Aperture's new submission guidlines

Was reasearching submissions for my work and found out that to submit to Aperture, you must be a subscriber now.

What do you think of this? Do you feel it's a good thing? Would a submission fee be better?

Think of the subscription as a submission fee. You get 4 issues, and if you hate the publication you don't have to renew.

I've been a subscriber since 1975 and have never submitted anything yet.

They publish the magazine - they can make the rules.

I think it shows they get a lot of people wanting work in the magazine but not as many wanting to get the magazine. Imagine what they have to wade through - ever meet people who simply send submissions everywhere without a clue as to who they are sending too?

While I wish submissions were free to most things, $35 here and $40 there and $25 there adds up fast, I understand its probably a full-time job for people to have to open all this stuff, look it over, then respond and send it back.

But before someone thinks Aperture is going to publish their work they probably need to be confident anyway and aren't doing so on a whim. It's not like the local camera club newsletter.

It's not an unusual requirement for other kinds of publications, like academic journals and literary magazines.