Short Term Wins

I am subbing stories to
some of the larger publishers.
These are possible big dollars,
but they also have a long turnaround time.
Some take a year to look at a partial
(the first three chapters and synopsis).

A story sold to a large publisher
would make my career.
Rationally it makes sense that
I should allocate all my time and energy
to these submissions.

Humans aren’t rational.

I know if I only send to the big publishers,
it will take years before I get a sale.
Over these years,
I will get discouraged,
and stop subbing stories.

So every month,
I also send a shorter story
to a smaller publisher.
These publishers take mere weeks to accept a story.
They then publish these stories within months.
I see sales.
I see progress.
I continue to sub to the larger publishers.

Can you set up some short term wins
on your road to that big success?