A couple of tips I really like, courtesy of the Just Keep Writing podcast, which I recently discovered.
This one they credit to P. Djeli Clark. To paraphrase, once you’ve submitted a story, do not touch it again until it has received five form rejections. if that happens, maybe you’ll want to consider changes. Or not.
I have definitely violated this guideline. The first few stories I sent out all got edited after each rejection. I’ve stopped doing that now. Five tries feels like the right number to me.
The other tip I thought was fun was actually an anecdote about a writer who rewards herself for rejections. For example, “When I rack up 50 rejections, I’ll get that fancy thingamabob I want.” This amuses the hell out of me, mostly because it speaks to the running joke I share with my husband and my writing group that I’m “shooting for 500 rejections.” It’s a bit like the Monster of the Week system of awarding experience for a failed roll. Makes so much sense to me.
If you write, or just enjoy listening to people talk about writing (I don’t kink-shame), give it a listen. I find the hosts charming and as a bonus, if you go back to the beginning, you’ll hear lots of references to Maurice Broaddus and even get to hear from the man himself a few times. What’s not to love about that?