system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How important are journal publications, really?

Disclaimer: not trying to come across as arrogant or entitled, just trying to work out where I'm going wrong.

PhD candidate in English lit here (university in the US), I have a question about how much journal articles actually count these days. So here's my issue: I have 3 articles in top journals, and they're decent ones at that - all received glowing reviewers reports, all accepted for publication (though not coming out until late 2021/2022). Nevertheless, when I went on the job market for the first time last year, I had zero success: rejections from every job/postdoc/fellowship, no interviews/requests for more material.

I was kind of surprized by this -- everyone tells me that just one publication is enough to go on the job market with a "good" chance of success; one of my peers recently got an R1 job with just 1 article in a top journal. I'm in my 6th year and I have more publications than many junior faculty -- I wasn't expecting a job, but I thought I would at least get some interest (so did my advisor). Obviously I was wrong, but I'd be grateful if anyone has any thoughts on what the situation re publications actually is.

Is it that publications are subject to the law of diminishing returns, ie. you need one but any more after that aren't adding anything? Or does this indicate  that there is something seriously flawed with my dissertation project/how I come across in my application? Or is this simply what a massively over-supplied job market looks like from the ground and I just need to keep plugging away at it? Would getting even more publications help, or should I focus my energies elsewhere?

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

TO CLARIFY: I'm currently ABD, but when I applied for jobs starting Fall 2021, I said that I would defend by April 2021 (I could have done this, but since I didn't get a job I pushed it forward a year to keep my funding/visa)

UPDATE: I want to say how much I appreciate the responses to this post. I've seen some really vicious anonymous comments on the academic jobs wiki but everyone here has been amazingly kind and helpful. TBH it's restored some of my faith in academia (the people if not the system).
gpt
The problem is that you can't logic your way through this; there is no logic to the dire job market in the humanities beyond its being weighted toward those coming from elite institutions (and even that's no longer a guarantee). Publications help, unless they don't. References help, unless they don't. Your research area helps, unless it doesn't.