The award for best form rejection letter by a writing journal goes to...

I just got a rejection from Carve Magazine, the same magazine whose literary services I used in August to get a sense of what editors think when they read my stories. Here is their form rejection letter:

Jacob,
We appreciate the opportunity to read your work, but we will not be publishing “Savage, Maryland.”
Editorial decisions are ultimately subjective, so we encourage you to keep writing and submitting. When your work finds a home, we’d like to know so we can share the news with others. Tell us at carvezine.com/reject.
We hope you continue to enjoy reading future issues of Carve, and you are welcome to submit again.
Sincerely,
Editor and Staff
Carve Magazine
carvezine.com | carvelit.com
P.S. If you're looking for in-depth feedback, check out our editing services at carvelit.com. We offer a broad range of editorial and mentoring services.

Why do I like this? Several reasons. #1) There is never even a flutter of anticipation that you got picked, only to feel crushed later. #2) There is an admission that there is an element of randomness to this. Other zines do this, of course, but not as well or with as much seeming integrity. #3) The magazine has a "REJECT!" section, where you can show up with a story they turned down that someone else wanted. Now, the skeptical might say that this is just an opportunity for them to hawk the "premium" edition to you, but I have no problem with this. A lot of journals are trying sneaky things to get you to spend the coin to be a full member, and at least this one shows a little humility.

I'm a little concerned that this rejection came so fast. One day under a month. That means it was a quick throw-out. I don't think I'm writing obvious throwaway stories anymore. Makes me a little concerned that they think I am. But, oh well. They're not in my top ten favorites, anyway.

My first published story comes out on Baltimore Review on October 31st.