Angela,

Let me first say, I am not an editor.

I know a lot of people are against the idea of Lit. Journals charging reading fees. I get it. However the reason so many print journals and magazines need to charge a small fee is because so few people actually buy journals or subscribe to them. (I have been guilty of this myself.)

Everyone wants to see their work in print, but many people don’t financially support those very same journals.

I know Gulf Coast comes out of a big university, but we still need to actually buy the journals and support our fellow artists. Blacklisting is a bit harsh.

$2.00 is a modest fee and Gulf Coast is a top journal that most of us would love to be in.

Marguerite

THE PUBLISHER RESPONDS:

If a publication can only exist charging money to those who are working for the publication (writers are, on a contract level), they are not self-sufficient, and should not be in business. In my opinion, what they’re doing is really nothing more than hosting a contest. Writers pay money for an opportunity to be published and a few lucky souls win, get published, and get some money back. The rest are out of luck.

This is a horrible way to do business. In addition, when they completed our form to be featured on WritersWeekly, they didn’t mention a reading fee at all. Again, in my opinion, that was just plain wrong. The blacklisting was well-deserved.