messed up a submission; need advice

[rowriter]

Hi all,

I sent an online submission (.doc format) to a place that publishes short stories. Of course, I messed something up - I got married a couple years ago, and while I changed my name on the first page, I forgot to change the header on every page that has the page number and my *previous* last name...

So...isn't that just as good a reason to reject an author as anything else?

My actual question is: should I wait the 16 weeks to find out that it's rejected (I'm 99% sure of this, and even if they did like my work, maybe they'd suspect me of not writing it, since there's a different name on the other 15 pages, yarg!!), or just ignore their "No Simultaneuos Submissions" rule, fix it and start sending it out to other magazines? I had a writing teacher that said she broke this rule *all* the time, but I'm nervous about this! I've already decided it would be presumptuous to try to notify the editor about the mistake - it should have been right the first time!

Thanks for any help here. Don't worry, I've already slapped myself on the forehead several times to rid myself of making this mistake again. :mad:

[Anaparenna]

maybe they'd suspect me of not writing it, since there's a different name on the other 15 pages,

Or, they'll just think you have a pen name.

I've already decided it would be presumptuous to try to notify the editor about the mistake

Nah. Things happen. If it really bothers you, simply send an email politely stating you mislabeled your pages, and you're sending the corrected version, sorry for the mix-up, thank you for your time. We all hear horror stories about rejections all the time, but the truth is, editors are not our enemies, and having usually come from the writing field themselves, they tend to understand. :)

[rowriter]

Thanks for the response, Anaparenna! This makes me feel better. I think I'll just leave it as is, wait for the response and send out some other stuff in the meantime.

[triceretops]

Rowriter--I absolutely would not fret over this slight at all. It happens all the time and does not affect the quality of the submission. I've done much worse and never been called on the carpet for it.

Triceratops

[rowriter]

Triceratops, thanks! I'm not worried about it at all now, and that's good for me, I worry about everything. <smile>

[Button]

Mistakes happen. I didn't spell query right in one of my submission letters for a website and I was still accepted.

It happens. Just remember to get someone else to read your letters before you send them off. :)