A magazine said it wants to publish my story...a coule of questions... - Writers Forum

JP Wagner · 03-01-2008, 11:04 PM

Hello,

A magazine which add I found in the writers market named "Struggle, a Magazine of Proletarian Revolutionary Literature" saw my recent story "the slave" and said they wanted to use it in their next issue.

The payment is only one contributors copy, which isn't a problem, but it said there is no paperwork considering it does not buy the rights or the copyright. I also noted that I cannot find a recent issue of the magazine online.

It said that it will be using the story in the summer issue, but I was wondering if I should put any hope in this. Has anyone ever heard of the magazine before? Does that order of procedure sound strange?

There are so many scammers out there, I just want to be sure. Even though this one hasn't asked for any money, or anything, I just want to know if there is any actual possibility of this story being published in this magazine, or am I just getting my hopes up for nothing?

thanks in advance for the help!

Shawn · 03-02-2008, 12:59 AM

It sounds like a Communist water-cooler... no, I've never heard of it before.

lin · 03-02-2008, 01:12 AM

I think it would be REALLY cool if a magazine called "Struggle, a Magazine of Proletarian Revolutionary Literature" was a scam trying to screw workers out of money.

Not the first such a one to do so, either.

Look, what quarantees can you get? Mags fold all the time and anything with a name like that has got "we're going to break into warring factions before actually accomplish anything" written all over it.

But so what? If they run your story, whee! You've got a credit. And a commie merit badge for your beret. If they fold or turn on you, what are you out? Missed opportunities to sell the piece to similar mags? Please.

So yeah, send it in, hope for the best but plan for the worst and move along. Good luck and congrats.

JP Wagner · 03-02-2008, 01:25 AM

heh, thanks.

well actually, its been around since 95, and ive seen pictures of previous issues online. but the least one i can find was from a couple years ago. i had thought maybe it went out and someone scamming took over the name for it. but thats kinda far fetched i guess.

Mike C · 03-02-2008, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lin

Look, what quarantees can you get? Mags fold all the time and anything with a name like that has got "we're going to break into warring factions before actually accomplish anything" written all over it.

But so what? If they run your story, whee! You've got a credit. And a commie merit badge for your beret. If they fold or turn on you, what are you out? Missed opportunities to sell the piece to similar mags?

Absolutely. What have you got to lose?

Communist Voice -- a journal of revolutionary theory -- www.communistvoice.org
In the Fall-Winter 2007-8 double issue of "Struggle" literary zine

lin · 03-02-2008, 10:02 AM

A sidlight on my comments on commie rags earlier. One of the more valuable services of the Writers' Guild is to pursue class action lawsuits against publications that systematically cheat, stiff or otherwise illegally abuse writers (in addition to all the legal abuse).

In the entire time they have done that, the two biggest cases they won (big in terms of numbers of writers awarded numbers of dollars) were against--did you see this coming--"In These Times" and the US "Daily Worker".