Mid-tier genre mags still pay. The pay may suck, but they do pay. Even some fairly low-tier ones pay. Mid-tier literary journals generally don't, and their edi

Mid-tier genre mags still pay. The pay may suck, but they do pay. Even some fairly low-tier ones pay. Mid-tier literary journals generally don't, and their editors often act insulted if the topic is raised, so the issue doesn't seem to just be that they can't afford to pay. There's seemingly an expectation that until you've already "made it" you should be working for free.