Since we founded Ashland Creek Press in 2011, we never considered charging a reading fee. As writers ourselves, we knew all too well how quickly fees add up, and we tended to avoid submitting to any publication that charged a reading fee, with the exception of contests. Since we didn’t like paying fees ourselves, we didn’t want our prospective authors to pay fees either.
But over the past fifteen years, a lot has changed in publishing, and one of the biggest changes in recent years is the number of submissions that agents, editors, and small press publishers are receiving. Since the pandemic, the number of submissions we receive has exploded to the point where we have been limiting our open reading periods to a month, once or twice a year. Even then, we have found ourselves overwhelmed by submissions. And we are not alone.
Sadly, most of the submissions we receive are not appropriate for our press — but because submitting is easy and free, writers often send their work out to dozens of places at once, particularly to presses that don’t charge a reading fee.
If you’ve submitted to other small presses in the past couple of years, you’ve likely noticed that reading fees have become the norm rather than the exception. The Big 5 publishers have the luxury of relying on agents as gatekeepers, and many of the bigger “small” presses now only accept agented work. (And if you’ve submitted to agents recently, you will have noticed that they too are overwhelmed — some are open for submissions only one day a month, and many are closed more often than they are open.)
Charging reading fees was not an easy decision to make, nor one we make lightly. It’s a choice we have made to ensure that writers carefully consider their work in light of what we publish before clicking “submit.” It’s a choice we have made so that we can read manuscripts year round instead of only a few weeks a year. And it’s a choice we have made so that we can continue to support our current authors and make room for more. We do not take salaries from Ashland Creek Press; proceeds from book sales go to authors and to the ACP Foundation. Reading fees likewise will go back into Ashland Creek Press. ACP remains a labor of love, and our goal is to keep the lights on for a very long time while bringing new, inspiring writing into our changing world.
As authors ourselves, we share your submitting realities, whether it’s sending dozens of queries to agents or paying newly established reading fees, both to journals and small presses. We hope you’ll continue to share the journey with us, as passionate writers who are devoted to changing the world one book at a time.
Thanks for your continued support.
John
Playwright, author of the environmental novel The Tourist Trail and co-founder of Ashland Creek Press.