tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754826434701183407.post5756255118659866210..comments2017-01-25T15:43:38.814-08:00Comments on Unrepentant Scribbler: Reading fees: Not even once.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17867498826330744425noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754826434701183407.post-10649732186178074202016-07-09T10:02:04.752-07:002016-07-09T10:02:04.752-07:00That's a good question. I mean, at least the w...That's a good question. I mean, at least the writer is getting some value for their money. It still feels kind of coercive--I understand editors asking that potential contributors read an issue before submitting--though to be honest, I've sold a lot of stuff for actual money, sight unseen. And I've contributed to crowdfunding for projects I'm interested in submitting to, but only if it's the kind of thing I would want to read even if my stuff wasn't included. As with any writing advice and opinions, your mileage may vary. You need to do what works for you. My main point with that blog post is in calling out editors and publishers who seem to be taking advantage of writers, especially new ones who maybe lack confidence or who don't understand the rule about money flowing *to* the writer for their work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17867498826330744425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754826434701183407.post-61932661813076108882016-07-08T09:29:23.206-07:002016-07-08T09:29:23.206-07:00How do you feel about magazines that charge a read...How do you feel about magazines that charge a reading fee that is a subscription to the magazine? I am slightly more sympathetic to those since one should be reading the markets to which one is submitting. <br />Increasingly--just as poets are writing mostly for other poets--I find that the readership of a lot of the literary magazines out there are other writers or wouldbe writers. Unless one is writing for the New Yorker, there aren't a lot of 'civilian' readers anymore. As magazine buyers have dried up-gone to the Internet or video or etc--the old model of readers paying for writing is no longer applicable. Without a large readership, a magazine cannot attract advertizers. Without buyers and advertizing, or a community committed to crowdsourcing...magazines are over. So although I object to reading fees, and won't submit to anywhere that requires them, I am a tiny bit more open to the idea that I should be a member of and support the community surrounding a particular magazine...that being a subscriber is maybe a reasonable demand? Not sure. But I know that I am often submitting to markets when I don't subscribe, and sometimes feel a bit guilty that I want others to read my stories when I don't read theirs...Robert Runtéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14629421213549342874noreply@blogger.com