Backhanded Acceptance

4:00 p.m. Saturday

Just returned from the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival. Great music, fun people-watching, and so many dogs you would not believe it. One lady hauled her three Shitzus in a grocery cart. Another person had four terriers. There were full sized poodles, boxers, mutts of every kind.

Got a rejection from the editor of an anthology who liked my story but rejected it for the book. She wants to post it on her website. No can do, I told her, not without compensation. I'm anxious to hear what the response will be. When I read the fine print I noticed the guidelines: "Even if rejected, you could still be published." Ha! that's one way to get your work for free. Be careful; be the judge of the merit of your own work. I do not recommend giving your work away, but only you can decide what's right for you.

I received a reply: "This is an on line lit mag, and I do all the work myself. I do not receive any compensation, therefore I can not pay writers. Good luck placing it elsewhere!"

So, sometime, somehow, I'll find a market for it; I know I will. Patience pays dividends.