Contributor Copies
Quick answer: Contributor copies are free copies of a magazine or anthology given to writers as payment. Learn how contributor copies work in poetry publishing.
Contributor copies are free copies of the magazine, anthology or journal issue in which your work appears, given to you as payment, or alongside payment, for publishing your poem. One or two copies is standard for print magazines; anthologies sometimes offer one copy plus a discount on extras. For a large share of literary publishing, the contributor copy is the entire fee, a fact stated openly in guidelines with phrases like payment is in contributor copies.
It is easy to be sniffy about being paid in the product, and poets regularly are, but the copy has real functions. It is proof of publication for your records, a physical object for readings and family, and a way to actually read the company your poem keeps. The economics behind it are simple: most journals earn less than they cost, and copies are what they have.
How the Arrangement Works
Guidelines or the acceptance email will state the number of copies, typically one to three, and whether contributors may buy more at a discount, often 40 to 50 percent off. Print copies arrive around publication, sometimes months after. Online journals have no copies to give, which is partly why some pay small fees instead and others pay nothing at all.
Keep at least one copy of everything pristine and unlent. Years later, when a publisher assembles your collection and wants acknowledgement details, or when you simply want evidence a vanished journal existed, that shelf is your archive.
Payment, Prestige and Perspective
Copies-only payment is not a mark of a lesser magazine; many admired journals pay in copies while some well-funded but forgettable venues pay cash. What matters is transparency and reciprocity: a venue honest about its economics, and generous in editing, design and promotion, is paying in more than paper. What you should refuse is the inversion, venues that pay in copies you must buy. An anthology that accepts everyone and charges contributors for the book is running a sales scheme, not a press.
Where cash exists in poetry, it tends to live in prizes rather than page fees. Contest pools, funded by entry fees, are how many poets see their first actual money from a poem.
Making Copies Work for You
Use spare copies deliberately: one for the shelf, one for readings, one for the person the poem is about, which is often the best publication a poem gets. Photograph the printed page for your records and, where the journal permits, for sharing. And read the whole issue; the poets printed beside you are your generation, and knowing their work is how a scattered scene becomes your community.
What poets can take from this
- Confirm how many copies you receive and the contributor discount before publication.
- Keep one unmarked copy of every appearance as your permanent archive.
- Read the full issue you appear in; your neighbours there are your literary cohort.
- Refuse arrangements where contributors must purchase the book to appear in it.
- Give a copy to the poem's subject when there is one; it is the copy that matters most.
Try it yourself
Write a poem about an object received instead of money, eggs for labour, a painting for rent, and let the poem weigh what payment actually is.
Questions
What are contributor copies?
They are free copies of the issue or anthology containing your work, given by the publisher as payment or as a supplement to payment. One or two copies is the usual arrangement at print literary magazines.
Is payment in contributor copies normal?
Yes, very. Most literary magazines run at a loss and cannot pay cash, so copies-only payment is standard and openly stated. It says little about a journal's quality or reputation.
Should I ever have to buy the anthology my poem is in?
No. Reputable publishers give contributors at least one copy. Anthologies that accept nearly everyone and then sell contributors the book are a known scheme best avoided.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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