This was a rejection I was 100% expecting. Why? Because right after I hit send on the email, I realized I had failed to attach the story as a document in addition to pasting it into the body of the email.
Yeah.
Follow the submission guidelines. The mantra is there, and the most frustrating part was that I had been meticulously checking off each requirement as I constructed the email, and yet I still hit send without attaching the story.
Was it possible that they might have some how absolutely adored it and said yes anyway? Technically, yes, but the story was rejected – as it should be. Now, the letter doesn’t say they rejected it due to lack of following the submission requirements, but I am moving forward with the belief that it likely didn’t even get a true review because I fucked up.
That’s on me.
All this said, I do appreciate that the form letter includes some links to help find additional markets to submit to. That is honestly really cool. It’s a community after all, and letters like this demonstrate that fact.
All I can do at this point is keep on the submission grind, and actually follow the submission guidelines without fucking up again.
Note on letter images: I have here and will always black out the name of the market and the name of the person who sent the letter. These posts are not meant to speak about the publications at all. These are about my reactions to the letters and what I can learn from them.