Most of the publishers listed on Kavyar are indie mags, run by people that are artists themselves. Most of these mags are labors of love.
Allowing publishers to offer optional paid upgrades for faster responses or critiques allows them to make some extra money to keep their publication running, while still providing benefits to the artists that submit.
Even if you're not comfortable paying fees to submit, Kavyar will always have free-to-submit opportunities listed, and we encourage publishers to always offer a free option.
We love hearing feedback about this and any aspect of Kavyar. Feel free to
reach out if you have thoughts or suggestions.