Sometime in December I submitted an essay I had written, for review at a major publication. It was a long-shot, but sometimes one just feels spunky and bold in this way.
Today I got the letter from the editor. He wrote:
Dear Ms. Aiming-high [not the real name: I want to protect her anonymity; suffice it to say it was not my last name],
Our mutual friend, Merry Sherry [only one of those words is authentic and I wont disclose which one] has sent me your resume.
I have taken the liberty of passing it on to Bill Schmutsky [another attempt at a name disguise by me], our associate managing editor for news administration. Someone on his staff will be in touch to set up a meeting.
Sincerely,
XXX
[Big shot at major publication]
cc: Bill Schmutsky
Now, there are several things that are of interest here:
1. take heart: even the big time publications occasionally put the wrong letter in the wrong envelope.
2. when someone from Bill Schmutsky’s office calls Ms. Aiming-high to set up an appointment, she will be surprised.
3. Bill Schmutsky, of course, assumes that Ms. Aiming-high got the big okay. He was, after all, cc’d on the letter ostensibly sent to her.
4. The big shot publication guy who was the recipient of my humble query letter with manuscript has a habit of sending little private notes deflecting job inquiries from “friends of friends,” and our preoccupation with meritocracy notwithstanding, friends of connected friends give each other a nice leg up in this doggy dog world.
5. I wonder what Ms. Aiming-high thought when she got MY letter, most likely rejecting everything with a blanket “get lost and leave us alone” message?
1 hour ago
