I was looking at my journal submission spreadsheet the other day. I got another rejection (ug) and so I was checking to see where to send my story next.
I’ve blogged before about how I try to see rejection as getting closer to acceptance, but as I scrolled down the list of places I’ve submitted to over the past few months, it occurred to me that almost every time I send my story out I pay a fee.
Reading fees are modest, yes, but they do add up. In my experience, they fall somewhere between $10-15, with the average closer to $12. So far, I’ve submitted my most recent story 30 times. That’s about $360 in submission fees, give or take.
Considering that, when the story is finally published (as I’m confident it will be), payment will be in copies, the money I’m spending in pursuit of publication is not money that will be recouped. So what am I getting for my money?
The word that comes to mind is encouragement. Especially given that my most recent short story is an excerpt from the novel that I’m working on, having a journal publish it would be so encouraging.
There is also the slim, but real, chance that an agent might see my story and be interested in seeing more from me. That would be the best possible income.
But how much is that worth to me?
$500?
$1,000?
I can think of a lot of ways I could spend $1,000. None of them would get me an agent, but they are all better than pissing money away. If I simply want to throw money around, a weekend in Vegas would be a lot more fun.
I need to think seriously about the balance between cost and reward here. Maybe there are grants available for submission fees. Or maybe I should be submitting to contests with prizes instead of literary journals. Any writers out there have some wisdom on this one? I would love to hear it.
Simple — never submit to anyone who wants a fee. Money flows toward the writer. Anyone who says differently is out to make a buck from you.
I’ve submitted things to markets/agents over 1400 times. Total amount spent (not including postage and office supplies): $0.
$0 is pretty sweet amount. What about contests? You’ve really never spent a dime submitting your work? I’m impressed (and also rethinking my submission practices).
The literary genre is the only genre I know of that allows publications to charge reading fees. Writers struggle enough fighting upstream to find the right market for mostly insufficient pay. Why should we pay to submit? For the possible inclusion in their illustrious journal? To keep the literary genre alive? The literary genre is seen more as ‘art’ than the other genres, which doesn’t make sense. A good story is a good story, it’s all about what a reader likes. As long as writers continue to buy into the myth that they must pay these fees, the world of literary fiction will continue to be small and limited, silencing voices of writers who can’t afford the fees, or refuse to pay. To answer your question, if you are going to pay fees, you may as well be going for those journals who offer you a chance to get your money back. Writers being seen as ‘artists’ and art being seen as a hobby or leisurely activity is the problem. All writers know that writing is work. Until we join together and rebel against the status quo, we will have no choice but to swim upstream.
Well said, Toni. Yes, I have started focusing on journals that pay for publication (with real money, not just copies). I understand that most journals are just trying to cover expenses, and that realistically they won’t be able to pay much, but even a token payment is appreciated. It makes up for the money spent making the submissions in the first place. A zero-sum game is better than a loss.