Mistaken identity and subsequent cover letters

Hi all. Looking for knowledgeable opinions...

Recently I received my manuscript back plus rejection letter from a prominent spec fic magazine. Cool. Another submission/result cycle completed. Time to do it again!

But... The rejection letter began, "Thank you for your resubmission..." (emphasis mine) and I'm not sure what to learn from this, seeing as how that story of mine had only entered their slush pile once. I mean, I do know better than to send a story uninvited back to the publication that rejected it. And I keep a log of where I submit what. This was only the second outing for that story, and, what's more, it was my very first submission to that particular magazine.

Do I...

A) Assume the "re" was a typo? (The letter did not go on to scold me for resubmitting; in all other ways it read like a perfectly ordinary, typewritten, very slightly personalized -- whoo-hoo! -- rejection letter.)

B) Assume the editor who read it had read a very similar story before and conflated it with mine?

C) Assume the editor who read it was pals with the editor who read it at the first magazine I submitted it to, and the editor at the first magazine had the editor at the second magazine read it for kicks & grins? And then, upon seeing mine submitted to his own magazine, mistook it for a resubmission?

D) Assume the editor who read it also reads for the first magazine? And then, as in C), upon seeing mine submitted to his own magazine, mistook it for a resubmission?

In the case of A) I can be confident that the story was rejected on its own merits. In the case of B), C), and D), I fear the manuscript was summarily rejected after being mistaken for a resubmission, and of course there's nothing I can do about that except grumble.

I submitted the story without a cover letter, which, admittedly, may have been a mistake. Guidelines did not require one, and I'd been in the habit of assuming that if I had nothing useful to say in the cover letter I should omit it entirely.

Next time I submit to that magazine, should I include a very brief cover letter ("Thank you for reading my story, 'Story Title.' I look forward to your reply.") which also includes a statement to the effect that "This is the first time I have submitted this particular story to you"? ...I'm thinking that's just pathetic. Suspicious-making, too, in a "the lady doth protest too much" sort of way.

Should I send a nice little thank you note to that editor thanking him for reading it and mentioning that it was not, after all a resubmission, on the hopes that he'll say, "Really? Ooh, send it back right away so I can read it properly!" ...I'm thinking not. I mean, in the case of scenario A) it's unnecessary, and in the other scenarios I doubt he'll accept the story if he mistook it for another that he didn't accept.
Or maybe I should just shrug it off and move on without changing my modus operandi?

Lastly, I understand that it may be useless to ask all this without saying where I submitted it. I don't feel comfortable naming names as it would feel like gossiping about that editor behind his back, so, there that is.

(Burn bridges? Hell, I don't even carry matches!)

Thanks for any opinions y'all care to venture...

Mistaken Identity

I'd just put that rejection letter aside, and forget about it. Mistakes happen. But I would include a cover letter from now on, even if it only states ms. name, word count, brief bio, and thanks. And of course your name, address, etc.

Re: Mistaken Identity

I'm with Stormie.

Re: Mistaken Identity

I'd forget about it. Whether the editor thought the story was a resubmission or not, the story was rejected on its merits. If it hadn't been, the editor would have said so.

You can read way too much into rejection slips, and many are a great deal stranger than this. Odds are extremely high that the editor doesn't even know what the rejection slip said. Most rejection slips, even personalized ones, are computer generated.

Re: Mistaken Identity

When you get a rejection slip, read it, file it, then forget about it.

I agree with Stormie, too. Always include a cover letter.

consensus reached!

Thanks all!

Yes, I usually do try not to read much into rejection letters. They go into that manuscript's file folder and I go into Writer's Market et al looking for a new target market. This is the first one that ruffled me even slightly in a long time, for the reasons explained above.

Thanks for your input, and [writing on blackboard] I will include a cover letter every time from here on out!

Re: consensus reached!

Don't worry about it. I've been sent other people's rejections as well as my own. I returned them to the the original writers with a wee note and now we've established The Secret Underground Writers' Network and write/speak online to each other regularly.

It's all part of life's rich tapestry. Forget about it - the editor has by this time!

Good luck,
aq

Re: consensus reached!

Don't worry about it. I've been sent other people's rejections as well as my own.

Click to expand...

I've had this happen, as well. On at least four occasions, I've received my return envelope back, but with someone else's story inside.

The only reason to read a rejection slip is to see if a request for a rewrite is included. If not, a rejection is a rejection is a rejection, and all of them simply mean "No thanks."

Re: consensus reached!

I have received two rejections for other people's works, mailed in my SASE. I always wonder what happened to mine? What if they sent my "acceptence" letter to the wrong person? :rollin

I simply sent the rejection letter back to the agents and told them they sent it to the wrong person, then asked them what happened to my query.

Yeah, I'll keep the rejection around if it says, "While this is not for me, I'd be interested in reading your other works."

Re: consensus reached!

I save all of my rejection letters in a box. If there's an actual living, breathing, person, who signed it, I'll refer to it to send out another ms. to that person. (As long as it's not too old. Like, a month!)