Review: WORTH Writer Guidelines

The WORTH Magazine writer guidelines have been generating some complaints in the freelancing community, and after looking briefly at them, it was easy to see why. The magazine apparently buys all rights and won't negotiate that point. Oh, wait, did I say that it won't negotiate rights? The guidelines come out and say that the publication won't negotiate anything:

The terms of our contract are final and non-negotiable. Journalists must sign and return our contract to us, unamended [emphasis theirs], before we release payment. We will not pay a writer who amends our contract in any way.

Personally I find that sort of take it or leave it attitude to be unacceptable. The relationship between a writer and a client is business, not that of servile chattel to owner. And if that wasn't enough, a kill fee is for an article that the editors accept but that are "not published, though no fault of the writer." Guess WORTH doesn't always find it worth the time to uphold its end of a bargain. Smart writers will find another publication worth their attention.