I believe what you received is known as a pre-emptive rejection. Editors must do several of these per year to prevent something-or-other. It’s good that they do because it puts the whole rejection thing in perspective — it’s truly them, not you!

And you were, eventually, invited to the dance!

Speaking of the neither famous nor traditionally successful, my own favorite ever rejection experience came in the middle of having a book turned down by every mainstream publisher that my agent and others thought would sweep me off my feet. After about a month of no’s, some outright hostile because of the material, I received a rejection letter in the mail…from an editor I had not even submitted my proposal to. (It was, obviously, a clerical mistake on their end, but was the best laugh I had all fucking month.) Sorry, can I say the f-word on here?

-Joan