Guidelines Grievance

If, like me, you spend some of your time reading the guidelines that magazines and journals post for the writers who'd like to publish with them, you've probably noticed something annoying: Too many publications say nothing about what (or even whether) they pay their freelance writers/contributors.

At least the publications that state outright that they do not pay for writers' work have the guts--and the courtesy--to admit that that's their practice. And then you, as a writer, can decide for yourself if you still want to send them your work/pitches. (Many writers refuse to do so--the never-ending and often astonishingly acrimonious debate over "writing for pay" is not one I want to revisit at the moment, and I don't want to digress with a description of my own perspectives on that subject, either.)

What peeves me here is the lack of transparency. I'm not asking for an exact dollar amount. A range will do. But saying nothing--or saying that fees "will be negotiated" or something similarly vague--really irks me. Editors don't want us to waste their time--they could save us all some of that very precious resource if they'd be upfront about their payment policies.

--Prunella