This came to us via The Loop:
A message to all members of The Loop Online
Hello, all. Heartland Plays (Publisher, and specifically, Rebecca Ryland, Editor/Literary Manager), wrote to us and asked us for the best advice in getting the word out about their establishment after a mishap with reading fees. We offered to send it forward to you. Rebecca's note is below:

Dear Mr. Garrison,
I have recently signed up on the Loop (as an individual) and would like to know how we might provide information about Heartland Plays, Inc. and our submissions and contests on your website. Evan Guilford-Blake steered me to your site. We are a new publisher of plays and drama products. We made the mistake of offering a reader’s fee which guaranteed a cover-to-cover reading with a critique. This was my decision, and it was the wrong decision because it has offended playwrights and hurt submissions. When I was submitting my work to editors and publishers, I always said I wished I had the opportunity to pay a reader’s fee if I truly knew the work would be read. Since we accept online and e-mail submissions, eliminating the time, cost and resources of copying and submitting by mail, I actually thought a reader’s fee with the guarantee made sense. Boy was I wrong. We have been slammed pretty hard on this and we are trying to get the word out that we listened to the concerns of playwrights and that a reader’s fee is no longer any part of the Heartland Plays, Inc. submission process or philosophy. We apologize for offending the very people whose work is integral to our success. I appreciate any advice or direction as we move forward.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Ryland
Editor/Literary Manager
Heartland Plays Inc.
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Please click the post's title to visit the Heartland Plays website.