Rejections

Early 2010 was a bad time for me. That past November I had been forced to move from Athens (which felt more like home than any other place I had ever lived) back to Jackson, Ohio to my mom's. I had recently graduated college and I was without a job and money. While it was inevitable that I would leave Athens, I wanted to do it on my own terms, not like this. Never like this.

Over the years, the pain has gotten easier to deal with, but every once and a while when "Alma Mater Ohio" plays on my iPod or I look through my Facebook pictures, I tear up in the worse way possible. Don't even get me started on always having to miss Homecoming. I don't expect a lot of people to understand an OU alum's everlasting love for her Alma Mater. Ohio University wasn't just a college, it was home. Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat

This blog post isn't about whining that I can't go back to college. Actually it's about rejection letters. Eventually.

The beginning of 2010 marked the beginning of my grand scheme to get back to Ohio University. The had this notion that I could get into grad school about as easy as I got into college. Turns out, it's actually rather difficult to get everything ready to apply to grad school. The hardest part was finding past professors who could write letters of recommendations. I wanted to go for creative writing. I was wanting to get serious about this crazy writing thing. Now if you know me in real life, you know I graduated with a degree in Psychology. A majority of my "professors" were grad students. And of course those grad students wouldn't be able to recommend me for a spot in the creative writing program. I did eventually get one of my creative writing profs to agree to write a recommendation. She wanted a writing sample and I sent her one. She sent it back with comments. To be honest, I never opened it up. I knew it was bad and I was embarrassed that I sent it. I gave up my dreams of going to grad school for the time being and decided to focus on writing and finding a job instead. But mostly on finding a job.

I'll get to the point of this, I swear.

I took my first creative writing class in... 2008? 2007? Spring 2008. That's it. It was a creative writing: fiction class. One of our in class writing assignments was to write in the style of a short story we read in class. The story was written in 2nd person. I finished shortly after ten minutes. I was so pleased with myself. It was like one of those things where you go back to read what you've just written and smile, thinking to yourself, "Damn, I'm awesome."

I always felt like this was the only thing worth submitting, so I did. And on January 4, 2010, I took the plunge, submitting my story to Mid-American Review and StoryQuarterly. (I also submitted it to Every Day Fiction in June of that year). June 2, 2010 is when it happen. I got a response from Mid-American Review.

Dear Sarah Baker:
Thank you for sending your work to Mid-American Review. Although we have decided not to accept it for publication, we wanted you to know that we read it with more than the casual amount of interest. 

We hope that you will send more work our way in the future and wish you luck in all of your literary endeavors, including place this submission elsewhere. 

Best wishes,
MXXXXXX CXXXXXXXXX,
Editor

Oddly enough, I wasn't upset. I was proud of myself for doing it. I knew the likelihood of getting published on my first try was very small. I was actually happy. That was the moment I considered myself a real writer. Stephen King nailed all his rejection letters to his wall, I have them saved in my e-mail under the proud folder: Literary Journal Rejections. And now I'm posting them on my blog for the world to see.

A couple days later I got my second rejection.

Dear Sarah Baker:
Thank you for submitting your story "Syllabus Day." 

Unfortunately, it really isn't right for us, and we need to pass on it. Thanks for submitting, and we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere. 

Sincerely,
The Editors
StoryQuarterly

And of course, my rejection from Every Day Ficition.

Dear Sarah E. Baker,
Thank you for your submission to Every Day Fiction. I regret to inform you that we are unable to use it at this time.
Amusing piece, however EDF is probably not the right forum for publication, as this is not a story with plot and character development.
-- MXXXXXXX JXXXX

Well that's a funny way of saying "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here", but as Michelle points out it doesn't tell a story and is not appropriate for Every Day Fiction.
-- JXXX TXXXXX

We wish you good luck in placing the story elsewhere.
Sincerely,
All of us at Every Day Fiction

When I got them, I was surprised they all were the cookie cutter "insert name and title here" kind of rejections. Every Day Fiction actually took the time to read it and provide comments. I know this isn't all too common, but it felt nice.

For sticking around through my whining, here is the short in question. I will be working on it soon so I can start submitting it again.

Syllabus Day

Good afternoon. And welcome to Psychology 101. Before we start, let’s go over a few things, shall we? You are to show up to class every day. You don’t have any unexcused or “freebie” absences. If you miss one, you will fail the course.

There will be a quiz everyday worth twenty points. These will have nothing to do with what we are talking about either in class or about anything in the field of Psychology. If you fail more than two quizzes, consider retaking the class next quarter because you will fail the course.

As part of your grade, you are required to participate in ten psychological experiments. These experiments will probably be unethical and there is a 99.9% chance that you will come out with psychological damage. If you do not complete all ten experiments or I feel you should have chosen different experiments, you will fail the course.

There will be an exam every two weeks. The exams will not be covered by what we talk about in class. You must buy an old, expensive, obscure book. It is out of print, so you will not be able to buy it. However, if you don’t know what the book says, you will not do well on the exams. If you do not do well, consider retaking the class next quarter, because you will fail the course.

During class, I will give notes that have nothing to do with what we are talking about in this class and I will ramble on about stories from my sad, miserable life. I don’t put notes on BlackBoard and I don’t present a PowerPoint. You are responsible for figuring out what I will ask on the exams. If you don’t, I’m afraid you will fail the course.

There will be no food or drink in my classroom. I know this is a class during lunchtime, but nonetheless, you are here to learn, not eat. If I see as much as a piece of gum in this room, you will fail the course.

This is Robert, my TA. He is a graduate student studying Physics. He will not help you. Some days he will teach the class, but I assure you, it won’t be an enlightening experience since he has no idea how to teach a class of undergrads. If you try to ask Robert for help, you will fail the course.

If you have any complaints about this class or my style of teaching, please tell me, but you will fail the course.