Writer Warning: Unfit / Unreal / Thinkerbeat Reader / Mythaxis.com / Longshot Press

Last Updated February 19, 2021

This main section has been preserved in its original edition from February 2020 to provide a historical record of past actions. Many of its facts have changed since. You can find updates and other developments below. Including the part where he doxxed me on December 14, 2020.

If you’re an author out there submitting short stories, you should be aware of the things that the publisher Longshot Press (magazines Unfit and Unreal, portal Thinkerbeat Reader, review site Mythaxis.com¹, etc) are doing without your permission.

Here’s a screenshot from Feb 27 2020 of the “honorable mentions” page where they publish the authors, titles, and ratings for some stories they’ve rejected.

I’ve edited the screenshot to only reveal the information of authors who’ve given me consent to share. I’m not providing links because there are dozens more authors on that page, who presumably never wanted this information publicized. Nothing in the website’s guidelines warns an author that their story may be publicly named & rated. In fact, their privacy policy states that they will not share your information with anyone.

(Yes, public. This page is visible to everyone, not only Thinkerbeat members.)

I tried yesterday to tell the editor that authors would see this practice as upsetting & predatory, so that he could quietly fix it. Unfortunately, he instead responded with a masterclass in professionalism.

Maybe some authors are willing to have their rejections named & rated. I certainly wouldn’t be, but that’s your choice to make. But it’s DEFINITELY not okay to share information about individual submissions without asking permission. None of the authors in my screenshot were aware of this until I told them.

If you’re considering submitting here, also keep in mind the Unfit / Unreal / Thinkerbeat practice of requiring a subscription to submit – a subscription which costs money after the first three months.²

Thanks to David Steffen of the Submission Grinder for doing the initial legwork of spotting the problem.

Updates and Developments

The main post above has not been significantly altered except where noted here.

Edit 2/27: Please don’t try to track down the full list of names-and-ratings. It contains about 75 rows, and every one of them contains information that the submitter didn’t plan to tell the whole internet. Let’s respect their privacy. If you want to know whether your story is listed, let me know and I’ll check my screenshot. (Sub-update 12/14/2020: I no longer see any such list on their page, perhaps they gave it up sometime after my March updates.)

Edits 2/28: Changes to the main post: Clarified that the ranking page is public. Clarified that they are violating their website privacy policy. Revised info on their payment scheme.

Rest assured that Writer Beware has been notified and is aware.

Update 3/01: The editor sent me a Paypal transfer that totaled $0.00 after fees. Perhaps this is a petty way of reminding me that I didn’t pay? Or an attempt to verify my email address? Who knows? There’s no note with the transfer. I have refunded it, to make clear that I have no financial relationship of any kind with him.

Update 3/04: According to reports, they have removed story titles and ratings from the Honorable Mention page, changed the landing page to make clear that subscriptions will be required after 3 months (rather than hiding it in the website terms), and updated their privacy policy. However, their new privacy policy leaves much to be desired – it only says “will not sell your contact info.” This does not prevent them from giving your contact info, nor does it forbid the story title/ranking info from the original Honorable Mention page.

Update 3/12: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have posted an official warning statement about Thinkerbeat and its magazines. Note that Daniel Scott White (the publisher) also runs the online review magazine Mythaxis Review (.com, NOT .uk), according to Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware. Finally, Daniel Scott White continues to act like a jerk when people ask him to remove their stories.

Update 3/22: It looks like Thinkerbeat is now calling their rejections a “Thinkerbeat Award.” Not that they like your story enough to buy it, but they still want you to give them some free advertising by putting the image on your website. (A very Writers-Of-The-Future-like practice. Good to know that markets with a predatory approach to their writers are learning from each other. Sigh.)

Update/Edit 10/1/2020: Be aware that the magazine Longshot Island and associated Longshot Press are by the same publisher. For clarity, the page and title above have been updated to include the Longshot name.

Update 12/7/2020: The publisher is now forbidding SFWA members from submitting, and is generally ranting about SFWA, in some ill-conceived refusal to believe that all this negative attention was caused by his unprofessional and harmful-to-writers behaviors and practices.

Update 12/14/2020: I know everyone’s having good fun getting themselves onto Longshot’s twitter list of “SFWA – Do Not Follow,” but as noted by others, public twitter lists like this can be used (by anyone, not necessarily Longshot) to direct trolls and harassers. After you’ve had your laugh, I recommend removing yourself from the list by blocking or soft-blocking @/longshotpress.

Update 12/14/2020 (later): Longshot Press’s twitter account doxxed me today, posting my legal name, home address, and place of work. It’s all a bit sad, but I guess they insist on demonstrating who they are. Nobody should work with a publisher who’ll respond to criticism by tracking down your private information and posting it online.

All grey boxes are my additions. Daniel Scott White posted the unobscured pdf taken from my work website.

If you would like to avoid him for your safety, his accounts on Twitter include at least @/longshotpress, @/unreal_magazine, @/unfitmagazine, @/thelandofwords, and @/readmythaxis. He also has Facebook pages for each of these.

Update 12/15/2020: Add @/longshotisland to the account list. However, do NOT confuse them with the semipro magazine Mythaxis (.co.uk). They had the name first (since 2008) and have no relationship with this guy’s Mythaxis Review (.com).

Edit 2/19/2021: Updated the title and header paragraph with an up-to-date list of DSW/Longshot’s associated publications.

1. NOT semipro magazine Mythaxis.co.uk
2. Supposedly they provide free subscriptions to authors who subscribe to their mailing list. Nevertheless, their website terms still say payment is required after 3 months. So it’s not clear whether Thinkerbeat is “mandatory mailing list” or “pay to submit,” but their official policy is clearly the latter, especially since their 3/04 update.