While having a clearout of files on my computer, I found this collage from a year ago this week. The Wisenheimer, an American cartoonists' internet forum that I take part in has an occasional thread called "What's on your drawing board?" where people show their latest work. I had just put together a batch of cartoons to be sent out on-spec to magazines. So, as I didn't want to reveal the actual jokes, I just used excerpts from each cartoon. Some people put up low-res unreadable scans.
The thing that's of interest one year one, which illustrates the insanity of the gag-cartoon market, is that only one of these has so far sold! (Left hand column, one down, it was in Prospect magazine.) This, I should point out, is perfectly normal for freelance gag cartoonists! If you sell upwards of two or three out of ten that's a great result.
But all hope is not lost for the others. Some will be looked at, rejigged or reworded and sent out again. Others will go into semi-retirement as stock cartoons. Many find a home this way, though usually in not such high-profile places. For example, a gag I did about utility companies providing multiple services (it's funnier than it sounds, honest) was rejected by all the mags but has sold several times to, er, utility companies. So we keep churning them out ...