Here are my general thoughts on that: I don't really understand the rigidity that certain pubs have around accepting already published articles. What I will say, though, is that much of the benefit you'll gain from using a publication will diminish with each passing day, as it will take some digging through stories for people to find yours. If it's only hours old, there won't be much drawback. If it's weeks old, most wouldn't see much point in doing that. That said, it's no issue for me publishing something a year or two old if for whatever. reason you'd just rather have your article associated with the publication.