Jeepman, where do you live? That can make a difference. In the U.S., if you have the words published in a copyright journal or other publication, make sure to keep the rights beyond what is needed for publication (First North American, etc.) and it is copyrighted for you. If you give away your rights (reprint rights, etc.) then it may belong to the publication. A lot of this may have changed in the last dozen years--I haven't written freelance for about that long, to keep track. But if it appears in a copyright publication, it is as good as copyrighted and you don't have to pay anyone (and ideally YOU were paid for it!).

SRS