Musing on Legitimacy of Professional Publications (New York Journal of Books)...

[seawasp]

Recently, on LinkedIn, someone representing the New York Journal of Books (http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/) posted a message looking for SF/F reviewers. Looking at their site, and the way in which they made their request, it appears that they are a fair sized, professional book reviewing/news journal, or at least TRYING to be such. The impression of a professional site was further strengthened when they informed us that they only reviewed books submitted by the publisher and were interested in traditional print, not self-published novels.

Yet when I inquired about the pay rate, they said they didn't pay for reviews.

Am I wrong in thinking that this is utterly unprofessional behavior? If I write an article -- be it a review, an Op-Ed piece, etc. -- for any professional print magazine I know of, I'd be paid for that article.

Comments

[dsrtao]

You are correct. Also, the standard rates of pay for book reviewers is abysmally low -- done on a piecework basis rather than per-hour or salary.

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Well, it sounds odd certainly. Ask around with other authors, see if they know anything about the site?

[anghara.livejournal.com]

par for the course, unfortunately. People think that because they can string words together in a coherentish sentence - and they obviously can, innit, because they can TALK -then anybody can write, and therefore what's the point of paying for something that anybody could do? But those same peopel scream blue bloody murder when they trip over appallling writing, as though even those people who obviously CAN'T write actually owe them something for nothing. Sigh.

[isleburroughs.livejournal.com]

I never understood this work for free thing. Writers make little enough money.

[xander-opal.livejournal.com]

Sounds like so many entries on Clients From Hell, that don't comprehend paying people for outsourced material such as art, web design, writing.