Evolution of a submission

So yesterday I psyched myself up and prepared a query letter to send to an editor I've been wanting to contact for a while.

I did all the usual pre-sub stuff. I obsessively checked the letter, obsessively checked the spelling of the editor's name, though I've submitted to this person before and gotten it right. I re-read the query submission guidelines on the publisher's website and doube checked the e-mail address, then triple checked the e-mail address.

I checked the wording of the query again, looked for spelling errors, saved the query to my Word files making sure I changed the file name so I didn't accidentally erase something I might need in the future.

I copied and pasted all the proper text into an open e-mail, double checked the wording of the subject line, and the editor's addy one more time, made sure to update my address and phone number and double checked everything again. Obsessive much? Me? Nah.

Then I hit send.

I breathed a small sigh of relief and told myself it was all up to the universe now. Knowing I could reasonably expect a response in three or four months, I went about my business.

About 20 minutes later, I found myself opening my e-mail account. Two thoughts went through my mind, one being I was hoping for a reply from a friend I'd been e-mailing with trhoughout the day and the other thought was, "Oh, here I go, back on the obsessively checking e-mail ride."

I watched as my e-mail account pulled up new mail and deposited it in my inbox. A digest from one of my publisher groups, no biggie. And something with the very same subject line as the e-mail I'd just sent to the editor.

Oh crap. I e-mailed the query to myself.

I've done this before. It's the ultimate 'just shoot me' feeling. I mean, how dumb can I really be?

Moments before my head hit the desk, I realized the 'From' addy was the editor's, not mine. The editor had responded to the query.

In 13 minutes.

And asked for the full.

Giddy, mildy hysterical laughter ensued for a moment. Then I replied to the request, attached the full manuscript and hit send.

Now back to obsessively checking my e-mail. Rinse and repeat.