A New Personal Record in Pitches

I recently received an email from a name I didn't recognize. The letter sitting in my Gmail read:

C------ to me
show details Jan 16 (2 days ago)

Reply


Dear Thomas,



Thank you for your query. However, this is not a fit for our needs at this time. I appreciate your thinking of us.



Kind regards,



C---- ----
Executive Editor
Entrepreneur Magazine
www.entrepreneur.com


A pretty run of the mill rejection letter. What stood out was what I discovered when I scrolled up to find out what I had sent and why my memory was so spotty.

The next message up was an auto reply to my original message:

I will be out of the office until Thursday, Sept. 25. I'll respond to your message as soon as possible once I return.


And the date on my message sitting atop the thread of messages? September 24th.

That's right: nearly 4 months had passed between my original response and the rejection letter. I've said over and over that editors are busy, but this sets a new record.