How hard is it to get into the NY Times?

Apparently pretty hard. The following is an email I received yesterday, months after I submitted a crossword puzzle to the New York Times:

Hi Cal,

This is [name] writing, helping Will with correspondence.

Will says thanks, but must send regrets on the following:

--Teetotaler 15x -- which didn't excite him enough
--Mission Impossible 15x -- it's a cute idea, but he thinks some people can raise one eyebrow. Also, some would say "door hinge" is an acceptable rhyme for "orange."

Sorry about that. Will did appreciate seeing these, tho. For information on the specs for manuscript submission, please go to www.cruciverb.com and click on Publisher Specifications.

Best regards,

[name]

For the record, Teetotaler was my T-themed puzzle (http://www.mycrosswords.com/237/ChristopherLee/Teetotaller.html) where I not only had 5 clues themed T, but an actual T in the grid shaped by black squares, as well as every single freaking clue starting with T. Mission Impossible (http://www.mycrosswords.com/237/ChristopherLee/MissionImpossible.html) was my masterpiece mostly because the non-theme clues and answers turned out to be good. The theme wasn't bad either, it had to do with "nearly impossible tasks" such as rhyming with orange and raising one eyebrow, as noted in the e-mail. Apparently Shortz didn't find these themes compelling enough, and then it really didn't matter how the rest of the grid looked. I've made over 25 crosswords, and these were the 2 very best, and they didn't make it. It'll take a great theme and then some luck to get in there.

ANYWAYS, I'm typing this from my Auntie Mary's apartment in midtown Manhattan. I just spent the last 2 hours communicating with friends on Gchat, Facebook and AIM. The last time I did that, I was in Beijing, and I realize how similar these situations are. I was so nervous when I first got into that city and I spent a lot of time trying to connect with the friends I missed from back home, as well as talking with the friends I had made there. I feel the same here in a way. I'm in a big city and when I step outside the apartment, I'm not sure where I'm going. There's nothing stopping me from going anywhere, but there's not the limitless urge to sporadically explore like there was in Ireland. Its difficult to pinpoint where the difference lies; is it the unhesitating disdain that city dwellers here show obviously clueless tourists? Is it the towering maze-like array of high rises that disorient your sense of direction? Or is it my subconcious guilty feeling that I should know this city, I should fit in, and that everytime this is proven wrong it stabs deep into my soul?

Not sure, I'll get back to you on that one. But just like Beijing, I am back to blogging. June and work start tomorrow. I'm wearing a suit.