Consternation has broken out in the Irish literary community with news breaking last night of Dublin independent publishing house Liberties Press instituting a €100 reading fee for authors’ manuscripts.
Liberties boss Seán O’Keeffe plays it off as covering costs and maintaining standards in this piece in the Irish Times.
“They are, of course, free not to send material our way. However, we have a hard-earned reputation as an innovative and successful publisher, and we believe that in a few years, this will be standard practice among publishers.
We receive hundreds of unsolicited submissions every year, and if this policy results in the number declining, that will be no bad thing.
We hope it will encourage authors to think carefully before submitting material to us, and to value the work we do.”
Irish lit Twitter is, of course, apoplectic. Writer and founder of Gorse.ie, Susan Tomaselli has been vocal since the story broke last night.
1/ “Ireland’s leading independent publisher” will be charging writers €100 to read manuscripts: https://t.co/twWMhhQgzA #libertiespress
— Susan Tomaselli (@STomaselli) October 7, 2016
2/ Problematic on a number of levels, not least because they don’t pay their published writers. #libertiespress
— Susan Tomaselli (@STomaselli) October 7, 2016
Writer Thomas Morris, currently of Faber Books, has his carefully-measured thoughts on the matter:
1. I think there is a fair model to be had where independent publishers could charge a fee for manuscript assessment/book reports.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
2. It should, however, be in addition to the ordinary submissions route, which should remain free of charge.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
3. The publisher could charge for a report and promise a yes/no response within a timeframe that’s quicker than the traditional route.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
4. The fees raised should be used to pay the people writing the assessments – in most cases in Ireland, these people are unpaid interns.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
5. Having said all this: I think such a model only works where a) the book reports are of quality, and b…
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
6. THE PUBLISHERS ARE DECENT PEOPLE AND PAY THEIR FUCKING WRITERS.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
7. Sean O’Keefe operates in the same realm as Donald Trump – a land where he believes he can ride roughshod over everyone & everything.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
8. Including staff, printers, freelance designers, his writers, and most statements of fact.
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 6, 2016
FIGHT!