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2 Comments

  1. Elena
    August 13, 2011 @ 10:56 pm

    This is great advice for spec fic, but slightly misses the mark for litfic, where there are quite a number of low- and non-paying markets that really are great for exposure and boosting your resume and putting on future cover letters. But since this is an SF/F/H blog… Yes!

    And yeah, if a market publishes over, say, 50% of what they receive, they’re not going to do much for your reputation as a writer, and have the possibility of actually damaging your reputation.

    Possible exception for erotica, but I don’t know enough to say for certain.

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  2. Allison Jamieson-Lucy
    August 14, 2011 @ 4:38 pm

    Elena, that’s an interesting exception in the publishing world, but keep in mind that the litfic market has the added complication of professors seeking publication credit for tenure, which is a different sort of reward for placing a story.

    The problem of exposure as payment expands throughout the creative sphere. Consider illustrator Megan Gedris’s satirical letter to Best Buy, which demonstrates how creative work is valued differently from other commerce:

    “Dear Best Buy,

    I would like to extend to you this exclusive opportunity to pay me $1,000 for a new fridge. No, you read that right. You pay me.

    But, see, it’s a great opportunity because every time someone comes over to my house, I will tell them where I got the fridge. So, like, 20 people will know about this nice fridge, and you will get some awesome exposure.

    […] So, you can make the check out to me. I want one with an icemaker.”

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