This story takes the form of an editorial rejection letter written by a fictional publisher to author Tony Tulathimutte. The publisher’s decision is based on the evasive position the book takes to its subject. While Tulathimutte uses different perspectives to communicate rejection as a theme, it is difficult to divorce the characters he is writing about from the personal opinions and autobiographical experiences he has likely injected into their lives.

The publisher interprets “The Feminist” as an attempt to signal that Tulathimutte is morally superior to the title character. However, this merely enacts the same anxieties “The Feminist” espouses, which undermines the story’s argument. The publisher reads “Pics” similarly, accusing Tulathimutte of virtue-signaling his concern for women’s struggles. 

“Ahegao” is seen as trying to punish the reader’s sympathy for Kant’s childhood with the hyperbolic obscenity of his sexual fantasies. The publisher suggests that Kant closely resembles Tulathimutte, accusing the author of revealing his fear of self-exposure by changing enough details about Kant to make their similarity less obvious. The publisher claims to want to aid Tulathimutte in being more intentional with his stories.

The publisher critiques “Our Dope Future,” which, on the surface, appears to be a reversal of “Ahegao.” Instead of punishing a sympathetic character, the story punishes the villainous Max. However, the publisher accuses Tulathimutte of revealing himself this time by making Max completely unlike the author: The author’s willingness to flagellate Max may signal the desire to purge his own secret flaws. The publisher takes “Main Character” to be a writer’s power fantasy—its protagonist impacts the world with their writing, escapes accountability, and earns MH-Sleuth’s congratulations for remaining elusive.

The publisher dismisses “Sixteen Metaphors” as having no clear purpose. 

Then, there is a metafictional twist as readers learn that “Re: Rejection” is actually another one of Tulathimutte’s stories, written to pre-empt and project his fear of rejection. The story’s fictional critical publisher derides “Re: Rejection” for trying to shield the collection from rejection by an actual publisher. For a book to forge an authentic connection, the author must give readers agency to recognize the book’s flaws on their own.

The publisher concedes that the flaws Tulathimutte tries to account for may have been intentionally planted, which would explain “Re: Rejection.” This would suggest that the author wants to be rejected by the reader, making himself the culminating exemplar of the book’s thematic focus.

The publisher suggests that if Tulathimutte’s real intention is to avoid rejection, then he should withdraw from writing, foregoing the possibility of both rejection and acceptance. The publisher ends the letter by suggesting that despite this harsh critique, the burden of choice ultimately falls on Tulathimutte, who must either accept or reject their criticism.