It's brilliant, Trisha. This means someone in the publishing field requested your writing without your knowledge. They have an interest. Maybe it is not right for their publishing house at this time, but it means they were genuinely interested enough to request it. Oh, there are so many dimensions to the publishing business. This is a great thing, I think. I'd be chuffed to bits. In fact, whenever I get rejection letters I hang on to them. They only make you stronger. The ones with margin notes (rare) or comments are even better. Sometimes they say they liked it but it won't fit with so and so issue but to resubmit for a future issue...I take that as an open invitation and remind them later when I submit future work. Think of this as a great thing. You have interest you didn't know you had. Rock it baby. Write more. Keep sending this out and NEVER ever give up.

Some of my fav authors have piles and piles of rejection letters. Even the billionaire J.K Rowling was rejected on numerous occasions. My motto "Fail better." This doesn't mean I want to fail...but I can keep improving. Actually I knicked this from Zadie Smith. I think she was or is going to write something about failing better. I just liked the term and made it my motto. Good luck to you and Congratulations.

I'd frame that little sucker, tuck it in a drawer and when your novel comes out and has loads of press, you can tell all the aspiring young writers, "I, too, received rejection letters, even when I wasn't expecting them." And have a good laugh all the way to the bank, baby!