Profit on short publication is an attraction (6)
I believe the answer is:
magnet
'an attraction' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'profit on short publication' is the wordplay.
'profit' becomes 'net' (netting is a kind of profiting).
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'short publication' becomes 'mag' (abbreviation for magazine. I am not sure about the 'short' bit.**).
'net' after 'mag' is 'MAGNET'.
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for magnet that I've seen before include "Source of attraction" , "Attractive body" , "Attractive type" , "It has the power to attract iron" , "Great attraction" .)