This problem goes back at least as far as Hugo Gernsback, 'known to men like H. P. Lovecraft for being a crooked publisher who sometimes stiffed his writers whe

This problem goes back at least as far as Hugo Gernsback, 'known to men like H. P. Lovecraft for being a crooked publisher who sometimes stiffed his writers when payment was due.' https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/predictions-from-the-father-of-science-fiction-61256664/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/predictions-from-the-... Once a writer gets well-known ... a track record ... submissions don't go in the slush pile any more. Until then, they're lucky if their stuff gets scanned at all, because everyone wants to be (and thinks they already are) a writer. Even if they're very good, they still have to find an editor with an audience for their writing.