They paid the writers not you, correct? If you didn't sign a First North America Serial Rights contract with them OR if you haven't been compensated then you are free and clear both legally and ethically to do as you wish. Even if you did sign a contract there may be time constraints or a statute of limitations involved. It may be the same physical location but the garden has evolved and you are a different writer from the previous ones so I don't think there are any copyright or contract considerations to be concerned about. Of course we expect to hear the pros weigh in here shortly after they rouse from their Thanksgiving nap.

Thanks for your feed back Eddie,

Yes, they paid the writers of the non published article, not me.
I was simply the designer and was interviewed for their article.

As an aside, that last full sentence should have stated : Last I heard from one of the readers ( insert : writers ) is that the article is not dead, just on hold until management is settled in .

I think you may want to communicate your intent to them prior to submitting it elsewhere. BHG may get upset, and perhaps rightfully so, if the article appears elsewhere or you tell them after you've placed it in another publication. Do you have a contact there you can write to and let them know you'll be sending it out? Maybe you can word it like: while I am delighted by the possibility of appearing in BHG, I also care about this piece and want to pursue venues for having it published this year (2004?). You know your contact there and relationship with them better than I, but I guess I'd recommend strongly letting them know your intent in some extremely diplomatic way.

How frustrating for you, to have such a neat project not published. On the other hand, it's two years more mature now and might be better served by your own work. Good luck and let us know what happens!

Arbor

One thing inherent in that flowering fruiting medium that we deal in is generosity. Another bunch of people see this as a marketing opportunity. Unless you play the game you lose.

Mich - They have postponed it twice already and it's still on hold?

Unless you signed a contract with them that specifically prohibits you from writing about the garden and compensated you for restricting your actions, they contracted with the writers/photographers, not you, and you are not responsible for the management decisions that delayed the article.

And although a heads-up that you have an article in the works about the garden is polite, it's just a courtesy. Go for it!

Even if you have a contract with them, such as if you were the writer/photographer (and I understand that you weren't), you can still write a different article on the same project with another set of photos, and they can't do a thing about it.
I waited one time for the original MEN to do an article of mine which they had already paid for, and guess what...they went bankrupt and the article ended up in the dump with the rest of the stuff in their files...AND it was the first article I'd ever written for money....got paid but not published...what a bummer!!!
Good luck.
Ann

I believe that writing a letter to the Editor and Field Scout in charge of the proposed story is an excellent idea and shows common courtesy. ( and it might even pique the staff to run with the article again, after all they have a fair amount of money and time already invested in it )

I did not have any signed contract with BH+G.

But as Mr. Jefferies so astutely pointed out, this is a nice little marketing opportunity for my small firm and I don't want to step on any toes or jeopardize any future stories or publications .

One never knows where the Editor of Publication A is going to be tomorrow.

As someone once said ; the ass you kicked today may be the one you have to kiss tomorrow ... or something like that

You built the garden, they built the story. They will eventually run the story and probably again and again and again every 5 years or so.

You should build your own story about this garden and use it as a marketing tool, and maintain ownership of the story yourself.

Notifying them is a polite gesture, notifying the future publishers that the story was intially profiled by BH&G may also be important.