Here’s my contribution, a day late:
Dear Ms. Sparks,
Thank you for submitting “[insert story title here]” to [insert magazine name here].
Unfortunately, this piece didn’t quite engage our imaginations: a character waiting alone in a white room where nothing changes is a hard thing for a reader to stay invested in. Therefore, I’m unable to accept this piece for publication.
I was, of course, very tempted to reply with the information that “The Fear of White” by Rjurik Davidson, published in Borderlands issue 7, won the 2007 Ditmar (Australian Science Fiction Achievement award) for Best Short Story… Its pretty much set in a white room. But as my own rejected story was not actually set in a room at all, I’m thinking they were being facetious.
