Member-only story
An Open Letter to Editors of Literary Journals
With tongue only partially in cheek
Dear Editor,
Oh, what a surprise. You’re “declining” to publish my story. Or, here’s an even bigger surprise: you’re publishing my story for the exposure. I’m so glad I invested in that three dollar submission fee.
In twenty-five years of writing and submitting fiction to countless literary magazines and reviews I have had seven stories published. I was nominated for a Pushcart Prize once. I have been paid nothing for any of my work. Now some of you, many of you, are asking for a fee for me to submit my work to your next-to-never-heard-of darling of a literary magazine.
Buh-bye.
I’ve begun publishing my fiction and essays on Medium and check this out: people read my stories. They like my stories and say so. And, this is going to shock you, I get paid to publish my work on Medium. Yes, for the first time in my life I am earning money for my own writing.
There was a time when I accepted rejection as the price of being a creative person in a capitalist world. Like so many other writers, artists, musicians, actors, and other makers, I even bragged about yet another rejection. I once hung my many rejections on the wall. Sad.
