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Q: Let's say I have an article accepted by a publication which folds before it publishes it. Can I send the article out again for publication?

A: Sometimes getting paid a kill fee, or even a full fee, isn't as satisfying as seeing that byline, don't you think? This unfortunately happens more than you (or I, anyway) would think.

"Many years ago, I wrote a piece on the Crest toothpaste ads on TV (in which I talked about being chosen to brush with "ordinary" toothpaste, rather than Crest, and how it affected by life afterwards), and I sent it to the Realist magazine, edited by Paul Krassner," says freelancer Peter Friedman.

"I heard nothing about the piece and forgot about it. Then six years later, the piece appeared in The Last Supplement to the Whole Earth Catalogue, of which Krassner was the editor, along with a note from him saying that, if I cared to submit anything else in the future, he wouldn't take as long to respond. That was the longest response time I ever experienced. Subsequently I also sold the piece to Advertising Age, which responded within a week."

Unless you have a contract giving the now-defunct all rights, and unless they pay you the full amount under that contract, you own the story, so you can re-sell it. [Read update and correction on this here.](Also, unless the contract is all-rights, full fee, or unless it includes a kill fee, you won't get any money, either.) Sometimes, you might get paid and be able to re-sell it.

If still in doubt, call your former editor and ask what the protocol is (actually, more specifically, call the former editor and ask for the number of the legal department, if you don't have it.) The editor might even take pity on you and recommend another publication where it might fit.

If, however, you do not have rights to re-sell, you can always re-slant the article and sell it elsewhere as a new piece.