You Don't Say, Huh?

So....I just came back from the beauty shop (on the clock!) for my wonderful NYC trip tomorrow. Thanks to that damn Gustav, who I hope does not hit anywhere in the US, it's supposed to be raining the entire weekend. Thanks for nothing! That really pisses me off, especially when the sun is shining BRIGHT and it's HOT as hell here. But it's God's work, so what can you do?

While I was under the dryer, I read a couple of magazines and as I was flipping through one of them, I saw a story or a briefing, rather, in a section of the mag that looked so familiar....

Welll, over the last few months, I have pitching magazine editors with different story ideas (with no particular topic in mind). Funny how a pitch I sent out in April has turned into a small story in one of the magazines.

Am I saying this magazine "stole" my idea? Not necessarily so. Maybe great minds think alike. Maybe someone beat me to the punch months ago before I ever pitched the idea. Who knows? Whatever the reason, it doesn't sit well me at all, but I have no control over it.

So I need to ask some real professionals, how do you keep your ideas from being used, instead of your writing services? Can you do anything at all? I never heard from that mag with a yea or nay on whether or not they liked my idea, so that's makes me a little irritated. I imagine that this happens a lot.

I've got to do my research.