I have a new article up with Books Ireland looking at something that has bothered me for a while: the point where being published starts to feel a little too much like being sold to.

Writers are used to submitting work without any guarantee of payment. That comes with the territory, particularly with smaller magazines and anthologies. What interests me is what happens afterwards, when the contributor is then encouraged to buy the publication containing their own work.

There is nothing especially dramatic in the piece. I am not suggesting every small publisher is making a fortune from writers. Most are not. But I do think it is worth asking who the customer actually is in some publishing models, and whether writers have become a market in themselves.

The article, “When Publication Comes With a Price,” is now live in Books Ireland.

If you have ever had a poem or story accepted and then found yourself reaching for your bank card to see it in print, you may recognise some of this.