Rule of Thumb
$1–$4 = Usually legitimate.
$5+ = Proceed with caution — it may be vanity publishing.
If the writer is the customer, not the reader, you’re likely looking at a vanity operation.
Not Vanity Publishing
Legitimate literary magazines sometimes charge small submission fees — typically $1 to $4 — and this is not considered vanity publishing. Here’s why:
- These fees usually cover administrative costs, like using Submittable or paying proofreaders.
- The magazine is editorially selective — not every story is accepted.
- They don’t charge you to be published, just to be considered.
- They’re typically respected in the literary community and have a strong readership base, which translates to receiving a lot of submissions.
- They usually pay the writers if their story is accepted.
This is considered a normal part of the submission process for many established and/or nonprofit magazines.
When It Is Vanity Publishing
If a publication charges over $5 per submission — usually fees in the $5 to $20 or more range — it is more likely to be vanity publishing, especially if:
- The acceptance rate is suspiciously high (i.e. they accept almost everything).
- They offer little to no editing or promotion.
- They require additional fees to actually be published, or they require you to buy the magazine your work appears in, or they require you to buy a subscription before your manuscript can even be considered.
- The publication exists primarily to make money off writers, not to share quality literature with readers.
- Their readership is very low or non-existent.
In these cases, the magazine isn’t serving readers — it’s serving itself by preying on hopeful writers. That’s the hallmark of vanity publishing. They're basically just scamming writers!
Conclusion...
Regular magazines may be harder to get into (because they have a higher rejection rate), but at least they have actual readers.
For example:
Peasant Magazine doesn't charge any fees for submitting stories, and pays authors for their work, and while the magazine's readership is currently small and growing, at least it has real readers.
