Yes, to be entirely fair, I did get a piece published in an anthology in about 2006. It was a small press, I got $40 for it, I'd been invited to submit (with no guarantee that the piece would be chosen), and I was very happy. After some trepidation I actually went back and re-read that piece last year and... actually still felt really good about it, which gave me something to think about when I'm not feeling so steady about the quality of my work. Cause all in all I've been writing much more aggressively in the last... mm, four years or so, maaaybe five, and my style has changed a lot. And I've received a lot more workshopping and a lot more instruction. So, you know, to look back at the early efforts and feel like it was still a worthwhile thing to have had printed, yeah. That's... good.

It's also been seven years. -.- And I would like to think I've gotten better. But, hey. We keep on keepin' on. I'm sure our stories had a good time in the slush pile together. That's something, right? Maybe they had beers after being turned down. And... not bears, as I originally typed.

At least, neither of my pieces feature bears. I can't speak for yours, obviously.