Nadya Labi is best known for writing for Time, Legal Affairs and other top magazines about political topics. But when she was sixteen, her biggest ambition was getting a romance novel published - and as she writes in the Boston Globe, she did her best, finishing her 53,000 word manuscript in 3 weeks after consulting the 1980s version of Harlequin's guidelines. And then, no response.

But when Labi was home for her parents' 40th wedding anniversary, she found the manuscript - and this is where things get a little kooky. Because not only did Labi track down the original editor she'd submitted to, Karin Stoecker (now he editorial director of Harlequin Mills & Boon in London) she submitted her query letter and opening chapter again, this time getting an outright formal rejection. "We would not recommend that you attempt to revise this story," the letter advised to Labi, "but suggest that you read as many of our current titles as you can."

OK, I realize that was a reasonable (and moderately funny) ending to a story that tracks Harlequin's evolution in the last twenty years, as the company changed with the tastes of its readers. But still...WTF? If the original query letter makes you "cringe," why re-send the book, especially if you have no plans to pursue it? Still, it's a good lesson for people wanting to submit manuscripts anywhere, to any publisher: know what they publish now, not when you were reading the books.