If You Shoot for the Moon and Miss….

I just got an e-mail from Don George, Global Editor at Lonely Planet. He was writing to reject an essay I submitted for this year’s Lonely Planet travel literature anthology. That’s pretty disappointing, since I wrote it specifically for the project. But, I am choosing to accentuate the positive. Namely:

1. He said mine made the very final cut. (He may say this to all the girls, but it made me feel good nonetheless. Considering that the final product seems to include essays from writers like Simon Winchester, Tim Cahill, and Pico Iyer, this is close to a landing among the stars situation.)
   
   
2. He tipped me off early on the theme for next year’s collection. (No, I’m not telling. Go get your own essay rejected.)
   
   
3. Did I mention, I just got an e-mail from Don George, Global Editor at Lonely Planet?! After a year of dropping my writing into the Black Hole of Editorial Indifference, this actually does count as some kind of accomplishment. Before you know it, I’ll be getting rejected by Random House and Simon & Schuster.