Paying to submit your writing.

What’s wrong with this picture?

I take my time and experience to write and rewrite (numerous times) a short story or a poem. Then I research to find a suitable publication(s) to submit it to. I meticulously adhere to their onerous guidelines only to find at the very end of the process that the publication expects me to pay them to submit my work – which they may or may not publish (usually not), but if they do, they may or may not make money on.

Even though the fee is quite often a nominal $3.00 to offset the cost of their Submittable subscription, does that sound right to you?

Submittable is a program a publication subscribes to manage submissions – and it’s expensive. However, rather than charge authors they could accept submissions via email – lots of publications do.

They could also offset costs by asking for donations, offering to critique submissions for a fee, encouraging paid subscriptions and trying to get sponsors (advertising) from writing tools like ProWritingAid, etc. Organizations or individuals offering courses or selling books on craft or holding writing retreats may also be interested. Then there’s swag – mugs, pens, bookmarks, book bags – with the publication’s logo. Revenue might also be generated from sales of the magazine and anthologies.

Of course, this is all going to take a bit of effort and, as we’re told over and over again by publishers and editors they all volunteer, the project is “a labour of love”. The same could be said for my writing, considering how little I make and yet I don’t ask them to contribute toward my Duotrope subscription (which helps me manage my submissions).

Hey! There’s an idea.

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