take the bait. go on. take it.

have had two recent rejections that i prefer to think about as almost acceptances. both of them did indeed say that they almost took the respective pieces for publication. this is more encouraging than anything else that has happened so far. both encouraged me to submit more work in the future, and though this is a standard stroke, i think they meant it. i feel like i am moving ahead, slowly, painfully, and may be making progress in my writing. almost, i say to myself. next time.