Should I submit to non-paying markets?

I’ve recently gotten back into writing and submitting short stories, and this is one of the questions on my mind.

Don’t get me wrong: I still believe in the top-down approach to short stories, where you start with the highest paying markets and work your way down. And I’m not going to write anything specifically for a non-paying market, unless it’s a charity anthology. That just doesn’t make any sense.

But what about a story that you’ve already sold somewhere, already self-published, and the non-paying market only wants non-exclusive reprint rights? I understand the pay-the-writer argument, and that’s certainly one approach, but there’s also the Jonathan Coulton, song-a-day, be prolific and fill the world with your work approach.

As far as I can tell, here are the pros and cons of publishing a short story with a non-paying market after it’s already been published:

Pros:

  • Improved chances of winning an award
  • Improved chances of appearing in a “best of” anthology
  • Networking opportunities with other publishing professionals
  • More readers will find you
  • More publishing credentials
  • Makes you part of a community

Cons:

  • Could damage author brand if publisher is non-reputable
  • Violates Kant’s categorical imperative
  • Costs too much in time and effort

What sayest thou?

By Joe Vasicek

Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He claims Utah as his home.

2 comments

  1. If you sell for a good price the first time, reprinting it for bottom dollar seems fair. At least the overall take you get for the story goes up. Say you sell for $.10/word and reprint for $.01/word, taking .11 for the project overall. But if giving it away the second time, beware of cannibalizing readers from the original publisher. Depends on how long it’s been since it was first published and the circulation size of the original publication, stuff like that.

    Reply

    1. That’s a very good point, and something my friend and cowriter pointed out: that it’s extremely rude both to publishers and to readers to turn around and give a story away for free after first charging a premium for it. I’ve reworked my short strategy accordingly, and plan to blog about it soon.

      Reply

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