Is there any dollar amount that constitutes a paid publishing credit? Are publishers that pay $5 or $10 per short story considered paying markets? I know technically, yes, but what is the business's take on this? Thanks.
But publishing credits that aren't well matched to the market you are trying to sell to are better off not mentioned. If you are applying for a position as a chef in a five star restaurant, you don't cite your experience as a fry cook at McDonald's. Yes, it's professional experience, but it will not impress the person you are trying to sell yourself to. It can even work against you.
A paid credit (for a short story) is better than a publishing credit for an ezine, for example, that does not pay. Different magazines, and ezines have varying levels of prestiege, much of it based on the pay rate. Pro rate for short fiction is generally considered 5+ cents (US) per word. If you know your genre and magazines/ezines that publish what you're writing, sometimes a market may not pay, or pays at a low rate, but is still respected. An example in short mystery fiction would be Mysterical-E. What they publish continues to be nominated and sometimes wins awards, such as the Derringer from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. With that said, the better paying and respected the market, the more the credit listed will 'count'--may encourage the editor look at your piece a bit more closely. But in the end, the work itself will be what gets the sale, not what you've accomplished in the past. I know some editors that don't even look at the credits in a cover letter. If someone is accomplished in the field, they'll recognize the author's name. Terry
