hadn’t found a home.
So, I sent it out. Again. And after one more rejection, it finally came: another hold request. I told you we weren’t done with this. This was my third (legitimate) hold request on this story, so I knew the drill. Three months later, in August 2025, I received the email. Expecting another rejection, I opened it and quickly skimmed the text, looking for the usual language: This story doesn’t fit our needs right now, or We’re sorry this story isn’t the right fit for us at this time.
Nope, not this time. I did a double-take and realized they wanted my story in the anthology. Hurray! This story’s long submission journey was finally over. It had found a home.
In all, I submitted “The Only Real Thing” to 32 publications, receiving positive feedback in rejection letters from 12 of those publications, along with 3 real hold requests, 1 fake hold request, and finally, 1 acceptance into an anthology. From start to finish, not counting writing time, the process took 3 years and 5 months.
I share this submission history story for those who might be interested in how long it can take to finally get that acceptance email, and to encourage other writers to keep submitting. Sometimes, writers get a story accepted on the very first submission, though this hasn’t happened to me. Other times, the submission process can be brutal, lasting years, with many, many rejections. I’m very happy that “The Only Real Thing” finally found a home, and am looking forward to seeing it out there in the world.
I’ll have my post on the submission history of my story, “The Shadow Over Jordan Lake,” up soon, but thankfully, it has a far shorter submission history.
Daniel Kason 