The internet is ripe with sites to promote and publish your writing. But how do you determine which sites are the right sites for your writing? Some people believe the only “legitimate” writing sites are the ones that pay or offer tangible prizes/compensation. That mere publication/exposure is not a valid compensation. And that belief is fine for those people. It opens up the publication-only contests or “’zines” for the rest of us.
There are of course some things to look for when submitting your work, whether it be for a contest or just to a literary review magazine site, to determine legitimacy.
Life of publication. Just because a site is “young” doesn’t necessarily mean it is to be doubted and ignored. But just as with any business, sites that have been “up” and actively updated for several years will have a more valid reputation. Many sites, especially literary magazine/review sites, will list copyright dates spanning the life of the publication (© 2004-2011, for example, telling you the first issue was published in 2004 and it has been active for - at least, the better part of - seven years).
Publication stipulations. Red button words here are “exclusive rights”, “purchase to ensure publication” and “reading fee”. As with everything, these words are not entirely bad but definitely things to watch for. “Purchase to ensure publication” implies a vanity press; that you are working with a company who will publish anything that comes across the desk as long as the writer is willing to pay the right price. This goes for reading fees as well. However, if the “reading fee” is put back into the contest as prize money, you may be simply working with an extreme independent; someone running their magazine out of their basement with no actual source of income, a “not-for-profit” publication. Which may also be the case if the rules say purchase is not required but free copies cannot be provided. Again, just because a publication is “young” doesn’t make it irreputable.
“Exclusive rights” is something to watch out for because that means you give up all access to your work. If a publication requires exclusive rights that means you cannot use that piece for anything else, ever. Not for your own chapbook, not for a college application portfolio, not for anything, ever. Some conditions may apply; the publication may require exclusive rights for five years, for example, after which time you are once again free to do with it whatever you desire. Be sure to always read the fine print. Your best bet (here in the U.S. and Canada) is “First North American Serial Rights”, which basically means that the publication requires that the work you are submitting to them is original and never published anywhere else before. After that, you are free to include it in your own chapbook or short story anthology or publish it through avenues that do not require First North American Serial Rights.
Search engines. One of the best ways to find out about any kind of business is to plug the name into your search engine. You can add “reviews” to your search as well but keeping it broad is sometimes more helpful. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t find any “good” reviews - people are far more likely to complain than they are to praise. In this case, no news can be considered good news. It just means no one has found anything that has made them upset enough to complain. That said, not all complaints are negative. Just because you find ten people who are upset that ABC Magazine didn’t publish their story doesn’t mean you should cross ABC Magazine off your list. In fact, it might indicate you should move them closer to the top. Not publishing everything that comes across the pike means they have standards. A publisher should be sending out rejection letters. Rejections imply they are seeking quality.
The biggest indicator of legitimacy in a publication, be it print or online, is common sense. Chances are if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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