Unpublished but paid

This is Joseph, who hangs out and plays chess at a coffee shop on my One Street (NW 21st Avenue) around the corner from where I live. I met him a year and a half ago, and as we are neighbors, we often chat in passing. Today he told me he's a writer and editor, and he had a story accepted at Ellery Queen magazine, back when it was only available in paper copies.

"They accepted my story and they paid me $85 for it, but they never did publish it. Most of the writers I know have been published but not paid. I'm the other way around."