BOGOF!
January 7, 2018
I know it sounds rude, but all my readers can BOGOF this month! If you buy Discord's Child from https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ksdearsley you'll find a code number to get Discord's Apprentice FREE, valid until 31st January. In other words, you can Buy One and Get One Free.
Actually, there's a growing trend that makes me feel like adding an 'F' and telling some publishers to bog off. I find it very disturbing that more and more publications are charging writers to submit work to them. This, they say, is to cover the expense of reading it. Sometimes the publications themselves are free to read online, but sometimes they have to be bought, so the readers are also paying the publishers' costs. Either way, the writer usually receives nothing if their work is chosen, apart from the exposure (which will often prevent them selling that work elsewhere) and maybe the kudos of having work in that publication–although it's a fair bet that none of your friends or family will have heard of it. In other words, the writer is paying to have their work considered. Okay, the editors should ensure that only work that meets their standards is published, but you are unlikely to get a critique of your work or any comments and, in some cases, not even the courtesy of a rejection. How can you be sure that it's even read? At least when you enter a competition, there's a chance you'll win a prize.
I have more faith in publications that want you to buy a copy or take out a subscription. That way they limit the number of unsuitable submissions, and the writer is guaranteed something for their money. Other alternatives for publications that feel swamped are reading periods outside of which submissions aren't considered, or limiting submissions to particular themes. Otherwise, there's little difference that I can see between submitting your work somewhere that demands a reading fee and paying for vanity publication. That's never been a good idea, and with self-publishing comparatively easy these days, it's totally unnecessary. What do you think?
Actually, there's a growing trend that makes me feel like adding an 'F' and telling some publishers to bog off. I find it very disturbing that more and more publications are charging writers to submit work to them. This, they say, is to cover the expense of reading it. Sometimes the publications themselves are free to read online, but sometimes they have to be bought, so the readers are also paying the publishers' costs. Either way, the writer usually receives nothing if their work is chosen, apart from the exposure (which will often prevent them selling that work elsewhere) and maybe the kudos of having work in that publication–although it's a fair bet that none of your friends or family will have heard of it. In other words, the writer is paying to have their work considered. Okay, the editors should ensure that only work that meets their standards is published, but you are unlikely to get a critique of your work or any comments and, in some cases, not even the courtesy of a rejection. How can you be sure that it's even read? At least when you enter a competition, there's a chance you'll win a prize.
I have more faith in publications that want you to buy a copy or take out a subscription. That way they limit the number of unsuitable submissions, and the writer is guaranteed something for their money. Other alternatives for publications that feel swamped are reading periods outside of which submissions aren't considered, or limiting submissions to particular themes. Otherwise, there's little difference that I can see between submitting your work somewhere that demands a reading fee and paying for vanity publication. That's never been a good idea, and with self-publishing comparatively easy these days, it's totally unnecessary. What do you think?
Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
