“[Fake editors] are most definitely not an urban legend,” a freelance editor emailed me yesterday. “A company that I worked at in the ’90s not only sent out rejection letters under a fake editor’s name, but this fake editor also had a voicemail box and an e-mail address. I would bet this still happens. Most rejected authors are gracious, but those that aren’t can be horrifying.”
And how: The pseudonmyous “Moonrat,” an editor here in New York, writes on her blog that an aspiring author has turned into a stalker. The guy shows up unannounced at her company and drops off his unsolicited manuscript after waiting more than half an hour for her, then calls her assistant the next day wondering if there was any feedback yet. “Now he has somehow learned my direct line,” she reports. “I have had 3 (three) long phone messages from him today about his book and how it’s going to change the world.” (Via Maud.)