I'm still alive, just have been a little busier than usual these past few weeks. Don't give up on me.

I set a goal to post every rejection letter I get when I submit my writing for publishing. I just got my second official rejection letter. It's from the Ensign (my first was from The Friend about this time last year) and it's very gracious as you'll soon see. My Friend rejection crushed me a little. To say it was concise is a gross understatement. It was one sentence long. After that initial blow, I've toughened up a bit. My friend, Mindy Johnson, encouraged me by telling me that an author she admires got over 100 rejections on the same manuscript before it was finally accepted. So I've decided in the spirit of Inigo Montoya that I must relish rejection, rejoice in rejection, revel in rejection because every rejection brings me closer to success. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. (Remember how saying, "Hello, My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" over and over again gave that plucky swordsman courage?) But for Pete's sake, I've got to work harder and faster to get my 100 rejections. At the rate I'm currently going I'll be 139 years old before anyone considers publishing anything that I write. (The millenium, maybe?) Anyway, here it is.

Dear Author:

Thank you very much for sending us your submission. It is a pleasure to see new material. Every piece received is individually reviewed by the editorial staff.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to publish your work. Because of limited magazine space and the increasing number of such submissions as the Church grows, the Church magazines are able to publish only a very small percentage of the many good items received. We regret that the time it takes to process hundreds of incoming submissions does not allow us to make comments about each one individually.

Please accept our thanks for the time and effort put into your work. We know that submissions like yours are goodwill offerings in support of the Church. We hope the work that has gone into this one will be a benefit to you and your family.

Sincerely,
Ensign Editorial Staff