Every so often a ripple of adrenaline courses through my newish writers brain and I start to get cracking in submitting a short story, a poem or some flash fiction to a greater- establishment-than-I for a chance to win some cash, or much more importantly, get my pen name spread far and wide.Then there’s the crunch, the not so hidden money factor. Wwwwhat?? You want me to pay $30 for the privilege of subscribing my work? Whaatttt?? You want my membership as well as the money? Maybe I empathise, it’s realistic enough if it’s a poor struggling to stay alive and thrive writers group. I might feel okay, comfortable with a $10 fee. Would I submit here anyway? Hmmmm. Maybe not.It’s a hard enough thing to our sense of dignity and resilience as a new writer to get snowballed with rejection after rejection. Okay, I hear the elders saying it will toughen you up and improve your work. However to have paid for the experience is not good. Reminds me of the time I paid a generous sum for the review from a fairly well-know literary establishment and in return was given a miserable paragraph of jumbo from someone who just really didn’t like the story. My sum did not entitle me to a second opinion either, which I felt was a poor show.So. Does anyone else have an ethical stance about paying for the privilege to submit?