The first rejection I got (in a record-breaking nine days) was respectful, used my name, mentioned particulars of my story and was signed in ink by a human being. It made me feel that something really good was right around the corner.
The second and third, however, were slightly less encouraging. Non-personalized, unsigned form letters, they said that these agencies saw me as just another literary fly that had landed in their potato salad.
The fourth rejection was a half-sheet photocopy stapled to my submission package which had never been seen. They had read the cover letter, pinned its note on, and sent it out.
This one, however, this one was an index card printed with their rejection and stapled to my package. An index card. Feh.
The next one's just going to have "NO" stamped on my cover letter in dripping red ink, and after that, I'll open an envelope one day and a little pile of ashes will fall out.