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 had one of these. Aggravatingly, they emailed me months later to ask why I didn’t submit my draft in Submittable! I replied that the process didn’t feel good and they should consider reworking their form so you’re not blindsided by a mandatory fee at the very end. Of course, they didn’t reply and they’re still doing the same thing…
I’ve had this happen so many times! It’s honestly really put me off from Submittable because it seems almost impossible to find somewhere that’s actually free to submit to.
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.
Yeah, that moment when you get D.M.ed immediately after a follow, Martine!!! Recently, one of the award-winning Beschloss brothers followed me on Blue Sky, then immediately started sending intrusive D.M.s - - - so I realized this is nothing more than a beastly catfishing scheme. Fortunately, the fake account was reported & vanished.
These fake accounts are a plague. I'm still unclear what they hope to gain... like: are we really going to share our credit card and social security numbers with Stephen King????
Recently, a Frenchwoman thought she was being "courted" by Brad Pitt - - - who said Angeline Jolie locked down his bank accounts and he needed $$$ for cancer treatment. The gullible are out there, hiding in plain sight.
In case any other writers on this list are hearing from Oscar-winning actors . . . . . . . . . . . AI Brad Pitt dupes French woman out of €830,000. . . . . A French woman who was conned out of €830,000 (£700,000; $850,000) by scammers posing as actor Brad Pitt has faced a huge wave of mockery, leading French broadcaster TF1 to withdraw a programme about her.
The primetime programme, which aired on Sunday, attracted national attention on interior designer Anne, 53, who thought she was in a relationship with Pitt for a year and a half.
She has since told a popular French YouTube show that she was not "crazy or a moron": "I just got played, I admit it, and that's why I came forward, because I am not the only one."
A representative for Pitt told US outlet Entertainment Weekly that it was "awful that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection with celebrities" and that people shouldn't respond to unsolicited online outreach "especially from actors who have no social media presence." SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnz8rw1xgo
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 ...)
Lorraine, that must have been a good while ago - - - because ABP now requires a higher number of copies to be purchased before moving forward. And NO marketing will be done for the book and it will only appear on AMZ in paperback format, which will suppress sales. Vermont-based Green Writer's Press accepted my manuscript last summer - - only to reveal they had switched from being a traditional publisher to a "hybrid" and they expected me to fork over $2,200. I did not reply and a no-fee indie publisher accepted the same ms, which will be released in November 2025.
Thank you, Nolo. It had seemed that my manuscript "Cancer Courts My Mother" was hexed. A California university press had first accepted it, then assigned an untalented campus "illustrator" to do the cover. (There were no other options, they insisted.) Her cover art was so atrocious, so hideous, that I had to withdraw my ms. But, finally, our rocky journey ended and my memoir landed in a good hope. Very kind of you to reach out to congratulate me, Nolo. I appreciate you.
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?
Yes! We all starve together or kick them off the boat! Lorraine, could you tell us what 'ABP' stands for--one of the great things about L.M.N. is that we can be forewarned by other writers about the cads posing as editors/publishers....
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.
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/
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....
Congratulations, Nolo, on your award as the "Logophile Extraordinaire." I won't say more because you will want to announce it yourself during "Lit Mag Brag Day." However, since we were both published in the same issue, and since the editors sent me the video, I wanted you to know how hard I applauded for you. :-D
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.
I received an acceptance within two days from a journal that was listed on Chill Subs top lit mags list. The publication announcement email was simply:
We are excited to announce that our Winter Issue is now published and available for purchase.
We congratulate all our poets, writers, artists, and photographers for getting published, and we are grateful to each one of them for being a part of this first edition of P_______, January 2025. This would not have been possible without you.
Buy the print edition here: <link>
***
From what I can tell, the print issues are print on demand. They do not publish online. Do not even offer their writers a free Kindle version. Not even a free .pdf. They claim they promote their writers heavily however I have seen zero promotion. Little more than a vanity publisher IMO.
Hey Kelli, I'd agree they're not legit & are probably using writers merely as content providers for these anthos, which they then make money off. Not notifying writers that their work has been accepted BEFORE publishing is a big red flag. The writer should be notified, and informed of publication T&C's etc. In many cases, there's a contract. If it's been a long wait, the writer may even have had a simultaneous acceptance, resulting in the need to withdraw (it can happen when simultaneously submitting) the work from one party. So, if there's no "negotiation window" that can cause issues. The 2nd red flag is no offer of a) a comp contributor copy or b) a free digital version. Many anthos also offer their contributors a publication fee, so that's another "strike" out for this press. Sorry this happened to you - it can be very disheartening, but there are good projects out there. Hold out for the calls that respect their writers: look for publication fees, editorial collaborations, & the offer of a contributor copy. Check their online presence before submitting.
And I'd definitely report them to Ben & the Chill Subs crew. They don't want to promote scam presses.
Yes, but some legit publishers can't themselves afford to give free print copies-- one wrote me [after I asked] he gets 5,000 views a month on line but only sells about a 100 copies of the print issue--mostly to the contributors. Myself, I'm happy to pay for the print if I have to since I can't seem to cuddle with my laptop like I can a book or magazine....
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 did not say I liked paying them but its a reality and has become a common practice now. Substack is an example is it not? As is my own subsidizing of other writers and their substacks is minimal due to income constraints. Times change and we change with them. This is up to the individual.
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!
I had the same experience with the Galway Review. It only took the initial “donation” request for me to write off my submission and the supposed litmag. Fortunately, there are many legitimate magazines that read submissions for free or for a small fee.
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 had one of these. Aggravatingly, they emailed me months later to ask why I didn’t submit my draft in Submittable! I replied that the process didn’t feel good and they should consider reworking their form so you’re not blindsided by a mandatory fee at the very end. Of course, they didn’t reply and they’re still doing the same thing…
I’ve had this happen so many times! It’s honestly really put me off from Submittable because it seems almost impossible to find somewhere that’s actually free to submit to.
Oh there are LOTS of free places that use Submittable. I've probably got about 200 bookmarks of them.
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.
Yeah, that moment when you get D.M.ed immediately after a follow, Martine!!! Recently, one of the award-winning Beschloss brothers followed me on Blue Sky, then immediately started sending intrusive D.M.s - - - so I realized this is nothing more than a beastly catfishing scheme. Fortunately, the fake account was reported & vanished.
These fake accounts are a plague. I'm still unclear what they hope to gain... like: are we really going to share our credit card and social security numbers with Stephen King????
Recently, a Frenchwoman thought she was being "courted" by Brad Pitt - - - who said Angeline Jolie locked down his bank accounts and he needed $$$ for cancer treatment. The gullible are out there, hiding in plain sight.
We are all, one way or another, subject to self-delusion...sadly.
In case any other writers on this list are hearing from Oscar-winning actors . . . . . . . . . . . AI Brad Pitt dupes French woman out of €830,000. . . . . A French woman who was conned out of €830,000 (£700,000; $850,000) by scammers posing as actor Brad Pitt has faced a huge wave of mockery, leading French broadcaster TF1 to withdraw a programme about her.
The primetime programme, which aired on Sunday, attracted national attention on interior designer Anne, 53, who thought she was in a relationship with Pitt for a year and a half.
She has since told a popular French YouTube show that she was not "crazy or a moron": "I just got played, I admit it, and that's why I came forward, because I am not the only one."
A representative for Pitt told US outlet Entertainment Weekly that it was "awful that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection with celebrities" and that people shouldn't respond to unsolicited online outreach "especially from actors who have no social media presence." SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnz8rw1xgo
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 ...)
Lorraine, that must have been a good while ago - - - because ABP now requires a higher number of copies to be purchased before moving forward. And NO marketing will be done for the book and it will only appear on AMZ in paperback format, which will suppress sales. Vermont-based Green Writer's Press accepted my manuscript last summer - - only to reveal they had switched from being a traditional publisher to a "hybrid" and they expected me to fork over $2,200. I did not reply and a no-fee indie publisher accepted the same ms, which will be released in November 2025.
Congrats!
Thank you, Nolo. It had seemed that my manuscript "Cancer Courts My Mother" was hexed. A California university press had first accepted it, then assigned an untalented campus "illustrator" to do the cover. (There were no other options, they insisted.) Her cover art was so atrocious, so hideous, that I had to withdraw my ms. But, finally, our rocky journey ended and my memoir landed in a good hope. Very kind of you to reach out to congratulate me, Nolo. I appreciate you.
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?
Yes! We all starve together or kick them off the boat! Lorraine, could you tell us what 'ABP' stands for--one of the great things about L.M.N. is that we can be forewarned by other writers about the cads posing as editors/publishers....
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.
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!
Never knew we writers had our own CIA--thanks Marie!
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....
Congratulations, Nolo, on your award as the "Logophile Extraordinaire." I won't say more because you will want to announce it yourself during "Lit Mag Brag Day." However, since we were both published in the same issue, and since the editors sent me the video, I wanted you to know how hard I applauded for you. :-D
Thanks LindaAnn!
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.
Yeah, and I bet 1/2 of those 'contests' are part of it-- 15 or 20 bucks to enter! I'd have better odds on Red or Black at the casinos.
I got the same response from Galway. It looked so fishy to me I withdrew my submission.
I received an acceptance within two days from a journal that was listed on Chill Subs top lit mags list. The publication announcement email was simply:
We are excited to announce that our Winter Issue is now published and available for purchase.
We congratulate all our poets, writers, artists, and photographers for getting published, and we are grateful to each one of them for being a part of this first edition of P_______, January 2025. This would not have been possible without you.
Buy the print edition here: <link>
***
From what I can tell, the print issues are print on demand. They do not publish online. Do not even offer their writers a free Kindle version. Not even a free .pdf. They claim they promote their writers heavily however I have seen zero promotion. Little more than a vanity publisher IMO.
Hey Kelli, I'd agree they're not legit & are probably using writers merely as content providers for these anthos, which they then make money off. Not notifying writers that their work has been accepted BEFORE publishing is a big red flag. The writer should be notified, and informed of publication T&C's etc. In many cases, there's a contract. If it's been a long wait, the writer may even have had a simultaneous acceptance, resulting in the need to withdraw (it can happen when simultaneously submitting) the work from one party. So, if there's no "negotiation window" that can cause issues. The 2nd red flag is no offer of a) a comp contributor copy or b) a free digital version. Many anthos also offer their contributors a publication fee, so that's another "strike" out for this press. Sorry this happened to you - it can be very disheartening, but there are good projects out there. Hold out for the calls that respect their writers: look for publication fees, editorial collaborations, & the offer of a contributor copy. Check their online presence before submitting.
And I'd definitely report them to Ben & the Chill Subs crew. They don't want to promote scam presses.
Yes, but some legit publishers can't themselves afford to give free print copies-- one wrote me [after I asked] he gets 5,000 views a month on line but only sells about a 100 copies of the print issue--mostly to the contributors. Myself, I'm happy to pay for the print if I have to since I can't seem to cuddle with my laptop like I can a book or magazine....
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.
You really don't mind paying submission fees? That can add up to a lot of bread.
I did not say I liked paying them but its a reality and has become a common practice now. Substack is an example is it not? As is my own subsidizing of other writers and their substacks is minimal due to income constraints. Times change and we change with them. This is up to the individual.
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!
YES, YES, YES & AMEN!
I had the same experience with the Galway Review. It only took the initial “donation” request for me to write off my submission and the supposed litmag. Fortunately, there are many legitimate magazines that read submissions for free or for a small fee.