"Pay-to-play" is a good phrase for the system a lot of writers find themselves caught up in, especially self-published authors.

Some of those authors keep spending more and more to self-publish in the hope that it will eventually pay off. At a certain point, some have been forced to admit: My writing has become a really expensive hobby. That's not necessarily a bad thing--writing can be a more rewarding hobby than many others--but honesty about what's happening can help to keep you from going broke.