I had a similar experience with Galway review earlier in 2024. Upon submitting they asked for a E20 "donation" which I ignored. After not hearing anything for six months or so I wrote to withdraw the poems and the review responded by saying all had been accepted and again asking for E20, to which I replied "thanks but no thanks". I've submitted to maybe 100 lit reviews and never had this happen elsewhere.
One of the lit mags on my 'do not submit to list' is because of a forced tip jar. They say in the guidelines it's just a tip jar but when you go through the submission process, it won't let you continue without clicking the box for the tip jar.
I have submitted a few times to The Galway Review, as several poet/writer friends have been repeatedly published with them. However, they have never accepted any of my verse ...
I did have a similar thing, though, happen with another publisher, which I shall name ABP (for its initials). It had an open call for chapbook manuscripts, so I submitted. I heard nothing back. After six months, I wrote to inquire about the status. The editor-owner responded, "I am going through the manuscript now. I like the short form style. If we were to work together, would you be able to purchase a minimum of 5 discounted copies after production and before a launch date is scheduled?"
No such requirements are mentioned in the submission guidelines.
I explained that, no, I would not be able to financially, as with the pandemic my writing and editing gigs dried up and the recuperation of my freelance business has been extremely slow. I am living on a tight budget and barely making ends meet.
Then silence once more. After three months, I queried again -- and ghosted.
When publishers "request" that I make a donation or pay a submission fee in order to have my work considered by them, in order to pay for their costs, I feel like innumerating my costs as well (computer maintenance and repair, anti-virus, internet; the time spent composing, editing, typing and proofreading the work; rent and utilities, etc.).
Especially if you are not going to pay anything to cover my costs and labor, then why should I pay for yours? (I often feel like asking ...)
This is a very good stance from the "writers' side" of things in response to "poor-me" publishers' request to be subsidized by said writers. "We are all volunteers and don't get paid." Yeah, and your point is?
I have never experienced this but it sounds incredibly scammy and manipulative. Yikes. It sounds like something Writer Beware should know about/look into as well. https://writerbeware.blog/
Whoa. Run, don't walk, from these scammers. Never ever ever pay to have work published. Donate, if you can, to various lit mags you find deserving, but this "donation" in this case is a pay to play scam pure and simple. Thanks for the info.
Maybe I'm the stingiest writer on the planet but if people responded to my submission with a request for money (note that it never happened to me), I would immediately withdraw and mark that publication as "dead" ... it has the same creepy vibes as the people that immediately DM you after a follow on social media. Scam Central.
I had exactly the same experience with the Galway Review back in July 2023. I submitted 5 poems and a piece of flash fiction, all of which had been published elsewhere, something their submission 'rules' allow. The GW apparently accepts anything in exchange for money. If you don't donate, you don't get published. My stuff didn’t see the light of day in Ireland...
I have experienced this as well. I won't name the publication for now (as I have a piece pending). That said, the editor was very kind and was sincerely only asking for donations, but the ask was high (a $45 subscription) which I declined. So far, no push-back but it is unsettling.
There are too many unscrupulous scams for bogus awards all over the internet that we writers need to avoid. Thank you for your post which I am sure will prevent the disappointment of writers eager for publication. We all need to be aware of shameless scammers.
First, Becky, thank you again for enlightening us naive and hungry writers! You provide a forum that is unique so far as I know--certainly knowledgeable. I'm glad I saw this as I was soon going to submit to the G.R. -- yes, it's a scam, as one finds everywhere anymore it seems, from government to business to education. But it hurts more, doesn't it, when it is in the creative world?
AS I've learned the past 7 years, one can get published, even 100's of times, without paying one damn submission fee, and some the the worst for charging those fees are the hoity-toity lit mags, it seems--you know, the ones on the 'lists' [about 1/2 of them do charge fees when I checked the 'top' 100]. I think they're rackets too--plenty of lit mags use Submittable et al without charging for it, some even send free copies if it's in print [ I got a copy of Deronda Review sent from Israel, Tho-thirds North from Sweden--at their cost!] And of course, contests can be the greatest racket of all.
My 2 cents for what it's worth: Don't pay ANYTHING to have someone look at your work; if you make a donation, do it separately, with pure intent; and ALWAYS thank those editors who don't charge fees. Yes, sadly, there's little money in creating-- but if you're writing for money, well, sweet dreams....
This kind of scam is, in my humble opinion, never acceptable. It plays on a writer’s desire to see their work published and heart strings because of our understanding of hard times for publications struggling to be outlets for fresh work and voices. Be careful and check out the submissions. Submittable charges fees, and on top of that if a publication asks for money make sure it is a reasonable ask. I find $3 to 15 sort of standard above that I question if we struggling creatives are being asked to subsidize the gatekeepers so they can keep judging us? Mind you I have been published academically and by trade publishers (8) self published two volumes of poetry and 1 self published book. I am a former newspaper roving art critic and have had a variety of articles and catalogues published. So I am no stranger to the field. Have confidence in yourselves, keep learning your craft, self publish what you can afford and avoid the con artists.
I experienced something like this however it was not with a Lit Mag. I had queried Austin Macaulay (a vanity press - comically a label they out and out chafe at, lol!) I checked in with some more experienced authors and the sentiment was almost unanimous: don’t pay to be published. Thanks Becky! This is a great blog piece and a valuable public service!
As soon as I received this same response from this journal, I took them off my list. The writers who submit to journals and submit a relatively humble submission fee aren’t the audience to hit up for bigger donations. Anyone with any marketing sense knows that those who supply the material aren’t the major financial support system unless your journal is a money grab or is indiscriminate in who it publishes. A journal like that is in the way of good new literature. It’s in the way of good writers. Writers shouldn’t be punished for supplying the material that keeps a journal alive. Want to succeed? Offer your audience affordable services. Add workshops, editing, etc. But always reward writers for their work if that’s the content you’re offering your audience. Reward your audience with quality work. Anything else is in the way of what good writers and good journals are trying to keep alive.
I reeks of scam, an English word that comes from the Gaelic "scéim". This is unethical B.S. and must be called out wherever and whenever it happens.
Thank you for the word-derivation info.
I had a similar experience with Galway review earlier in 2024. Upon submitting they asked for a E20 "donation" which I ignored. After not hearing anything for six months or so I wrote to withdraw the poems and the review responded by saying all had been accepted and again asking for E20, to which I replied "thanks but no thanks". I've submitted to maybe 100 lit reviews and never had this happen elsewhere.
One of the lit mags on my 'do not submit to list' is because of a forced tip jar. They say in the guidelines it's just a tip jar but when you go through the submission process, it won't let you continue without clicking the box for the tip jar.
I have submitted a few times to The Galway Review, as several poet/writer friends have been repeatedly published with them. However, they have never accepted any of my verse ...
I did have a similar thing, though, happen with another publisher, which I shall name ABP (for its initials). It had an open call for chapbook manuscripts, so I submitted. I heard nothing back. After six months, I wrote to inquire about the status. The editor-owner responded, "I am going through the manuscript now. I like the short form style. If we were to work together, would you be able to purchase a minimum of 5 discounted copies after production and before a launch date is scheduled?"
No such requirements are mentioned in the submission guidelines.
I explained that, no, I would not be able to financially, as with the pandemic my writing and editing gigs dried up and the recuperation of my freelance business has been extremely slow. I am living on a tight budget and barely making ends meet.
Then silence once more. After three months, I queried again -- and ghosted.
When publishers "request" that I make a donation or pay a submission fee in order to have my work considered by them, in order to pay for their costs, I feel like innumerating my costs as well (computer maintenance and repair, anti-virus, internet; the time spent composing, editing, typing and proofreading the work; rent and utilities, etc.).
Especially if you are not going to pay anything to cover my costs and labor, then why should I pay for yours? (I often feel like asking ...)
This is a very good stance from the "writers' side" of things in response to "poor-me" publishers' request to be subsidized by said writers. "We are all volunteers and don't get paid." Yeah, and your point is?
I have never experienced this but it sounds incredibly scammy and manipulative. Yikes. It sounds like something Writer Beware should know about/look into as well. https://writerbeware.blog/
Thanks for this link!
Whoa. Run, don't walk, from these scammers. Never ever ever pay to have work published. Donate, if you can, to various lit mags you find deserving, but this "donation" in this case is a pay to play scam pure and simple. Thanks for the info.
Maybe I'm the stingiest writer on the planet but if people responded to my submission with a request for money (note that it never happened to me), I would immediately withdraw and mark that publication as "dead" ... it has the same creepy vibes as the people that immediately DM you after a follow on social media. Scam Central.
I got the same response from Galway. It looked so fishy to me I withdrew my submission.
I had exactly the same experience with the Galway Review back in July 2023. I submitted 5 poems and a piece of flash fiction, all of which had been published elsewhere, something their submission 'rules' allow. The GW apparently accepts anything in exchange for money. If you don't donate, you don't get published. My stuff didn’t see the light of day in Ireland...
I have experienced this as well. I won't name the publication for now (as I have a piece pending). That said, the editor was very kind and was sincerely only asking for donations, but the ask was high (a $45 subscription) which I declined. So far, no push-back but it is unsettling.
There are too many unscrupulous scams for bogus awards all over the internet that we writers need to avoid. Thank you for your post which I am sure will prevent the disappointment of writers eager for publication. We all need to be aware of shameless scammers.
First, Becky, thank you again for enlightening us naive and hungry writers! You provide a forum that is unique so far as I know--certainly knowledgeable. I'm glad I saw this as I was soon going to submit to the G.R. -- yes, it's a scam, as one finds everywhere anymore it seems, from government to business to education. But it hurts more, doesn't it, when it is in the creative world?
AS I've learned the past 7 years, one can get published, even 100's of times, without paying one damn submission fee, and some the the worst for charging those fees are the hoity-toity lit mags, it seems--you know, the ones on the 'lists' [about 1/2 of them do charge fees when I checked the 'top' 100]. I think they're rackets too--plenty of lit mags use Submittable et al without charging for it, some even send free copies if it's in print [ I got a copy of Deronda Review sent from Israel, Tho-thirds North from Sweden--at their cost!] And of course, contests can be the greatest racket of all.
My 2 cents for what it's worth: Don't pay ANYTHING to have someone look at your work; if you make a donation, do it separately, with pure intent; and ALWAYS thank those editors who don't charge fees. Yes, sadly, there's little money in creating-- but if you're writing for money, well, sweet dreams....
This kind of scam is, in my humble opinion, never acceptable. It plays on a writer’s desire to see their work published and heart strings because of our understanding of hard times for publications struggling to be outlets for fresh work and voices. Be careful and check out the submissions. Submittable charges fees, and on top of that if a publication asks for money make sure it is a reasonable ask. I find $3 to 15 sort of standard above that I question if we struggling creatives are being asked to subsidize the gatekeepers so they can keep judging us? Mind you I have been published academically and by trade publishers (8) self published two volumes of poetry and 1 self published book. I am a former newspaper roving art critic and have had a variety of articles and catalogues published. So I am no stranger to the field. Have confidence in yourselves, keep learning your craft, self publish what you can afford and avoid the con artists.
I experienced something like this however it was not with a Lit Mag. I had queried Austin Macaulay (a vanity press - comically a label they out and out chafe at, lol!) I checked in with some more experienced authors and the sentiment was almost unanimous: don’t pay to be published. Thanks Becky! This is a great blog piece and a valuable public service!
Thanks for sharing this information!!!
As soon as I received this same response from this journal, I took them off my list. The writers who submit to journals and submit a relatively humble submission fee aren’t the audience to hit up for bigger donations. Anyone with any marketing sense knows that those who supply the material aren’t the major financial support system unless your journal is a money grab or is indiscriminate in who it publishes. A journal like that is in the way of good new literature. It’s in the way of good writers. Writers shouldn’t be punished for supplying the material that keeps a journal alive. Want to succeed? Offer your audience affordable services. Add workshops, editing, etc. But always reward writers for their work if that’s the content you’re offering your audience. Reward your audience with quality work. Anything else is in the way of what good writers and good journals are trying to keep alive.