Should you pay a submission fee to literary journals?

When I started submitting short fiction to literary journals, over a decade ago, submission fees were rare, usually limited to big contest. Over the past few years, however, it has become nearly ubiquitous to pay money to have your short story considered for publication in a literary magazine.

It can be intimidating for new writers who finally feel ready to put their work out there, only to discover they have to pay money just to have their work looked at. Is it even worth it? Well, sometimes. You want to take a long look at the website of the publication you are considering submitting your work to and ask the following questions.

Is the fee only a few dollars?

Most submission fees are between $2 and $5 USD, however some charge over $20. You probably don’t want to pay more than a few dollars unless it is a special contest. You can usually find this information on the “Submit” page of the journal’s website.

Does this journal regularly publish unsolicited pieces?

The name for a story that you send to an open submission call is an “unsolicited manuscript.” This isn’t the only way that magazines and journals find stories to publish. They might also contact establish writers directly and ask them for pieces, and this is called a “solicited manuscript.” There are journals that put out open calls for submissions that actually rarely publish unsolicited manuscripts, instead relying on the stories they solicited directly.

You can often determine how often a journal publishes unsolicited manuscripts by having a look at who they have published in the past. Most literary journals publish short biographical statements of their writers. Are all the writers they published famous with books out, or do they publish a mix of established an emerging writers? Look to see if any of the biographical statements mention if this is their first published work, or if they only list a few literary journals in their publication history.

Has this journal been around for a while?

The internet has lowered the barrier for starting a new publication. While this is great in many ways, it also means sometimes people start a literary journals without thinking about how long they will be able to maintain the project. This results in a lot of online literary journals that only produce a couple issues before disappearing. Make sure that the journals you are submitting to have put out a few issues already and that they have a regular publication schedule.

Does this journal have a professional looking website?

This is related to our previous criteria. Online literary journals that put effort into their web design and branding are more invested in their continued existence. Plus, if you get published, you will feel more pride if you can direct your friend and family to a nice looking website to read your piece.

Is this journal transparent about where the fee is going?

A journal should always be up front about where the fee is going. Is it covering their printing costs or web servers? Are they paying their editors or contributors?

Does this journal pay its writers?

Most literary journals don’t pay writers, even many that charge a submission fee. If they do pay their writers, you have a chance to earn back what you paid in submission fees. Journals that pay their writers also tend to be more established and have a larger readership.

Does this journal nominate for any awards?

There are journals that don’t pay their writers, but still nominate for prestigious awards. If you don’t make any money, but have a chance to be nominated for the Best American Short Fiction, Best of the Net or the Pushcart Prize, it may be worth it.

Will this publication help your writing career?

If your goal is to publish a short story collection or literary novel, getting stories in reputable literary journals like Ploughshares or Black Warrior can get the attention of literary agents or look good in a query letter. For MFA graduates looking for professorships in creative writing, these sorts of publications can also impress a hiring committee.

But if your goal is to have fun sharing your stories or if you’re more interested in another genre of writing, like mystery or young adult novels, you might not need to spend money on submission fees to realize your dreams.

I also made a PDF checklist so you can always remember to consider these important questions when sending your stories into the world.

If you’re looking for more advice on getting your work ready for publication, follow this blog on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to writing with you again!