Just in case I might get too complacent, a malignant Fate decreed that an article I’ve spent hours on has been rejected — by the person who commissioned it.

First of all, the editor said that the first third of the article didn’t meet the agreed brief. I thought it did, because it provided some background. However, the customer is always right.

I rewrote the first third, and then tightened up the rest of it. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but I just shaved a few redundant words off here and there, wrote about a little more research that had been reported on since I submitted the first draft, and reorganised it slightly.

Needless to say (to anyone who has worked with me or commissioned me), I checked, double-checked and triple-checked the criteria to make sure I fully met the brief.

I submitted it again four weeks ago, and so I asked whether it was OK. I was told in effect that there’s no longer any call for that subject matter.

There’s no kill fee either.

What can we learn from this?

1. The most obvious lesson is that had I met the brief “properly” in the first place, which was two months ago, the article would probably have been accepted and I’d be a few hundred dollars better off. By “properly” I mean in accordance with the unspoken thoughts of the editor who, it turned out, wanted some aspects of the topic but not others, and no background information. Therefore the next lesson to be learnt is…

2. If you’re not psychic and so able to read other people’s minds, it’s probably better to draft an outline first and ask the editor of it looks ok. I didn’t do that because this editor has always accepted my articles, perhaps with a minor tweak here and there. So, maybe I was becoming a bit complacent.

3. A very important point is that, if possible, have an agreement in place before starting the work. Part of this agreement should (in my opinion) state that if you meet the required brief and the editor changes his mind, you should be paid anyway. Or at least be paid what is known as a “kill fee”. That is a (usually substantial) percentage of the original agreed fee. In some cases I’ve been paid the entire fee. After all, it’s not my fault if editors change their minds.

4. Finally, if you are a new writer and your work is rejected, just bear in mind that at some point it’s going to happen to all of us.