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Freelance Writing Pay Rates for Newspapers and Magazines (Updated)

• May 17, 2024
• 50 Comments

Here are the updated pay rates for writing magazine articles, newspaper columns, online content and blog posts. My experience as a freelance writer for 20 years taught me how to find the pay scale for different types of content.

I also list several writing jobs and pay rates for freelance writers who work for magazines, newspapers, editors, and publishing houses. And finally, I share eight ways for writers to increase their pay rates.

How did I earn $35,000 my first year as a freelance writer? Not by writing articles for free! These freelance writing pay rates reveal how it’s possible to earn a good living as a writer.

“If you’re a beginning freelance writer, or don’t know many other freelancers, you may wonder how anyone manages to earn enough to eat and pay the rent by writing,” says Lynn Wasnak in Writer’s Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published . “Yet, smart full-time freelance writers and editors annually earn $35,000 and up – sometimes into the $150,000-200,000 range.”

Here are the questions I researched. You’ll find the answers below.

• How do freelance writers figure out their hourly rate?
• What are the updated freelance writing pay rates? (My updated version below divides the scale into magazines, newspapers, and online content)
• Why do some freelance writers get paid $2 per word, and others earn 2 cents per word?
• How long does it take to write different types of articles?

I learned that newspapers and magazines still pay writers for articles, but writing for other outlets (big companies, small businesses, online entrepreneurs, and even nonprofit organizations) is more profitable.

Writer’s Market 100th Edition: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published  is an essential writing tool. Not only does it list the most current freelance writing pay rates, it offers information for  also has thousands of magazine, newspaper, e-zine, and blog publishers who pay freelancers to write.   Writer’s Market  also lists the most up-to-date, current freelance writing pay rates.

Pay rates for freelance writers are not the same for different magazines and newspapers. Inexperienced writers or content creators earn different amounts than experienced or established journalists and bestselling authors.

Plus, different newspapers and magazines in different cities, regions, and parts of the world pay writers different rates. The best way to find out how much a newspaper or magazine writer gets paid is to contact specific writers and editors at specific periodicals. Get the inside scoop! That’s your job as a writer, after all.

1. How do freelance writers figure out their hourly rate?

In Writer’s Market, Wasnak suggests a formula for figuring out a freelance writing hourly rate.

“Begin by choosing your target annual income – whether it’s $25,000 or $100,000. Add in fixed expenses: social security, taxes, and office supplies. Don’t forget health insurance and something for your retirement. Once you’ve determined your annual gross target, divide it by 1,000 billable hours – about 21 hours per week – to determine your target hourly rate.”

Fellow scribes, take your experience and education into account before setting your goals for earning money as a writer. A new freelancer can’t charge as much for an article as an established journalist.

Below is what the professional freelance writers earn, plus a description of different types of writing jobs and pay rates for magazines and newspapers. Some writers charge by the hour (I charge $50/hour). As A. A. Milne says, “Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.”

2. What are the updated freelance writing pay rates?

My pay rate for alive , which is a health magazine I write for, is fifty cents a word. I started writing for them in 2009, and have stopped pitching article ideas to them. Now, the editors send me assignments and I write what they want. T

he beauty of establishing yourself as a writer is that you develop relationships with various newspaper and magazine editors. If you’re a reliable, professional freelance writer, you’ll be busy.

These freelance writing pay rates depend on many factors, such as how much advertising the newspaper or magazine sells, the writer’s experience, and the perceived need for the content. How much you get paid to write doesn’t always depend on your skills, article pitch, or creativity.

Freelance Writing Pay Rates for Consumer Magazine and Trade Journals

Generally, writers can expect to earn between $0.10 to $1.60 per word or $40 to $79 per hour​.

Reprint Articles

Reprint articles typically pay less than original content. Rates for reprints can range from $25 to $100 per reprint​​.

Magazine Columns

Writing a magazine column usually pays between $0.38 to $1 per word, or $25 to $600 per project. Rates can vary significantly based on the magazine’s reach and prestige​​.

Ghostwritten Articles

Ghostwriting rates are often higher due to the lack of a byline. Rates can range from $0.10 to $1.50 per word, depending on the complexity and the writer’s expertise​​.

Arts Reviews

For arts reviews, writers typically earn between $30 to $69 per hour, or $0.06 to $0.60 per word.

Book Reviews

Book reviews are generally paid at similar rates to arts reviews, ranging from $45 to $69 per hour, or $0.25 to $0.60 per word​​.

Rewriting can be charged either by the hour or per project. Hourly rates range from $15 to $50 per hour, depending on the complexity and the writer’s expertise​ ​.

Content Editing

Content editing is usually billed at hourly rates, which can vary from $20 to $75 per hour, depending on the level of edit required (e.g., basic copyediting vs. substantive editing)​.

These rates provide a general guideline and can vary based on the publication, the writer’s experience, and the specific requirements of the project. For a more precise rate, it’s advisable to research specific publications and their typical pay scales.

When I first wrote this blog post for freelance writers about 10 years ago, here were the freelance writing pay rates:

• Article feature writing: $40-$122 per hour, or $.20-30 per word
• Reprint articles: $20-$1,500 per project, or $.10-1.50 per word
• Magazine column: $75-$2,500 per project, or $.37-2.50 per word
• Ghostwriting articles: $30-$200 per hour, or $.60-10 per word
• Arts review: $60-$95 per hour, or $.08-1.20 per word
• Book reviews: $25-$900 per project, or $.15-1.50 per word
• Rewriting: $20-125 per hour, or $50 per page
• Content editing: $25-125 per hour, or $.06-.16 per word

Reading the Writer’s Market books is a good way to get an accurate feel for current pay rates for freelance writers.

Updated Freelance Writing Pay Rates for Newspaper Articles

Here are the current rates for different types of newspaper articles:

• Per word: $0.10 to $1.60
• Per hour: $40 to $79​​.
• Per word: $0.38 to $1
• Per project: $25 to $600​​.
• Per insertion: $4 to $35​.
• Per grant: $2,250 to $10,000. This typically covers in-depth research and reporting​.
• Per hour: $15 to $45​.
• Per word: $0.06 to $0.60
• Per hour: $30 to $69​.
• Per word: $0.25 to $0.60
• Per hour: $45 to $69​.
• Per project: $35 to $225.

These rates can vary based on factors such as the writer’s experience, the publication’s budget, and the complexity of the project. For instance, high-profile or specialized publications may offer higher rates, while local or smaller newspapers might pay on the lower end of the spectrum.

These writing jobs and rates are compiled from voluntary surveys from members of numerous professional writers’ and editors’ associations and specialty groups.

When I first wrote this blog post for freelance writers about 10 years ago, here were the freelance writing pay rates for newspapers:

• Article feature writing: $40-$79 per hour, or .10-$1.60 per word
• Local column: .38-$1 per word; $25-$600 per project
• Self-syndicated column: $4-$35 per insertion
• Investigative Reporting: $2,250-$10,000 per grant
• Proofreading: $15-$45 per hour
• Arts review: $30-$69 per hour, or $.06-.60 per word
• Book reviews: $45-$69 per hour, or  $.25-.60 per word
• Obituary copy: $35-$225 per project

Here’s a warning for freelance writers who are curious about pay rates for magazines and newspapers:

“As a profession, freelance writing is notoriously insecure,” said bestselling author and journalist Gloria Steinem. “That’s the first argument in its favor. For many reasons, a few of them rational, the thought of knowing exactly what next year’s accomplishments, routine, income, and vacation will be – or even what time I have to get up tomorrow morning – has always depressed me.”

You don’t have to be a famous published author or established journalist to make money writing for newspapers and magazines. But, you do have to be professional. Freelance writers who can support themselves by writing for media outlets are self-employed entrepreneurs , not flighty artists. Successful freelancers are constantly learning and improving.

For example, one of the ways I improved my freelance writing career was by reading almost every edition of the Writer’s Market books and any book for writers that I could find at the local library. I was curious about everything!

Freelance Writing Pay Rates for Blog Posts and Website Content

Here are the updated pay rates for writing blog posts and content for popular websites:

• Per word: $0.10 to $1.50, with most experienced writers charging between $0.30 and $1.00 per word​.
• Per project: $250 to $399 for a 1,500-word blog post is common. Some experienced writers charge up to $1,000 or more for long-form posts​​.
• Per word: Rates range from $0.10 to $1.00 per word depending on the complexity and subject matter​​.
• Basic web page: $100 to $300
• Landing page: $300 to $700
• Comprehensive website content (multiple pages): $1,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on the scope and length​.

3. Why do some freelance writers get paid $2 per word, and others earn 2 cents per word?

It may seem unfair – especially if you know you’re a better freelancer than The Adventurous Writer next door – but there are a variety of factors that influence a writer’s pay scale.

The more professional you are as a self-employed freelance writer, the more you’ll get paid per word, per article, and per blog post.

1. The writer’s experience and expertise

• Experience Level: More experienced writers tend to charge higher rates due to their proven track record and established reputation. Beginners might earn less until they build a portfolio and client base​.
• Niche Expertise: Writers with specialized knowledge in high-demand areas (e.g., technology, finance, medical) can command higher rates. Specialized knowledge often requires additional education or experience, which justifies the higher pay​​.

Freelance writing tip: You don’t need a journalism or writing degree to make money as a freelancer. If you focus on writing as a business and yourself as self-employed, you’ll earn the top pay rates for all types of written content.

2. How complex the project and background work is

• Blog Posts: Rates for blog posts vary widely, with longer and more detailed posts earning more. Rates can range from $250 to $1,500 per post, depending on length and complexity​.
• Whitepapers and Case Studies: These types of content are typically more detailed and research-intensive, leading to higher pay. Rates can range from $500 to $3,000+ per project​​.
• Web Content: Basic website content might pay $100 to $300 per page, while more complex pages like landing pages can fetch $300 to $700 each​​.

3. The client’s project and budget for writing services

• Client Budget: Larger companies or well-funded projects tend to have higher budgets for content creation, allowing for higher rates. Conversely, smaller businesses or startups might offer lower pay​.
• Project Scope: Comprehensive projects that include multiple pages of content, extensive research, or multimedia elements (e.g., videos, infographics) will command higher rates​​.

4. Skills and services that set you apart as a writer

• SEO Optimization: Writers who provide SEO services, including keyword research and on-page optimization, can charge a premium for these skills​.
• Editing and Revisions: Offering multiple rounds of edits or additional services like content strategy or editorial consulting can increase earnings​.
• Quick Turnaround: Projects that require a fast turnaround time often come with a premium due to the need for prioritizing the work over other commitments​.

5. Location and economic factors

• Location: Rates can vary based on geographic location. Writers in high-cost living areas may charge more to meet their living expenses.
• Market Conditions: Economic factors and industry trends also influence rates. For instance, during high demand for digital content, rates may increase due to the competition for skilled writers​​.

6. Ability to negotiate and promote oneself

• Negotiation Skills: Writers who are skilled negotiators can often secure higher rates. This involves confidently communicating the value they bring to the client and justifying their rates with past success stories and metrics​​.
• Brand and Marketing: Writers who effectively market their services, showcase strong portfolios, and maintain a professional online presence often attract higher-paying clients​​.

The more networking, marketing, querying, and studying of magazines and newspapers that you do, the more money you can charge as a freelance writer.

“You’ll be surprised how far you can go, and how much you can earn, if you believe in your skills and act on your belief,” says Wasnak in Writer’s Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published. “Learn how to query, then query like mad. Take chances by reaching for the next level. Learn to negotiate for a fee you can live on…and then get it in writing.”

Are you interested in writing for a national magazine – even if you don’t know their pay rates? Read 10 Things You Need to Know About Writing for Reader’s Digest .

• Per word: $0.10 to $0.30
• Per project: $50 to $150 for short blog posts (500-800 words)
• Per word: $0.30 to $0.75
• Per project: $150 to $350 for standard blog posts (800-1,200 words)
• Per word: $0.75 to $1.50
• Per project: $350 to $1,000+ for long-form or in-depth blog posts (1,500+ words)

If you’re an experience freelancer who is offered a beginner’s pay rate, remember that editors and published have to work within a budget. Magazines and newspapers can’t control their income, and can only offer as much money as they have available in the budget. As a result, all the updated freelance writing pay rates in this blog post are relative. In other words, they can change according to the publication or project’s needs.

For a detailed guide on setting pay rates and negotiating freelance contracts, visit the Editorial Freelancers Association or read the most current edition of Writer’s Market.

How do you get experience and earn more money as a professional freelance writer?

Earning more money as a freelance writer is crucial because everything has gotten more expensive. One of the most important things to remember about making money writing is that you need courage to ask for the freelance pay rate you think you deserve as a writer.

When I asked for an increase in my freelance writing pay rate for my favorite health magazine, I was nervous. But the editor agreed to pay me 25 cents more per word, which was an amazing reward for my courage.

That said, however, simply asking for a raise doesn’t guarantee you’ll make more money writing. If you are a professional freelance writer who works well with magazine editors, you will enjoy higher pay rates.

One of the most effective ways to earn a good living as a freelancer is to specialize in a specific niche. It’s not enough just to learn how to be a travel writer , for instance. The most successful writers have a focus or a specialty.

4. How long does it take to write different types of articles?

The time it takes for a writer to complete different types of articles varies based on factors such as the complexity of the subject, the amount of research required, and the writer’s familiarity with the topic. Here’s a comparison of estimated times for five types of articles:

1. Restaurant Review

• Time Required: 4 to 8 hours
• Factors Involved: Visiting the restaurant, experiencing the meal, taking notes, writing the review, and potentially taking photos.
• Details: This type of article often includes personal impressions, descriptions of the food, atmosphere, and service. Depending on whether the writer visits more than once, the process can extend beyond a single meal.

2. Personal Opinion

• Time Required: 2 to 6 hours
• Factors Involved: Formulating the opinion, possibly conducting some light research to support points, writing, and editing.
• Details: These articles are typically based on the writer’s own views and experiences, requiring less intensive research but potentially more reflection and refinement of ideas.

3. Scientific Research Article

• Time Required: Several days to weeks
• Factors Involved: Extensive research, reading scientific literature, gathering data, conducting experiments (if applicable), writing, reviewing, and referencing.
• Details: This type of article requires a deep understanding of the subject matter, accuracy in reporting data, and adherence to scientific writing standards. Collaboration with other researchers may also extend the timeline.

4. Celebrity Exposé

• Time Required: 1 to 2 weeks
• Factors Involved: Researching the celebrity, conducting interviews (if possible), gathering background information, writing, and editing.
• Details: This article type involves investigative work, verifying facts, and often dealing with sensitive information. Legal considerations and fact-checking can add to the time required.

5. Investigative Report

• Time Required: Several weeks to months
• Factors Involved: In-depth research, conducting interviews, obtaining documents and evidence, writing, revising, and fact-checking.
• Details: Investigative journalism is highly detailed and requires thorough verification of information. It often involves uncovering new information and presenting it in a comprehensive manner.

Freelance writing tip: Use ChatGPT or another type of generative artificial intelligence to help you write research articles, investigative reports and other types of content that require background information.

8 Ways for Writers to Increase Their Pay Rates

1. Learn which editors prefer what pitches. One of my regular magazine editors prefers longer, more detailed pitches with most of my sources and information listed. Another editor prefers short, punchy pitches, about a half-page long, so he can share it with his fellow editors more easily. Find out how your editors like to receive their query letters. Pitch accordingly.

2. Avoid asking magazine or newspaper editors about pay rates.  I usually wait until I’ve written at least one article for the magazine before I ask what type of query letter the editor prefers. I never ask when I’m cold-calling or cold-emailing — instead, I just send a catchy, thoughtful one-page pitch at first. Later, after the editor has emailed or called, I ask what types of pitches he or she prefers.

3. Pitch your best article, idea, and writing. It’s taken me a full year of full-time freelance writing to absorb this tip: line up your most interesting source or idea before you pitch the article. For instance, if I want to write an article about how the economy has affected feature article assignments, then I need to find a source with direct, unique, and fascinating experience. I’d try to line up a couple of freelance writers, perhaps a freelance editor or two — and definitely a magazine editor. Then, I’m ready to write the pitch that will hook my editor.

4. Realize that you may put more work into your query letter than your article. The more experience I get as a freelance writer, the more time I spend writing pitches that are flawless in terms of execution, sources, anecdotes, experts, and ideas. As I develop relationships and work more with editors, I can simply email ideas in a sentence or two. If they like the idea, they ask me to write a more detailed pitch.

5. Ask for another article assignment when you file or submit an article. When I submit an article and invoice, I ask editors if they have any leads or article ideas that they’d like me to write. I don’t mention magazine or newspaper pay rates when I pitch different ideas, but I like to show editors I’m open to writing most anything.

In 11 Most Popular Articles to Write for Magazines (Freelance Writing is Easier Than You Think!) share my tips for getting published in print and online magazines. It’s easy when you know what types of articles editors and publishers need!

6. Be grateful for revisions. Welcome an editor’s feedback. When editors ask for edits, be glad for the opportunity to become a better, more successful writer! I learned far more from revising and rewriting than I ever did from the editors who simply published my articles “as is.” One of my favorite Reader’s Digest editors would call me and we’d edit my articles over the phone. Every phone call and every edit made me a better writer.

7. Take opportunities to make personal connections with editors. If an editor makes a personal reference in an email — for instance, one of my health magazine editors recently referred to his use of the elliptical trainer — follow up on it. The more real you are to editors (and the more real they are to you), the better your relationship will be…and the more your chances increase for future assignments.

8. Know the current writer’s market. “An editor whose magazine offers 10 cents a word will rarely negotiate that fee with a newcomer,” writes Nancy Hamilton in Magazine Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide for Success. “Even seasoned writers usually have a hard time negotiating it upward…check magazine specifications in Writer’s Market to determine whether a magazine pays on a per-word basis or a blanket fee for an article of a certain length.”

Keep improving your writing skills. The best way to increase your pay rate as a freelancer is to be really, really good at your job. Larry King’s advice for writers is good: “Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read.” But just as important is to be a good entrepreneur. You, as a freelance writer, are a small business.

Instead of putting your energy into researching freelance writing pay rates for newspapers and magazines, focus on writing excellent feature articles and profiles. Read 11 Most Popular Types of Magazine Articles – Print & Online .

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50 thoughts on “Freelance Writing Pay Rates for Newspapers and Magazines (Updated)”

Extra tips for beginner freelance writers who want to increase their pay rates per article or blog post:

Know Your Worth: Understand industry standards and set your rates accordingly. Websites like the Editorial Freelancers Association provide guidelines on standard rates for various types of writing and editing work​. More experienced writers and those with niche expertise can command higher rates​​.

Always Use a Contract: A written contract protects both you and your client. It should outline the scope of work, deadlines, payment terms, and any other relevant details​​. Specify the payment schedule (e.g., 50% upfront, 50% upon completion), late fees, and acceptable payment methods​.

Send invoices as soon as you submit your article or content. I always included my invoice with my article submission, because delayed invoicing can result in delayed payments. Include all relevant details such as the project name, description of services, payment due date, and your payment details. Tools like FreshBooks or Wave can help streamline this process​​. Include late fees in your contract to discourage late payments. A common practice is charging an additional percentage of the invoice amount for every week or month the payment is overdue​​. Politely remind clients if they miss a payment deadline. Consistent follow-up is crucial to ensure you get paid​. The squeaky freelance writer gets the cash grease!

Accept multiple payment methods such as PayPal, direct epayments or bank transfers, or other payment platforms. This makes it easier for clients to pay you​​. Also, accept different types of currency (although US dollars are the gold standard!).

For new clients or large projects, request a percentage of the payment upfront to secure your commitment and cover initial expenses​​. Also, make sure you evaluate potential clients carefully. Avoid those who seem unreliable or have a history of not paying freelancers promptly​. After all, an update scale of freelance writing pay rates isn’t worth much if you don’t get paid!

Use accounting software to track your income and expenses. This helps in managing your finances and preparing for tax season​. Also, know your taxation obligations! If you earn money out of the country in which you pay taxes, then you need to know how to pay your taxes. Freelance income is subject to self-employment tax in Canada and the U.S.. Set aside a portion of your income for taxes and consider working with an accountant​.

As I say time and again in my quips and tips for successful writers: freelancing is a business. You are an entrepreneur. Be professional, and you’ll surpass these pay rates before you know it.

Thanks for writing this blog post, Adventurous Writer, and I want to add to your freelance writing pay rate tips. The best way to get current market information is for freelancers to email individual magazines and newspapers and do some research! After all, that is a freelancer’s job, right?

Freelance pay rates depend on the writer’s experience, skill level, writing project, the magazine or newspaper’s budget, and the type of writing involved (technical? fiction? poetry? research?).

Here are some general guidelines for freelance writing rates for writers who can actually write:

Per Word Pay Rates: – Entry-level writers: $0.03 – $0.10 per word – Intermediate writers: $0.10 – $0.25 per word – Experienced writers: $0.25 – $1.00 or more per word

Per Hour Rates for Freelancers: – Entry-level writers: $15 – $30 per hour – Intermediate writers: $30 – $60 per hour – Experienced writers: $60 – $100 or more per hour

Rates Per Writing Project: – Blog posts (500-1000 words): $50 – $500 – Articles (1000-2000 words): $100 – $1000 – Web content (per page): $100 – $500 – Whitepapers or case studies: $500 – $2000 or more – Copywriting (landing pages, sales copy): $200 – $2000 or more

Specialized Writing Pay Rates: – Technical writing: $0.15 – $0.50 per word – Grant writing: $50 – $150 per hour or a percentage of the grant amount – Ghostwriting: $0.10 – $2.00 per word, or a percentage of book sales

Content Mills and Low-Paying Platforms: – Content mills and low-paying platforms may offer lower rates, often below $0.01 per word. However, these platforms are usually not recommended for experienced writers looking for fair compensation.

A freelance writer’s pay rate can vary based on negotiation skills, the writer’s portfolio, deadlines, and the client’s budget. Some writers charge higher rates for rush projects or those requiring extensive research.

Writers have to assess their own skills, experience, and the market demand when setting their rates. Additionally, networking, building a strong portfolio, and delivering quality work on time can contribute to earning higher rates over time.

The Adventurous Writer has long been a writing blog I enjoy reading, but I wish it was updated more often.

Thanks, Gillian. I haven’t been updating my blogs for awhile, and am glad you shared these updated freelance writing pay rates with us. I’m still The Adventurous Writer, though 🙂

Thank you for the great tips! I was wondering, do freelance writers need a business license? Thanks. Renee Guill

No, freelance writers don’t need a business license. However, if you’re a Canadian freelance writer you will need a GST number when you start earning more than $30,000 per year.

I never needed a GST number, though, because my earnings as a freelancer never exceeded $30,000. My blog earnings definitely did, but that money came from the U.S. and I pay taxes on that money.

I hope that answers your question. Good luck with your freelancing career!

I have a question–I am at the beginning of freelance writing for various local publictions. It was suggested as a courtesy from a freelance reporter to let the paper know that I was writing an UNRELATED story in the same general reading area. I signed no contracts–nothing. She told me that their legal department would not allow that and fired me.

Was she within her rights? Another pubication send me a form that states I am a freelancer and independent contractor. Once signed, would that protect me from writing for other publications with unrelated stories?

Howdy there, I don’t know what to do maybe you or anyone can help me out here I want to be a writer/ Author/ journalist for newspapers, Magazines even writhe for perhaps film just a little bit of everything I Love to write I’ve been a creative writer since 2003 I have wrote and self Published some books as well but never got nothing from them I also love to write Short story’s. I wanted to write heart warming short Christmas stories for the newspaper but no one reply back to my email’s can you or anyone help me out here I am disaibled so I’d have to work from home, but I also don’t want to be who diode either you know what I mean.

Hey Laurie,

Some good suggestions here. I hadn’t thought of asking for more work when submitting an invoice. It makes perfect sense. They already know me and my work, and I’m fresh in their mind’s eye.

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How Much to Charge (Or Pay) For a 500 to 1500 Word Article

December 10, 2021 • DJ Team

One of the hardest things a freelance website content writer will do is to set their pricing. Ask too much, and you risk losing the work to other bidders. Ask too little, and you’ll be locked into a cycle of unprofitable work with that client.

Finding the right freelance writing rate is a delicate balance between the rate you want to earn and the market value of your work. It usually takes new writers a period of trial and error to find the right pricing.

How Much Do Content Writers Make?

Content marketing freelance rates vary depending on project size, time commitment, and whether you are charging by the hour or by the project. Your experience will also impact your content writing services pricing. Having an online portfolio of your work that represents experience for a variety of projects in different industries will make you more valuable to potential clients.

How Much to Charge for a Blog Post

Before you set your pricing, you need to understand your value. Ask yourself:

• How much experience do I have writing?
• Do I have expertise in a certain industry or niche?
• Am I providing any services in addition to writing? Some publishers may ask for SEO keyword research, content marketing strategy, image sourcing, or meta descriptions.
• What costs do I need to cover? Consider your home office, software, insurance, and self-employment taxes.

Let’s break down how much you could charge per word depending on your experience level and how you can calculate your hourly rate.

Hourly Rate For a Freelance Writer

Some freelance writers charge an hourly rate for their writing services. While this can protect you in the case of a project taking longer than anticipated or excessive edit requests, this model doesn’t allow freelancers to grow earnings as they get more efficient.

Once a freelance writer can estimate their time per project well and become more efficient over time, charging per word or per article is a better option.

Nevertheless, to calculate your hourly rate, follow this formula:

(Goal income + estimated freelance expenses) / billable hours you expect to work

For example, if you want to make $6,000 a month and work 125 billable hours a month with expenses of $250 each month, your hourly rate should be $50.

While you are first starting out, you may not be able to charge your ideal rate to find work and build up your connections and portfolio. Once you have a full schedule of work, however, you can ask for a raise or start to drop your lowest-paying clients in favor of higher-paying ones.

Per word rate

Freelance rates per word are a carryover from the journalism industry, where freelance article rates are determined by the number of words in the published article. How much should a writer charge per word?

Freelance rates can start as low as $0.05 per word for blogs or high-volume content sites, and range up to $1.50 or more per word or more for elite news sites or trade publications.

Calculate your per-word rate with this formula:

Be sure to research your target industry to learn what average rates are, and ask for a complete scope of work for each project to avoid surprise expectations.

Flat project rate

To simplify pricing for freelancers and clients, some freelancers use flat project rates. This model determines a flat rate for an article, usually with a predetermined length or scope of work.

What should I charge per article?

To know what to charge per article, you need to know the length and amount of research required. Below are a few guidelines for how to price your article content writing based on your expertise and industry.

Basic ($0.05-$0.20 per word)

Entry-level professionals or students building a portfolio, non-native English speakers. Clients may be nonprofits or small businesses.

Intermediate ($0.20-$0.70 per word)

Professionals with results to show and experience in the industry. Articles may include some research and interviews. Clients are more likely to be B2B or online publishers.

Expert ($0.70-$1.50+ per word)

Advanced professionals with expertise in a subject matter area. Articles may include extensive research and interviews. Clients may be an elite news site or businesses in tech, finance, or other niche specialty areas.

How much should I charge for a 500-word article?

All things considered, 500 words is a fairly short article length, appropriate for a short newsletter article or personal profile. A typical rate for this would be $75-$200, but it could range much lower or higher depending on the factors mentioned above.

How much should I charge for a 1,000-word article?

One thousand words is a typical length for a blog and are considered mid-length web content. For a 1,000-word article, a typical rate would be $200-$700, but it could range much lower or higher based on the factors mentioned above.

Now that you know your value, before pitching a potential client, consider the value of content writing to them. What goals will the content help them reach? Framing the conversation this way can help you propose higher rates because of the real impact that it brings to their organization.

Work Smarter with DemandJump

With content marketing, you need a tool that can take you from concept to campaign to analytics. DemandJump can help you research keywords, create one-click outlines for new content, and link marketing attribution from conversion back to your published content.

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Survey Results: How Much Should I Pay a Freelance Writer? [Infographic]

• Written By Allie Freeland
• Updated: November 9, 2023

At ClearVoice, we probably get asked this question more than any other: “How much should I pay for a freelance writer?” As creating content for marketing becomes more popular, everyone wants to know what the going freelance pay rates are for well-written blog posts, email newsletters, social media content, and ebooks.

On the flip side, we know freelancers are curious about how they stack up to others in terms of pay. Let’s face it, it’s a seldom-spoken topic. If you do a quick search on pay for freelance writers, you’ll see that many other publications begin to answer this question, but most fail to actually list any rates. That’s because the answer depends on many factors, but it’d still be nice to see some actual numbers.

How much should you pay a freelance writer for your marketing content?

This FAQ doesn’t have a simple answer. Most intermediate to advanced freelance writers charge between $0.10 and $1 per word, depending on the amount of work they will have to put into the project. But, the way they bill that average range will vary. Some freelance writers bill at a flat rate, per hour, or per monthly retainer for frequent work (in this case, a volume-based discount should apply), rather than per word. Typically, freelance writers who use one of those last three billing methods will include services beyond just the content.

In addition, rates change per industry, company, writer, location, and project ( and many other variables ), which is probably why this question often goes unanswered on the Interwebs. But, that’s not helpful for anyone.

Freelance writing rates explained

So we decided the best way to give you a useful answer on freelance writing rates was to ask freelance writers themselves what they charge:

Methodology of our freelance writer payment survey

We addressed a big question in content marketing: How much should you pay freelance writers? Or, if you are a freelance writer, how much should you charge? It’s kind of hard to know unless someone tells you, right?

The best way to get an answer to “how much to pay a freelance writer” was to take it to the streets. We polled 500+ freelance writers from around the country to see what they charge, how they charge, what type of content they produce, the corresponding level of experience, and even gender to see if a gap exists like in so many other industries.

Questions we asked in our survey on freelance writing rates:

1. how many years of experience do you have as a professional freelance writer.

• Beginner — 0–3 years’ experience
• Intermediate — 3–7 years’ experience
• Professional — 7–15 years’ experience
• Expert — 15+ years’ experience

2. How do you charge?

• Retainer/ project fee
• A mix — depends on the client

3. What do you charge per hour? (Approximate if N/A)

4. what do you charge per word (approximate if n/a).

• $0.11–$0.25
• $0.26–$0.50
• $0.51–$0.75
• $0.76–$1.00
• $1.00 and above

5. What tasks do you complete for clients?

• Blog posts/articles
• Email newsletters
• Social media content
• Print collateral
• Ebooks/white papers
• Research papers
• Other [Specify]

6. What is your gender?

• Prefer not to answer

Key findings around freelance writer pay, experience, and gender

After months of collecting data from freelancers near and far, we were able to see some pretty cool trends on freelancer pay rates. Some were expected and obvious. Others were a bit surprising.

There were several common themes:

1.  You get what you pay for: Rates and level of experience are correlated.

When asked the question, “What do you charge per hour?” rates were cut pretty evenly, aside from the $1 to $20 range.

Here is the breakdown per hour and per word:

• $21–$40: 19%
• $41–$60: 18%
• $61–$80: 14%
• $81–$100: 19%
• $0.01 –$0.10: 14%
• $0.11–$0.25: 18%
• $0.26–$0.50: 18%
• $0.51–$0.75: 13%
• $0.76–$1.00: 25%
• 12% did not answer because they did not charge per word.

As we suspected, rates and level of experience are connected. Of the writers who charged the lowest rate, 25% were beginner freelancers, while only 1.5% of expert-level writers charged within that range. In fact, of the writers who charged the highest rate – $100+ per hour – most were experts (41%).

The findings were the same for per-word rates. Of the freelancers who charged between $0.01 and $0.10 per word, 32% were beginner writers, while only 0.8% were experts. And of the writers who charged more than a dollar per word, 54% were experts, while only 5% were beginners.

More on pay rates and quality

Interested in learning more about pay rates, experience, and quality? We previously reported on the correlation between pay rates and quality in our pay rate study for the travel industry and subsequent study for the  tech industry . It was no surprise to find that writers with more experience, who charged more, were overwhelmingly better than more affordable, less experienced writers.

2. We found a gender pay gap in our sample that was the opposite of most industries.

Interestingly enough, we didn’t find the traditional gender pay gap in freelance writing, at least in our survey pool. Women, on average, charged more than men except in one category, which was at the intermediate level. When we scale-adjusted the pay ranges to the percentages within each group, it came out to…

Average of all pay levels:

• Women charged an average of 11.7% more per word.
• Women charged an average of 8.3% more per hour.

At the beginner level:

• Women charged an average 25.4% more per word and 37.8% more per hour than men.

At the intermediate level:

• Men charged an average of 5.4% more per word and 6.3% more per hour than women. *It was the only level where men charged more than women.*

At the professional level:

• Women charged an average 20.5% more per word and 11.1% more per hour than men.

At the expert level:

• Women charged an average 11.3% more per word and 5.7% more per hour than men.

Note: Only eight respondents in the survey selected “Prefer not to answer” on the gender question. In future studies, we will add a “non-binary” selection.

3. Most freelance writers are flexible in how they charge.

When asked the question “How do you charge?” freelancers overwhelmingly responded that “it’s a mix – it depends on the client.” In fact, nearly 60% of respondents vary their rates based on different clients, while 12% charge per hour, another 12% by word, and nearly 16% charge by retainer (or per project). This is good news for brands, as budgets and payment terms vary from business to business.

One data point that stuck out was that men were about twice as likely to charge per word than women.

4. No surprise, but articles and blogs are the most common type of content produced.

Overwhelmingly, blogs and articles are the most common type of content produced by freelance writers. In fact, 90% of respondents produce articles and blogs, a rate that was consistent across all experience levels. Here is a breakdown of all the content types in our survey:

• 90% produce blog posts and articles
• 52% produce email newsletters
• 56% produce social media content
• 30% produce “other” types of content
• 26% produce print collateral
• 25% produce ebooks and white papers
• 14% produce research papers
• 13% produce books
• 10% produce website copy

For the most part, men and women produced content types at about the same rate, with one exception: 41% of men reported producing ebooks and white papers while only 25% of women reported the same — the biggest gap for any content type.

5. Counter to popular opinion, older and more experienced freelancers were far more likely to do social media content.

While 80% of experts (those freelance writers with 15+ years of experience) reported doing social media content for clients, substantially fewer beginners, only 47%, reported the same. We found this point to be most surprising, as it counters the notion that social media is dominated by those who are younger. Perhaps putting your brand’s reputation in the hands of a freelancer requires the assurance they are more experienced?

Translating pay rates into the cost of content types

Although charging per word might not be the ultimate method of calculating pay with your freelancers, knowing the approximate word count for the content types you need can help you estimate initial cost figures to work from.

What type of content do you want to produce?

• Quality posts should be 800–2,200 words, depending on strategy
• Typically 5–150 words per post.
• Usually billed monthly or per project for bulk work.
• Intermediate to expert freelancers should include some strategy and research.
• Typically 100–800 words.
• Usually billed at a flat rate per email.
• Rate could be higher if research, media, distribution, or cross-publishing is required.
• Design is not included in the content rate.
• Typical ebooks range from 1,500–5,000+ words, while case studies often range from 300–900 words (usually translating into 1–3 pages for print collateral).
• Ebook writers are often more experienced freelancers  (and quite possibly subject matter experts).
• Should always include research, sources, and media.

Parting Words

Sending a special thanks to the hundreds of freelance writers out there who took time out of their day to participate in this study. After viewing the study, we hope freelancers have a better pulse on what others charge. And same goes for brands! Now you should have a better idea of reasonable rates based on levels of experience.

Related articles to help you determine pay and hire quality freelancers:

• 5 Great Reasons to Hire Freelance Writers : Whether you don’t have the time yourself or your team is already overloaded, learn the big benefits of hiring freelance writers.
• The Power of Pay: Are Freelance Rates and Quality Correlated? [TRAVEL STUDY] : We assigned one travel article to seven writers and had 30 editorial pros rate the quality of the submissions. Did vetted experts outperform less experienced writers?
• Survey Results: Factors in Determining Freelance Rates for Different Assignments : Different assignments, different rates, but same freelancer. Do really value and understand your freelancers’ time? If you need more editorial insight on gauging the work that goes into assignments, Jenna Rose Robbins captures many points marketers and newbie publishers need to know from the freelancer’s perspective.
• 15 Scenarios When You Should Pay Freelance Writers More : Developing a solid working relationship with freelancers is no less important than fostering respect with your fellow FTEs. Educate yourself on the most common contingencies and special circumstances that warrant you paying a freelancer above and beyond their normal rate.

And related articles for freelance writers trying to boost their income:

• How to Make $100k or More as a Freelance Writer: Successful Women Share Their Advice : Get ready to make more than ever before after hearing how these freelancers hit the $100k mark—and beyond.
• How to Address Clients When Rates Are Higher Than They Expect : Hear directly from successful freelancers on how they proved their worth to clients and got the rates they deserve.
• How to Grow Your Freelance Writing Rates (and When It’s Time to Ask for More) : When you become your own boss: How do you know when you’re due for more money? Learn when to ask clients for more.

Looking to outsource your content? Connect with a content strategist today and discuss your content needs, goals, and budget.

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Blog Marketing How Much Do Freelance Writers Actually Make? [INTERACTIVE]

How Much Do Freelance Writers Actually Make? [INTERACTIVE]

Written by: Ryan McCready Jun 10, 2016

Introduction: How Much Do Writers Make

Pretty much everyone in the tech industry has done this at least once with varying degrees of success. It is almost a rite of passage to work in tech and is a great way get noticed by innovative companies. Many may have hated it immediately, but for some it became their full-time profession. And we are not talking about trying to be an Instagram celebrity or building the next Flappy Bird. In this case, it is all about freelance writing.

Right now we are in a freelancing boom that many experts believe will continue. With a staggering 53 million Americans that would be categorized as freelancers and almost 30% of those doing it in tandem with their main profession. Although there are no concrete numbers on how many are actually freelance writers, the estimates are pretty high. A simple search on either UpWork , Scriptd or Fiverr brings up hundreds of thousands of freelance writers. UpWork boasts 600k+ writers available for hire! But c an you survive as a full-time freelance writer in 2016?

How much content do writers need to create in 1 month in order to survive in the U.S.?

Follow these 3 steps to find out:

• Select up to 10 U.S. cities on the writer’s block below
• Check out the total required written words per month for those cities
• Select an average cost per word

Writer’s Block

Required Words Per Month by City Based on Cost of Living

1. Select up to 10 cities to compare below

Total Required Written Words Per Month

2. Check out the total required written words per month for those cities

Publication Levels to Write For

3. Select the publication level buttons below to get a more accurate breakdown of your required word count.

Writing Level Distribution

This pie chart will show how your time must be broken down between the different levels.

One of the things that stuck with me was how wildly the pay varied between publications . Some of the most well known publications would pay in exposure, hoping to find new and eager writers like myself. But some of the other small or niche sites and publications would pay extremely well. Back when I was a new writer and even now, it makes no sense to me!

That is why for some time I have been wanting to investigate this phenomenon further. But because publications do not post their pay scales publicly, I was at a loss. Until I stumbled upon Who Pays Writers in a very helpful article on The Next Web . According to their site:

“ Who Pays Writers is an anonymous, crowd-sourced list of which publications pay freelance writers—and how much. This list is primarily concerned with writing for publications; we don’t collect information about copywriting, advertising, corporate, or sponsored-content assignments.”

And after finding this goldmine of data that outlined some interesting trends, I knew we had to dig deeper. So I did and got lost in it like the Forbidden Forest.

To make this article a little easier to follow, I have decided to break it into two parts: the first part will strictly report on our findings after looking at the Who Pays Writers data; the second part will be all about the implications of those findings and bring in some outside data on writers across the country. But both will be used to answer the ultimate question: Can you survive as a full-time freelance writer in 2016?

PART 1: Who Pays Writers?

As stated above, Who Pays Writers (WPW) is a fantastic resource full of crowdsourced pay rates and other important metrics. Writers have recorded their experiences with many publications including The Atlantic , Buzzfeed , XOJane , and more.  At last count, there were over 500 publications included in their database with even more entries about working with them. The typical WPW entry can be seen below:

Most Writers Make Less Than $0.25 A Word

Since this entire study started with the desire to see how freelance writers are paid, we should probably start there. I broke this down into two distinct categories to make sure the analysis was thorough. They both show almost the same thing, but it makes it easier to visualize later on. Firs,t we looked at strictly the Pay Per Word of each article but we also calculated at the Total Pay of each article. Simply put writing 1000 words at $0.02 a word and 100 words at $0.20 a word give you the same total pay. But the paths to that pay are completely different.

The Top 10% of writers have it extremely well, making more than four times the average pay of $.30 per word. But as we move towards the Bottom 50% of writers, it becomes a little more disheartening, with the top half of the sample of writers making eight times more per word than the bottom half.

80% of Writers Will Make Less Than $500 An Article

This is yet another finding that shows a majority of the freelance writing money is made by the few. At the top, there were 43 writers that made more than $1000 per article and the other 477 making under $1000. When the total pay for both groups was added up it was a lot closer than you would think.

There is less than a $10k difference between the groups, with the top making $94k in total and the rest making just over $103k. If that does not discourage you from becoming a full time freelance writer, I am not sure what will.

Writing More Words Does Not Guarantee Higher Pay Per Article

As you can see in the graph above, the optimal range to maximize payment was between 5k and 7k words per article. Even writing between 2.5k and 5k words gave a higher average payout than 7k+! If you are looking to maximize pay, we would recommend writing anywhere between 2.5k and 7k words, as long as it is interesting. If you are looking to keep the word count low but still make more than the average $380 per article, we would recommend shooting for a more reasonable 1k to 2.5k words per article.

It is important to remember these findings should only be used as a guide. Do not expect to write 5k+ words and make almost a grand off just one article. We have seen that many new and experienced writers still do not know how to price their word. This will hopefully curb some of that ambiguity and confusion.

But More Effort Expended On Articles Could Help

In addition to payment and word count, the most interesting things we saw included on Who Pays Writers was amount of effort expended. Effort was broken down into three distinct categories: Little, Medium and Heavy. Like all the other variables this was self reported by the writers and this gave us some concern.

In the beginning we worried that the other variables may have caused a misrepresentation of the results. For example someone who wrote a 5k+ word article with little research could see that as a Heavy effort. And someone who wrote a 1k word article that was intensely researched could also report Heavy effort. In the eyes of the publications, the 5k article took more time and therefore should be paid more.

But those fears we quelled by comparing both the increase in pay and the increase in word count for each effort level. As the effort increased, the Average Pa y also increased at a very steady rate of 68% and 87% for Little to Medium and Medium to Heavy, respectively. There was, however, a disparity between the same range for Average Length only increasing 17% from Little to Medium but 84% from Medium to Heavy. We believe the small increase between Little and Medium effort was caused by people selecting Medium out of habit. As you can see in the pie chart above, more than half of the sample selected a Medium level of effort. Not many people want to admit that they put little or no effort into a project or article.

Both of those measures shows in their own way that the more effort expended, the higher your pay should be. It also shows that it takes not only skill to be a great freelancer, but also good old-fashioned effort. That could be in researching and running down leads, or just putting a great deal of effort into the supporting images or graphics. All of these components matter and come together to form an interesting, shareable and actionable article.

Finally, as a thought experiment, we decided to arbitrarily assign hours expended to the different levels of effort. They were estimated and assigned as 10, 15 and 20 hours for each level, respectively. Based on that established criteria, we found that putting a Heavy level of work into an article was still the most fruitful, earning almost $38 per hour. And you could work for almost 10 more hours on a Heavy effort level article before it became more lucrative to give Little and Medium effort. Plus an article with Little effort would have to drop down to only 6 hours spent on an article to be worth it in the long run over a Heavy article. Again, this is just a thought experiment, but it could be useful when planning out an article or project!

Old School Publications Pay Best, But Many Still Do Not Pay At All

Picking the right publication to pitch your next idea to is tough. You want to make sure you will be fairly treated and actually paid for your work! Based on personal experiences, that is not guaranteed at every publication. And although we can’t determine based on our data how you will be treated, we can give each writer a guide on which publications actually pay extremely well. Oh, and we made sure to include those who paid the worst, so you can avoid them from the beginning. Unless it is not about the money for you!   

In fact, the top paying per word publications were consistently publications that have a print and online presence. In fact, all of the top 20 pay per word publications, and nearly all the top 50 pay per word publications have a physical and online presence. The only example of an online exclusive publication in that group was Yahoo! .

My theory is that the most of the best paying publications were established before internet journalism took off, so they have the money to pay contributors. They have the network or connections to make sure they get the best freelance writers. It also could be that those publications are run as a full time,growing businesses and in contrast some of the others are just side projects for a group of enthusiastic people.

The publications with the best payment per word ranged from $1.50 per word at Shape to $2.31 per word at Wired . At the lowest point, that group of publications still paid five times more per word than the average. To put that into perspective, the pay per article ranged from $200 for an extremely short article to $8000 for the top paid article in this group from above.

That top paying publication last year was Popular Science . The average pay per article was a high $2500 per article (six times more than the average pay per article from our sample). But do not expect to hit this high a pay when you’re starting out. Just like any other profession, it takes a few years to move up in pay.

Now on to the worst paying per word publications. Sorry, but it had to be done! In contrast to the high paying publications, 16 out of the bottom 20 lowest paying per word were web-only publications. Of those publications, the sites that are magazines or newspapers have been around for only a handful of years. Note: this count does not include the 20 plus publications that do not pay their contributors, which we highlighted in yellow above.  But the non-paying publications follow the same trends as the low paying publications.

The lowest paying per word publications ranged from just $0.01 to $0.02 per word (33 times lower than the sample average). The average from this group for pay per article was also incredibly low. Coming in at $23 per article (16 times lower than the average from our sample). And in case you are curious, there were over 150 entries with publications paying less than $0.05 a word.

Staying Friendly With Editors Is Key

As many full-time freelancers could probably attest to, your network should be made up of as many editors as possible. Editors are the gatekeepers to the big publications and you should be in contact with them from day one. You want to be the person they email when a big opportunity comes up or they need a last minute article completed. It may sound a little dramatic but they are the people that could play the biggest role in your success or failure. There are a few editors that helped me more than they will ever know.

In fact, when we looked at the top 50 publications in pay per word only 6 were facilitated through a cold pitch. A majority were written based on an ongoing relationship or assigned by an editor. But as you move towards the bottom of the pay per word scale the frequency of cold pitches and submissions increases dramatically.

There also was a casual trend we spotted while putting together this section. If you think about each relationship as different degrees of separation with an editor it follows a distinct pattern. For example, assignments would be the closest relationship and leads to the highest pay per article. Then it goes down the line and as the relationship becomes less familiar the pay decreases. It finally ends with a cold pitch receiving the lowest pay per article. And this trend confirms our belief that editors should be your best friends!

PART 2: The Implications

Now that we have sifted through all the data presented on Who Pays Writers, we must look at the implications. And if you have read everything up until this point, you’ll know they are not great. We already found that the majority of writers will make under  $0.25 per word and only around $250 total per article. But what does that mean to the overall integrity and growth potential of the industry? And what does it take for someone to truly get by as a full-time freelance writer?

How much must you write to survive in each major city?

We thought it would be interesting to look at what it would take to live in different cities as a freelance writer. This is extremely important for writers looking to move to a new city, or for those looking to become a full-time freelancer . Because of that, we selected the cities based on how writer and creative-friendly they are! This includes the trendy cities like New York and San Francisco but also the cost friendly cities like Kansas City and Portland.

For this analysis, we were torn between using the cost of living , per capita income and income per household . Each had their strengths, but cost of living won out in the end because of its flexibility. For those not familiar with cost of living, it is the estimate of the cost of basic living expenses like food, housing and a few other necessities in a certain city.

It is usually used only to compare a handful cities based on a ratio , but we expanded it to compare almost 40 different cities! In this case, we also use the publishing mecca known as New York City as the original city, so each city is more or less expensive when compared to NYC. We wanted to compare cost of living directly to pay per word so that ratio must be converted into a yearly salary.

This salary was set at $50k in NYC based a number of different factors, including the average salary of freelance writers and salary of other related professions. Because this is a ratio, and NYC is one of the most expensive cities to live in, most cities had a salary estimate below $40k. In my hometown of Kansas City, the salary used for comparison was a bit over half NYC at $33k.

The results can be seen at the top of this post , with the median required word count already highlighted at $0.18 per word. Be sure to check out how the totals change when you select the different publication levels. They are broken down succinctly into the average pay per word of each of four levels of publications, from top to bottom. The results probably will change your mind on moving to a trendy city, unless you are writing for the top 25% of publications. Also, as a fun and tangible exercise, we compared the total number of words required to make a reasonable wage the word count a classic book of the same length!

Now we are not going to go over the entire graphic but still would like to highlight some interesting findings. Like that no matter where you like the middle 50% of writers will need to publish about 20k words a month or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Plus the bottom 25% have to publish over 100k words or Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King each month to live in most cities! And finally, almost some good news, if you split your time between the top 75% of publications you will never have to publish around 15k words a month.

Again this was not done to discourage the kindred spirits from taking flight to a new city. It was more to show that living comfortably in one city takes a lot more work that you may think. But if living comfortably is not that important, the next few sections are perfect for you!

Publish 4000+ words a month just to meet minimum wage

It’s fitting to start with a look at minimum wage too. Because based on some of the earlier data, a lot of writers may not be earning even that per hour. For those who have not been keeping up with recent legislation, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Some states like California and Oregon have raised minimum wage to over $9 per hour as well. Consequently, writers will have to work even harder to meet that baseline pay, with some cities implementing a $15 minimum wage in the near future.  

Those publishing estimates may not seem like much but it is still a ton of work just to make the minimum wage each month. According to a study by Contently , almost 40% of their freelance sample made less than $10k last year. And even worse, 23% of full time freelancers made less than $10k in the same time span.

The minimum wage gives employees an income of about $15k per year, give or take a few thousand dollars depending on the state. But if those findings from Contently correctly represent freelance writers, about one in four freelance writers earned less than minimum wage last year. Contently’s findings on the medium income for freelance writers put it firmly between 10k and 20k for all freelancers. This gives more credence to our belief that a large chunk of freelance writers made less than minimum wage for their efforts. To be honest, those are not promising statistics if you are looking to become a freelance writer…and in the next section things will look even worse.

Publish 15000+ words a month just to earn an average wage

After scouring the web for a consistent figure for the average hourly wage of a freelance writer, we gave up. It varied from $20 to $30 per hour on average but there was no exact number to be found. But even at the lowest estimate, it is still almost three times higher than minimum wage, which quickly indicated that to thrive as a freelance writer you must write almost a novel’s worth of content each month !

To make our analysis more accurate we used four different wages to delineate pay per hour for freelancers. Those wages were $15, $20, $25 and $30 per hour, as you can see in the graph below. Those hourly rates give a writer a monthly salary of $2550, $3400, $4250, and $5100, respectively. By breaking it down we hoped to include most, if not all, freelancers’ pay brackets in our estimate.

The required word count does not start getting out of hand until we look at the middle 50% and Bottom 50%. For the Middle 50% of writers, they would need to publish between 15k and 30k words a month to earn the average wage. Or between 1k and 2k words published per day. We are guessing this is where a majority of the writers are concentrated which makes the number even more concerning.

If you are having trouble estimating how much writing 30k words is, it is half of an average-length novel each month. Some people spend an entire year to publish one novel, and at this rate you would have to write six of them! Even if you only wanted to earn $15 per hour, that is three novels worth of words published each year!

Let it be known that it was not my intention to paint such a depressing picture about the state of freelance writing. And certainly not to discourage any bright-eyed writers from trying to strike it out on their own. Just like any other profession, there will be writers that have figured out the system and are making great money. But the data from Who Pays Writers and the rest does not lie, especially when it comes from the mouth of other writers.

I think there has been a devaluation of freelance writers in recent years, mainly in the tech world. Designers and developers are seen as more glamorous positions and the writing gets outsourced to freelancers. And not to the best writers; sadly in my experience, it’s the cheapest ones who get the assignments. In turn this lowers the wages for ALL freelance writers and makes businesses not want to pay the rates for better writers–lowering payments to the point that they are below the minimum wage per hour, as we found above.

It is an ugly cycle that needs to be broken. And you can break it with this data.

We hope that the data we collected from Who Pays Writers can be used to empower you on your journey. Things may not change today or next week but they still can! Your writing has value and it is time for publications to see that. Use it set fair payment when you are just starting out, or to negotiate a better rate in your current situation. This way, we can break this cycle  and make the freelance writing space better for the next generation. Because I know we don’t want to discourage the next Hemingway from picking up a pen.

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Freelance Writing Rates: How Much to Charge for Freelance Writing Services (New Data for 2022) 

posted on 6 November 2022

In this post, we will use a survey sent to 213 part-time and full-time freelance writers to determine the average freelance writing rates. Using that data, we’ll answer a question we’ve heard quite a bit in the industry. 

What should I charge? 

Of course, a new writer isn’t going to charge $1,000+ per article after one day. Writing rates are meaningless if you can’t provide the client value and ultimately drive leads and revenue for them. 

And every writer is different in terms of (1) how quickly they can write, (2) pricing models, and (3) business goals. 

So, in this review, we’ll use the new data gathered, plus our experience doing freelance writing for enterprise clients and other companies, to give you the insights you need to:

• Charge competitive rates that make the most sense for your freelance business
• Get the most out of your marketing efforts by targeting the right channels for leads

This a big post, so here’s a snippet of the patterns that emerged when we poured through the data:

What’s a fair freelance writing rate?

• $250 to $399 is the most popular rate for a 1,500 word blog post.
• $500 to $999 is the most popular rate for writing a whitepaper.
• The most popular pricing model is per project.

Key findings 💡

🙌 All freelancers earning over $100K have been writing for 2+ years. 👻 Most writers don’t charge extra for ghostwriting. Of those who do, the majority charge a premium of between 16% and 20%. 💰 Word-of-mouth referrals are the biggest sources of high-paying freelance writing gigs. 

Methodology

In this edition of Peak Freelance’s annual Freelance Writing Rates report, we surveyed 213 freelance writers to gain perspective on what they charge for writing services. 

Writers ranged from newbies (less than a year) to industry vets with over 11 years of experience. We asked questions around finding high-paying gigs, scope creep, and displaying rates on websites. 

We encourage you to share the text, data, and graphics in this report. Please cite and link back to the original.

Thoughts from our founders

We sat down with Michael Keenan and Elise Dopson, the founders of Peak Freelance, to get their reaction to the data and see what it means for freelancers in the year ahead.

• The amount of ecommerce writers surveyed was surprisingly low! I think we’ll see more writers specialize in ecommerce in coming years as brands establish their digital presence. They’ll need resources and education to market to consumers online, and freelance content writers can help them improve SEO, produce high-converting landing pages, and more.
• Average freelance writing income was at a lower rate than I expected. There is room for improvement and resource development to help writers build their skill sets, provide more value, and charge more. Community and education will be a strong theme in 2022.
• I was shocked that most writers aren’t charging more for ghostwriting services. I’ve always felt if you aren’t getting the byline, you should charge a premium for your work. A good reminder for everyone as we move into a new year! 
• I was surprised to see how experience impacts the rates freelancers charge. This likely boils down to a few things: testimonials and results to back up your work, and the confidence to charge higher rates. Beginner’s charged very low rates and found clients on content mills like Upwork.
• Whitepapers are massively undercharged for. This format has huge revenue potential for clients; they easily see how much money (or leads) they’ve collected off the back of it, which is often in the thousands. Writers: charge a reasonable rate! 
• One in five six-figure writers find high-paying writing gigs through communities. I totally identify with that… hence the creation of Peak Freelance 😉

The state of freelance writing in 2022

Freelance writers have been important business assets for years. When COVID-19 emerged and businesses and consumers moved online, freelance writers and content marketers became even more in demand. 

To understand how many freelancers arose through a pandemic, 16% of freelancers started less than a year ago as of November 2021. Some 19% reported freelancing for between one and two years. Though the majority of freelancers (65%) have been writing professionally for between two and 10 years. 

When we dove into freelance writing niches, one industry was more popular than others.

Some 27% reported working in software (SaaS). Another 14% wrote for agencies , and 12% wrote for ecommerce. 

Understanding what niches writers work in leads us to the next section. We wanted to know how much people were changing. So, we asked freelance writers to disclose their yearly earnings. 

More than half of freelance writers earn less than $30K per year 💔

The next income level was $31K and $50K, with 18% of freelance writers claiming that was their annual freelance income for 2020. When you combine the percentages of these two groups, almost three quarters of freelance writers make less than $50K per year. 

That suggests there is room for business improvement in a majority of freelance writer’s businesses. Think about your own operations. Where can you provide more value for clients to charge more? 

Of the remaining writers in the survey, 9% said they made six figures. Some 5% reported making between $100K and $125K, and 4% earned over $125K in 2020. 

When it comes to time spent versus income as a freelance writer, the longer you’ve been around, the more you earn. 

It’s probably no surprise that people bringing in larger incomes have been in business for longer. If we look at those who’ve been freelance writing for less than a year, the vast majority (91%) earn less than $30K. 

To reach the six-figure salaries, it seems you need to have been working on your business and growing it for at least a couple of years. Of those earning over $100K, all have been freelance writing for at least two years, with 65% writing for more than six years.

💰 Read about how Peak Freelance’s very own Elise Dopson grew her freelance writing business to six figures over three years.

How much should freelance writers charge?

As noted earlier, the majority of freelancers earn less than $50K, with a small percentage of writers making over $100K per year. Because of this, we wanted to know what price writers charge for different services. 

The average freelance writer charges $250-399 for a blog post

Blog posts are one of the most popular freelance writing services, with the vast majority (98%) offering it to clients. A brand’s desire for regular content and a strong presence in the search engine results page means they tap into freelance writing talent to produce blog content. 

So, what do freelancers charge for blog posts?

Between $250 and $399 was the most popular response, with 27% of respondents saying this is what they’d charge for a 1,500 word blog post. Just 8% charge four figures or more.

How much you charge per blog post impacts your overall earnings. Of writers that break the six-figure yearly income mark, half charge at least $1,000 per blog post. A quarter demands more than $1,500 for a single 1,500 word article. 

Just 10% of six-figure freelance writers charge less than $399 for a blog post.

The average freelance writer charges $500-999 for a whitepaper

Whitepapers are longer than blog posts. Brands typically use them to attract leads, especially if the whitepaper is gated (hidden behind an email capture form). 

Almost half of the writers in our survey offer whitepaper writing services to clients. 

The most popular rate was between $500 and $999, with almost three in 10 respondents claiming that to be their whitepaper writing rate. 

However, 55% charge more than $1,000 per whitepaper. Some 17% charged more than $3,000.

An interesting trend we noticed was that more experienced writers take on whitepaper assignments. 

Some 60% of writers with six or more years under their belt take on whitepapers, compared to 44% of writers with less than that. 

The average freelance writer charges $99-$249 for an email 

Email writing is another popular service that freelancers offer. Half of surveyed writers produce this type of content for clients. 

As the graph below shows, 39% charge less than $99 for an email, followed by 32% charging between $100 and $249. 

For writers that don’t specialize in email copywriting, this seems to be a lower-priced service, with only 4% charging more than $600 per email. 

The average freelance writer charges 16-20% extra for ghostwriting

A freelance ghostwriter offers content writing services to clients. The only difference is their name isn’t attached to the piece when published. 

Out of the freelance writers we surveyed, the majority (83%) take on ghostwriting work. 

Interestingly, just 36% of those writers charge an additional fee if their name is scrapped from the published piece. Of those who do charge extra, almost half whack on at least a 16% premium to their ghostwriting project rate. 

How to choose a pricing model

To set a freelance writing rate, you need a pricing model—the method you use to develop a figure for the client.  

The most popular pricing model is a flat fee per project, with 63% opting for this method when pricing freelance projects. They give the client a figure based on the project scope, rather than the minor details (like word count or hours of their time).

However, per word rates comes in as second most popular. Around one in five writers prefer to charge per word; some 11% bill an hourly rate for time spent on the project. A very small number by revenue share (1%). 

Charging a flat rate per project is the most popular option, no matter how many years of experience writers have—though 84% of those charging by the word are in their first year of business. 

It suggests that many agree with this content writer who anonymously said:

“I started with per word pricing but as I gained experience I realized it didn’t truly reflect the work needed to create a high quality post. So I switched to per project rates.”

Wondering why per project pricing comes top? We received lots of comments about the benefits of pricing per project. This respondent sums up what many had to say:

“Per project factors in research , thinking time, writing, editing and procrastination. It’s easier to quote what you’re worth. With per-hour and per-word anything other than the actual writing of the words becomes harder to justify and/or is commonly queried by clients.”

Dealing with revisions and scope creep

Clients asking for revisions is a normal part of writing. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll nail things the first time around. Different clients have different expectations.

We asked our writers how many rounds of revisions they would typically include within their regular rate before charging extra.

Almost all writers (98%) include at least one round of revisions within their standard rate. It’s a fairly even split between those including one round (46%) and two rounds (44%). Some 8% will include three or more rounds within their standard fee.

Revisions may be routine, but what do you do if you start work on a project and realize it is far more extensive than expected?

Responses from our writers varied widely on the topic of scope creep. When the situation happens, most writers (44%) would ask the client for an increase in the budget as soon as it becomes clear the work is more considerable. Some 8% would wait until they submitted a draft to ask for an increase.

Worryingly, almost a third would not say anything at all, and absorb the cost of scope creep—likely to avoid the awkward conversation with the client.  

There were a lot of comments on this question. Most people tend to make decisions based on the specific circumstances. 

Many felt that making an error with quoting would be their fault, so they should be the ones to absorb the costs. But if the project scope had changed, they would review the fee:

“If I’ve misjudged the scope of the project, that’s my fault and I work to the agreed rate. If, however, the client moves the goalposts or adds to the scope after we’ve agreed the fee, I tell them straight away and revise the fee.”

For a lot of freelancers, approaching the difficult conversation of scope creep depends on the relationship they have with the client:

“It all depends on the client. I request a change for long-term clients. For clients I work with sporadically, I tend not to ask for anything additional.”

While many wouldn’t ask for an increase on a current project, they would mention the issue so that clients were aware future projects would cost more.

“If it’s a one off project I’d absorb it at my loss. If there’s potential for an ongoing relationship I’d be honest and say I underquoted on this one, so they’re aware future jobs may cost more.”

Should I show my rates on my website?

Still unsure on whether to show your rates on your website? If you keep them hidden behind email, you’re in good company. 

Around three quarters of freelance writers do not display rates on their website.

Comments on this topic suggest it is not a straightforward yes or no question. Quite a few writers don’t have a website at all. Many people don’t display detailed rates but do have a “starting from” rate to give potential clients an approximate idea of costs.

“Some clients have a smaller budget. I want to be flexible as much as I can, yet still stay within amounts I’m comfortable with. I know what the lowest rate I am willing to go is, so I want to hear what their budget is before I give a fixed rate. It has allowed me to work with clients and build my portfolio without worry of turning down clients.”

The most common reasons for not displaying rates? Flexibility and having rates that vary significantly between clients.

“I don’t want pricing to scare folks away in case I need to pick up business quickly, or it’s a company I really believe in and would be willing to do work for at a discount. I’d rather folks reach out so I can screen and potentially have the conversation.”

Of those that do display rates on their freelance writing website , the reasons include helping clients make an informed choice and weeding our time wasters.

“Ghosting has become a big problem. Lots of leads and enthusiastic intro calls, but silence as soon as I sent proposals. Publishing guide rates on my site has filtered out the low-end clients, so the ones I end up speaking to know my approximate cost and are more likely to convert.”

Where do freelancers find high-paying gigs?

This one is the million-dollar question, regardless of how long you’ve been freelancing for:

Where do people find lucrative high-paying freelance writing gigs ?

Our survey shows the most effective way to get jobs is through referrals and word-of-mouth, with 42% voting it as the channel that drives the highest-paying freelance gigs. 

That’s followed by social media (17%), cold pitching (11%), communities (14%) and freelance writing job boards (6%).

For writers earning six figures, the majority (85%) of their work comes through referrals and word of mouth, compared to just 64% of those earning under $30K finding work in this way. It is clear that making contacts and building relationships can have a huge impact on your career.

Do your freelance writer rates fall short?

Running this survey has given a fascinating snapshot into how and why writers set their rates as they do.

Charging per project is definitely the most popular pricing method across all levels of experience. It appears to be the method most people move to as they build experience and start increasing their rates.

If you’ve dove into the results of this survey and found your own freelance writing rate falls short, now’s the time to raise them.

Comments suggest people start off very cautiously with their pricing but gradually increase their rates as they gain experience and as they start to see the value they are bringing to clients.

“My first retainer gig with a content agency was $300/post. Using that as a baseline anytime I took on a new client I’ve added 10-20% to my rate, maybe a little more if it’s right in my niche.”

Either way, being upfront about your rates in advance of meeting clients appears to be surprisingly controversial. Many people value the flexibility of being able to vary their rates depending on the client.

There is a strong argument, though, to at least display a ballpark range or “starting from” figure to save wasting time on calls with clients that will never end up working with you.

Ready to scale your freelance writing business?

Peak Freelance is the support group we wish we had when building our freelance writing businesses to six-figures.

Become an All Access member and get access to:

• A private community to make friends and network.
• Expert interviews with content managers and successful freelancers like Kat Boogaard, Kaleigh Moore, and Joel Klettke.
• Monthly Zoom calls with other freelance writers.
• A members podcast sharing unGoogleable freelance writing tips for scaling a business.
• Pro courses, templates, and worksheets to make your business more efficient. 

About Elise Dopson

Elise Dopson is a freelance writer leading B2B SaaS companies. She has bylines on sites like Shopify, Content Marketing Institute, and Business Insider. She's also the founder of Help a B2B writer, a service that connects B2B writers with top-quality sources.

More posts from Elise 👉

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What’s an Average Freelance Writer Salary in 2024?

Kylie Burgener

Kylie Jackson Burgener is a mother of three and a freelance consultant, specializing in public relations, writing and content marketing. She is a cofounder of Measured Melodies, a leveled piano sheet music system for piano teachers and students. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her family. Learn more »

Average freelance writer salary

How to charge as a freelance writer.

BIG NEWS! We just released The Freelance Files , a collection of professional done-for-you email scripts, contracts, invoices, and more for smarter freelancing. The first 50 customers, save 50% with this link .

For a variety of reasons, freelance writing is rapidly becoming more popular. Opportunities abound, and the flexibility afforded in being your own boss is enough to have many people questioning—can I really make a living with a freelance writer salary?

I won’t make you read to the end— the answer is definitely yes .

However, if you are considering diving into the world of freelance writing, you are probably looking for a little more detail. A freelance writer salary varies wildly depending on your goals, your skills and experience, the type of work you do and the amount of effort you are willing to put in.

Whether you are just starting out, or are a seasoned gig worker, as you settle in to your career it is useful to know what the average freelance writer salary is, so you can determine how much to charge, whether you are earning a fair rate, what types of clients you should look for and what you can aspire to.

Like most professions, it is impossible to predict exactly what a freelance writer salary will look like without knowing who they are working for, how many hours they are putting in, how fast they work and a variety of other factors.

So instead of asking what a freelance writer salary is on an annual or even monthly basis, it is sometimes more useful to compare what different writers charge hourly or per word. Here are some average freelance writer salary rates for different types of writing to help you get a feel for what to expect.

Freelance journalism is a rewarding career. Journalists often write about exciting topics, help sway public opinion and may get to rub shoulders with the movers and shakers of the world.

Except for a lucky few A-listers, the journalists do not make the highest freelance writer salary of the group. However, you can sometimes expect to enjoy other perks, such as a travel allowance and networking opportunities.

A freelance journalist makes, on average, $56,000 per year.

Copywriters

Usually in the context of the advertising industry, copywriters write the words that appear on collateral material such as brochures, flyers, print ads, websites, and more. Copywriters enjoy a wide variety of subjects and generally have lots of creative opportunities.

Copywriters earn an average of $21.55 per hour.

Social media writers

Writing for social media is an interesting beast. On the one hand, crafting posts that will yield a good ROI for clients takes a lot of talent, and skilled writers in this category are in high demand. On the other hand, social media content is generally short, quippy and not a lot of words. With this in mind, most social media writers do not charge per word or hourly, but on retainer.

A social media freelance writer salary averages between $1000-$3000 monthly.

Technical writers

Technical writing takes a bit more background knowledge to do well. Technical writers take complex data and turn it into easily consumable material. Think user manuals, how-to guides, infographics, that kind of thing.

A technical writer might be someone who has worked in a specific industry, or just someone with excellent research skills. Due to the additional expertise needed to fill this job, a technical writer may have a higher than average freelance writer salary.

Experienced remote technical writers can charge between $.25 and $1.00 per word.

Many blog owners outsource at least some of their posts to freelance writers. Blogging is a great entry level gig for someone looking to get started in a writing career. You need a basic understanding of SEO and a decent social media presence, in addition to your writing skills, to become a successful freelance blog writer.

Once you find a niche and a good rotation of blogs to contribute to, the average freelance writer salary for bloggers is between $50-$200 per post.

Knowing the various types of writing and what freelancers charge gives you a great base to determine what kind of freelance writer salary you can expect, but deciding how much to charge is a bit more complex than just picking an average number.

In general, there are three things to consider before setting a rate as a freelance writer: your experience, the industry you are working in, and your goals as a freelancer.

Experience. Writers with some years under their belt can expect to earn a higher freelance writer salary than someone just starting out.

That said, the amount of time you have been an active writer is not the only factor that goes into how much you make. Your skill level, any classes you have taken or certifications you have earned and the strength of your portfolio are all great ways to showcase your expertise .

It is usually wise to start out at a lower rate in order to get clients, and then gradually work your way up to charging more as you gain experience. Don’t forget to make the adjustment when you feel you are ready.

Industry. As illustrated in the above list of average freelance writer salaries, not all types of writing are worth the same amount. Technical writers and copywriters generally make the most per hour, while content writers will need to take on more clients to earn an equal amount.

Additionally, the types of clients you work for will determine how much you can charge. Large corporations often have a dedicated budget for contractors and will be able to pay more, although the competition for jobs is also steeper. Working with small businesses or other freelancers may mean you have to compromise on rates, but these kinds of projects can be a great way to build your portfolio.

Goals. Some freelance writers are looking for the true nomad lifestyle , able to earn enough to consistently travel, work from anywhere, and have complete freedom over their schedule. Others are hoping to earn a little extra cash on the side of their full-time job, or stay active in the workforce while caring for young kids.

No matter your reason for entering the freelance market, your goals will affect the way you run your business and how much you charge.

The goals you have for your career will likely change over time, so just check in with yourself occasionally to ensure that your pricing structure makes sense.

Once you have established which end of the scale your writing career falls on, you need to make decisions about how you will bill clients. Typically, a freelance writer salary is made up of hourly rates, a per project cost, per word charge, or monthly retainers. Each is a valid way to structure your business, and each makes sense in different circumstances.

• Charging per hour allows you to get paid accurately for the amount of time you spend.
• You set a rate that you consistently charge, and then you are able to control your freelance writer salary by the amount of hours you dedicate to work each month.
• If you are a fast worker, you may get paid less for some projects than you really deserve.
• You need to carefully track all of your time spent working.

Project Based

• A project based model means you know exactly how much money you will make each time you take on a project.
• Often, efficient workers make more money by charging per project instead of per hour.
• You needn’t track your time in order to accurately invoice clients.
• It can be difficult to estimate exactly how long a project will take, so on occasion you will be under-charging for work.
• Project based invoicing is susceptible to scope creep.

Cost Per Word

• Some clients will pay a high per-word rate when they wouldn’t pay a higher hourly or project rate, because they like seeing exactly what they are getting for their money.
• Charging per word can help limit the scope of an article, because clients won’t want to pay more for longer content.
• If you finish the subject matter in fewer words, you will make less money than you thought you would.
• You won’t get paid for the research, client meetings or other interviews you do as part of the article.

Monthly Retainer

• Monthly retainers give you the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much your freelance writer salary will be.
• You make the same amount of money even if business is slow.
• Retainer clients are hard to find, since the advantage of hiring freelancers is the flexibility offered.
• You cannot up-charge clients if you are required to do more work in a given month.
• It can be difficult to increase your retainer once it is set.

The average freelance writer salary is excellent information to know when you are getting your freelance career started, but remember that it is only one piece of the puzzle. You can expect to make more or less than that average based on your experience, the goals of your business and your writing niche.

It is up to you to take the steps necessary to thrive as a freelancer. Build that portfolio, value your own work, set and achieve goals on a regular basis, and build a strong network of like-minded professionals around you, and you will boost your freelance writer salary in no time.

Learn more about how to become a freelance writer here .

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Freelancing Growth Money

Written by Kylie Burgener

Staff at millo.co.

Kylie Jackson Burgener is a mother of three and a freelance consultant, specializing in public relations, writing and content marketing. She is a cofounder of  Measured Melodies , a leveled piano sheet music system for piano teachers and students. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her family.

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• Freelance Writer Rates: What's a Normal Per Word or…

Freelance Writer Rates: What's a Normal Per Word or Hourly Rate?

If you're a business looking to get a writer to handle your blog, you will run into the complex world of pricing. Some writers charge a lot! Some charge a minimal amount. You might be suspicious of the price points you see, and with good reason. There are a lot of questions that spring up.

• Is this rate higher than the service is worth?
• Is this rate  lower  than the service is worth?
• Does this rate include additional non-copywriting services?

Pricing for writing can be broadly varied, and there are many considerations that you should keep in mind. I want to do what I can to elucidate freelance writing rates with some guidelines for those who haven't been steeped in it for a decade as I have.

Let's dig into the subject, shall we?

30 Second Summary

Businesses seeking blog writers face various pricing models: per-word, per-project, per-hour, and retainer. Per-word is exact but can lead to fluctuating costs; per-project provides stability but may exclude extras like research and images. Hourly rates depend on writer efficiency and range of services, and retainer pricing promises stability but might necessitate an employee classification. Prices, varying vastly, typically reflect quality - cheap, fast, or good, pick two. Rates generally fall into three tiers: low, where you risk poor quality or plagiarism; middle, a reasonable balance of price and quality; and high, where you pay for expertise, marketing, and successful content. Lotto avoid pitfalls, don't underspend on content or overspend on quantity over quality.

Varying Pricing Methodologies

There are generally four pricing models for writing. This post is largely focused on one (pay-per-word articles), but I want to touch on the others as well.

Price Per Word

One of the most common pricing models is the per-word model. Content mills like Textbroker commonly use the pay-per-word model, and it's the model used by many freelance writers and used throughout various publishing programs.

This model is great because you pay for exactly what you get, no more, no less. You know what you're ordering, and the writer provides.

It has a few drawbacks, though.

• Unless your writer strives to write the exact word article count every time – to the point of adjusting sentences to meet it – your precise cost per week/month will vary. It will usually be within a specific budgetary range, but the price will change with every new article.
• A sentence full of fluff and a sentence tightly focused on the subject cost the same. Low-tier writers will fluff up their posts to get paid for less effort on their parts.
• Additional Services. Do you want the writer to research, publish through your CMS, and find and use images? You'll have to negotiate additional fees for those services.

I'll talk more about this model throughout this post since it's the article's subject as a whole. For now, suffice to say that it's ubiquitous in this industry, though not always the best.

Price Per Project

The second option, which is very common amongst mid-tier and high-tier freelancers, is a price-per-project model, and it's also prevalent in the publishing industry. For example, novelists get paid per project at a flat rate, with an advance and a cut of profits from their future sales.

Pricing per project has some advantages, like stability. You know that, say, a given blog post will cost you $200 every time you order one, regardless of subject, exact word count, or complexity. These predictable flat fees can be good for both businesses and writers, who value consistency.

On the other hand, the price per project cannot include additional services, like research/images/publishing. It depends on whether you're hiring the writer to write copy or manage content, and one will be somewhat more expensive than the other.

Price Per Hour

A per-hour rate is familiar with some types of freelancing but not with others. In the world of blogging and copywriting, a per-hour rate is typically seen with freelancers who do more than just content writing. If they're doing research, finding and editing images, handling publication, handling promotion, monitoring analytics - all of that requires money, and the easiest way to charge for it is a per-hour rate.

A per-hour rate can be more expensive (or less expensive) than comparable services in other pricing plans. Freelance writer rates vary a lot and depend on their efficiency, the services rendered, and more. I often find that it's more expensive, but it changes from freelancer to freelancer.

Whether you decide to hire a part-time or full-time writer, be mindful that there are only so many words of quality content that a person can create in a certain amount of time. Depending on the type of content, a single blog post can take an entire day, and a whitepaper could take a full week. As an extreme example, a large eBook can take months to finish. Hiring a writer by the hour doesn't necessarily mean you can squeeze as much as possible out of them and maintain a high level of quality.

Retainer Pricing

Retainer pricing is the ultimate in stability but runs into other problems. Essentially, you pay your freelancer a fixed fee each week/month, and they render services as needed. Sometimes that might be 10 hours' worth of work; sometimes, it might be 30. If the work adds up too much, the freelancer might want to negotiate a higher rate to better compensate them for the work they're doing. Or, you may just end up with a large invoice at the end of the month for your entire content calendar .

The biggest issue with this is that it becomes very similar to a salaried position . In that case, you can run into labor laws that require you to classify them as an employee rather than a freelancer, with all the details that entail, like benefits and other labor laws.

On the other hand, you might pay them a fixed monthly fee for a set amount of work, like when you're contracting a content marketing agency. Then you're simply hiring an outside firm to handle outsourcing your content marketing.

Is one of these models better than the others? Not really. They all exist because there are use cases for them, and it all depends on the services you need and the individuals or companies offering them.

Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick Two

There's common wisdom in commerce that there are three qualities every service can have: it can be good, it can be fast, and it can be cheap.

You can never get all three; you have to pick two.

• Good, fast work won't be cheap.
• Good, cheap work won't be fast.
• Fast, cheap work won't be good.

This saying became popular because  work requires investment . You can invest in either time or money. You can get good work for a low rate if you don't have time constraints. You can get good work fast if you have the money to spend on prioritizing it. And, if you don't want to invest time or money, you can get work, but it won't be good.

I have to bring this up because one of the pitfalls of per-word pricing is very little reinforcement of this triangle. Per-word rates can be below-average and will still give you great content if you give the freelance writer time to make it. However, the writer gets paid the same amount whether they give you their project in a day or a month.

From the writer's perspective, they have to balance their work with numerous clients, prioritizing the projects with the best effort-to-return ratio. If your project is very complex, and someone else's is simple, they'll write the straightforward content first. You have to wait simply because someone else is asking for less.

This scenario can even vary from week to week, and different volumes of work at various times change the equation for the freelance writer. They also have to consider longevity; if they go above and beyond to work with you, are you more likely to stick with them for years, or do they suspect you're only in it for a few weeks or months? They'll usually prioritize consistent work over valuable work because it eliminates a significant source of stress for a freelancer.

The Broad Range of Per-Word Prices

If you spend any time looking for a freelance content writer online, you'll see a large variety of freelance writing rates, from a penny per word to $1.50 per word or more.

We create blog content that converts - not just for ourselves, but for our clients, too.

We pick blog topics like hedge funds pick stocks. Then, we create articles that are 10x better to earn the top spot.

Content marketing has two ingredients - content and marketing. We've earned our black belts in both.

Let's dig into each of the different rates and pricing tiers and what you can expect from them:

At the cheapest level, you can find writers offering their services for $0.01 to $0.03 per word.

These writers typically fall into one of a few categories.

• For such a low price rate, it's barely worth spending time looking into a topic. These writers will Google the subject, find content that suits, run it through an article spinner or quickly rewrite it and send it over. This is especially common with gigs on freelance writing businesses, content mills, and other affordable writing services.
• At such a low price, it's entirely possible that the freelance writer finds content out in the wild, copies and pastes it for you, and calls it a day. You aren't paying enough for original thought, after all.
• ESL/Foreign. Sometimes a writer lives in a region where the cost of living is so low that they can charge a low fee and still make a decent living. In many cases, the writers are often not entirely familiar with the language you want them to write in and might produce sub-par content. Grammatical errors, typos, and funky-sounding paragraphs could kill your rankings.
• Poor Quality. Good, Fast, Cheap; you've picked Cheap. Good is relative.
• You'll rarely find a good blogger toiling away for sub-par rates. It's possible, of course, but it's hard to say how long that situation will last and if they'll remain reliable.

These situations are, of course, usually why it's better to avoid these price ranges when creating writing jobs. Sure, you might find a diamond in the rough, but you'll have to dig through a lot of freelance writers to get one, and it's not worth the time, effort, or energy to sort through. These are mostly brand new writers or individuals who speak English as a second language.

Quality articles can take days to write when you factor in research, graphic design, editing, formatting, optimizing, and other critical steps.

Middle-Tier

A somewhat higher level price rate is around $0.05 to $0.20 per word. This rate is middle-to-high-end content mill writing, the kind of content you see at the 4-5-star level on sites like Writer Access or Upwork, and the quality you'll find in private teams and curated love lists. It's uncommon to find any quality assignments on most of these websites, as most open assignments are 500-word articles on average or occasional 1,000-word articles.

This rate range is also the rate for freelancers who are confident in their skills, produce decent content, and either lack confidence or lack a client list.

Remember that if you're going through a content mill, the freelance writer is getting paid less than you're paying. The mill takes their cut, after all. They do provide a service – they protect you from bad writers, protect writers from bad clients, and do copyright checks – but if you can handle that on your own, a content mill isn't worth it.

Working with a freelancer directly when they charge this much is the peak of the bell curve, where the majority of businesses and freelancers work. It's a reasonable rate and a natural balance between price and quality.

The higher tiers of freelancing are all over the place. There are experienced writers out there working for high rates between $0.25 to $1.50 per word, and that's an extensive price range. The quality between those ranges could vary drastically, or not at all.

This range is hard to generalize because there aren't many writers capable of producing content at this price point. More out there think that their writing skills place them in this category, but it's very uncommon, and they don't have a lot of success with repeat clients. Plus, the writers genuinely worth this price are hard to find because they tend to find a stable client or a writing career and roll with it. They don't actively seek more work because they don't necessarily have to.

These top-tier writers usually have personal blogs of their own, and they may be industry authorities and icons themselves. At that point, you're barely hiring them as writers; your pay rate is a consulting fee to produce content for you.

These writers do a lot more than write, too, of course. They do SEO work, social media marketing, and email marketing, they can promote content with their audiences, and they do everything required for your content to succeed with little to no revisions. They usually have a wide range of high-profile clients, years of writing experience, and their articles are very successful. They're worth every penny, but they don't come cheap, and you'll never have to worry about proofreading.

Traps and Pitfalls

When hiring a freelance writer to handle your blog, you have a lot to think about.

One of the most common mistakes I see people make is when they cheap out on services. You have a small budget and want to conserve it, so you hire writers for low prices.

This practice is a mistake because it's going to get you nothing. Sure, you'll get writing, but is the writing any good? Or is it absolute surface level, bare-minimum kind of stuff? Does it have any focus on SEO, any deep research? Probably not.

When you under-pay for content, you lose out on:

• You're not paying the writer enough for them to think about what they're writing or perform the necessary research. It might be information off the top of their head or thin surface-level content that doesn't satisfy your visitor's search query.
• A writer who is an expert in a subject is going to charge expert rates. Everyone else is just parroting Google search results.
• Additional services. Promotion, research, SEO, images, fact-checking; all of these are services that you don't get when you pay a low rate.

Remember, writing is just part of the content marketing process; marketing is the other half. User experience, CRO, and SEO are equally important, and if somebody isn't doing those things, then your content won't perform as well as it should.

That is, a shotgun filled with birdshot fills the air in a given zone with pellets, increasing the likelihood that at least one of them will hit a flying bird. The bird is small and fragile, so only one shot needs to hit.

In blogging, the concept then becomes, the more blog posts you have published and produced, the more likely one is to hit an audience and go viral. This strategy is how sites like HuffPo and Buzzfeed got their start.

The problem is that the less investment each post has, the smaller the pellet and the broader the area it must fill. The overwhelming majority of businesses cannot afford to fill the air with enough pellets to succeed. They try to hire cheap freelance writers to produce new posts every day, and it just doesn't work.

What works much better is condensing that budget into single shots, with the time taken to aim. A single shot with one hit, that's all you need. It's more expensive per post, but you only need one post weekly;  the frequency isn't that important .

Write Right

I strongly encourage everyone to invest in high-quality writing, especially when your writer is ghostwriting your content and your name and face are on it.

You want that "Good" in the "Good Fast Cheap" triad at all costs, and it's up to you to balance whether you're investing in it with time or money. I recommend money. If you invest money into blogging and start slow, once your blog begins to bring in returns, you can reinvest those returns in ramping up your blog. It's harder to do that the other way around.

James Parsons is the founder and CEO of Content Powered, a premier content marketing agency that leverages nearly two decades of his experience in content marketing to drive business growth. Renowned for founding and scaling multi-million dollar eCommerce businesses through strategic content marketing, James has become a trusted voice in the industry, sharing his insights in Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc, and other leading publications. His background encompasses key roles across various agencies, contributing to the content strategies of major brands like eBay and Expedia. James's expertise spans SEO, conversion rate optimization, and effective content strategies, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.

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January 27, 2022 at 6:57 pm

Thank you! This gives me a good idea of how much I should budget for this. I definitely agree that investing in high-quality writing is a must.

January 28, 2022 at 5:22 pm

Thanks, Bryce! I'm happy this was useful to you. Good luck with your hire!

September 09, 2022 at 11:25 pm

Hi! Are blog writing rates different from say, writing an instruction manual? I found this content very useful by the way, thank you!

October 07, 2022 at 7:59 pm

You're welcome!

This is called "technical writing" and it's usualy more expensive than ordinary article writing. I wrote a guide on Technical Writing here: https://www.contentpowered.com/blog/guide-what-technical-writers/

December 03, 2022 at 7:24 am

This is very helpful and insightful. How we can find long term clients who can pay us well!

December 05, 2022 at 1:50 pm

Thanks Monika!

My best advice is to apply to jobs on job boards, write cover letters, and do a great job for those clients. After picking up a handful of different clients you'll find that some are more stable and like your work better than the rest, and you can focus your efforts more on your best clients.

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• 24 Successful Freelance Article Pitch Examples
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How Much You Should Charge for a 500-Word Article

January 30, 2023

This blog post about pricing your work, particularly how much to charge for 500 word article, and making sure you’re getting paid what you’re worth as a freelancer is one of the most popular blogs on my site.

That’s because how much writers get paid per article, how much freelancers charge for a 500-word article, for a freelance project, and freelancers’ rates per word are, well, all over the map. In this freelance writing blog post, I’ll break down important factors to consider when you’re pricing your freelance work, and pricing mistakes freelancers can’t afford to make. (Wondering how much freelancers can earn daily ? I’ve got that covered, too!)

Learn more about how to get started freelance writing with my e-book  100+ Tips for Beginner Freelance Writers.

How Much to Charge for 500-Word Article?

• For one interview source when writing for an editorial brand, I aim to earn at least $0.75 a word when I’m thinking about how much to charge for 500-word article, and it depends on the topic. That averages to at least $375 for an article. For content marketing clients, I’m in the $1/word range for freelance writing assignments.

• Wondering how long should a 500-word article take to write? Hopefully, completing that 500-word freelance article takes me two hours to three hours or less, depending on how familiar I am with the topic, so my hourly freelance rate seems like it is pretty good.

(For some clients, I don’t have to do much freelance research and I’m familiar with the topic, so my hourly rate is closer to $600 an hour for a freelance article. Yes, you read that right!)

• Remember, that’s my gross rate for a freelance assignment. When I estimate that at least 25 percent needs to be put away for taxes, that article rate can drop down below $300 for an assignment.

If you’re just starting out as a freelance writer and using this time to build up experience and get clips so you can raise your rates later, you might need to settle for a lower rate and be flexible as you consider how much to charge for 500 word article in the beginning.

Avoid These 4 Common Rate Mistakes Freelancers Make When Pricing Their Work

1.  You’re not factoring in the time you already spent researching an idea before it was approved in. your quote of how much to charge for 500 word article. (I’ll tell you how long I think freelancers should spend researching an article idea in this blog post.)

If you’re sending a strong pitch, you’re probably spending at least 30 minutes researching and reading about the topic and considering sources. Estimate another 10 minutes or so trying to make sure the article wasn’t written by that publication already.

Tack that on to the article writing time I stated above and you might be at three to four hours of work already. That’s why it’s important to quote a fair price before you let the client know how much you’ll charge for a 500-word article.

2.  You’re not factoring in back-and-forth time for edits . Some editors say, “Thanks!” process your invoice, and then you don’t see the piece until it’s live. (Sometimes that’s a good thing, other times it’s not if they’re a heavy-handed editor and misconstrued something you wrote with their edits.)

Some editors will have a ton of edits and questions and you’ll need to go back to a source (or find new ones) to get a question answered. If the story is for a print magazine , it’s probably going through at least two (or three to five) rounds of edits, not to mention a fact checker and copyeditor.

The more you have to keep reworking something you already turned in, the lower your hourly rate is. (This is why it’s helpful to learn how to write faster .)  I think of it like this–the more time I’m spending on a piece I already turned in, the less time I have to work on an article for another client or pitch ideas. (Here’s how to find editors to pitch your article ideas to .)

3. You’re not factoring in time for transcribing . If you’re recording interviews over the phone and then transcribing them yourself later, it can take hours to type up those notes. Some editors want you to send over complete transcribed interview notes.

It’s my personal preference to record an interview and just be “in the moment” in the conversation so I’m more in tune with appropriate follow-up questions. I’ll transcribe the interview later or send them out to a service that does it.

(That’s one of my secrets of spending money efficiently so I can earn more money .)

4.  You’re not factoring in the “onboarding” time when you think about how much to charge for 500 word article . Some clients have a ton of paperwork for you to print out, review, sign, and scan back to them. This is usually a one-time hassle but it still takes about 15 minutes. (Here’s  my number-one tip for procrastinating writers .)

Here’s How Long it Takes to Write a 500-Word Freelance Article

Here’s a sample of how long it might take me to write a one-interview, 500-word article based on light research, if I’m not very familiar with the subject, and if it’s a new editor I’m working with. (If I’m working for a client I’m familiar with in a freelance niche I’m use to, I could usually get this type of piece done in about 1.5 hours and then factor in 15 to 30 minutes of edits.)

Keep these elements in mind when factoring in your freelance quote for how much to charge for 500 word article. (So ask for more money!)

• Research the topic, read up about it, and consider whom I’d interview. (30 minutes) • Determine the best outlet for the article. Then, who to pitch at that outlet specifically. (15-25 minutes) • Craft the perfect pitch email. (15-25 minutes) (Read freelance article pitches that worked .) • Get the assignment accepted and conduct some back and forth emails with an editor on the assignment details: word count, rate, due date, making sure that who I planned to interview is the type of person they’d want me to interview. (15 minutes) • Finding the right source, which may mean going through an association’s media relations department, contacting them, and explaining who I am and who I want to speak to. (15-30 minutes) • Securing the source’s email, introducing myself, emailing the details about the article and determining the best time to talk to them on the phone for about 15 minutes. (10 minutes) • Review the assignment, write up questions for my source that pertain to the article (10-15 minutes) • Do the interview with the expert and record it. (15-30 minutes) • Transcribe the interview. (30-45 minutes) • Write the article. Again, this is the time to review the assignment (did the freelance client want five tips or 10?), and make sure whatever you were instructed to include in the article is there. (60-90 minutes) • Send article to the editor. (5 minutes) • Get edits back from an editor or clarify their questions. I might need to go back to a study, reread it, and get a new stat, go through my interview notes, or provide something else. (20-30 minutes) • Send the article back to the editor for final approval. (5 minutes) • Create an invoice and send it to the appropriate contact. (5 minutes) • Once the article is LIVE online, I’ll share it in my social media channels, email the source(s) with the link as well as my clients’ social media handles and mine. (10 minutes) • This is a good time to reconnect with the editor and provide another article idea. • Stalk mailbox or bank account for the next 30-45 days for your payment. If this takes longer, you might need to reach out to the editor, accounting department, or someone else at the company to make sure they have all of your paperwork and cut the check. (5-10 minutes)

On a conservative estimate of these timeframes, I’m up to about 270 minutes, about 4 hours and 30 minutes.

It’s funny, I estimated the writing process breakdown to be about two to three hours, but I wasn’t factoring in all the emails I send and those back-and-forth exchanges–they add up! Learn more about how many hours freelancers write each week .

With this breakdown, you can see that a $300 NET paid article that takes over four hours (including researching, writing, and back and forth time), puts me at $67/hour rate for all the work done when I’m accounting for the little things. Knowing. how much to charge for 500 word article ensures I’m getting a good freelance rate, even when the assignment takes longer than I thought.

Rates differ a lot from client to client, and my rates change depending on the scope of the project, the type of work, and how busy I am. For my freelance writing business, rates are a fluid component, but it’s important to have a goal in mind of what you want your “hourly rate” to be when you’re pricing out article assignments.

If you’re interested in learning more about my freelance writing tips, enroll in my self-directed  Freelance Writing Online Course !

What do you think about the breakdown of this process? Is it accurate for you?

Tags: freelance rates , freelance tips , freelance writer , freelance writing , freelance writing course , freelance writing tips , freelancer , how to make more money , making six figures freelancing , productivity , six figure freelancing , six figure income , writing rates

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How Much Do Freelance Writers Make Per Article?

Talking about money, especially how much a person gets paid, has long been a cultural taboo. In the employment world and freelance world alike, this has led to chronic underpayment because, at one point, so many people don't realize they're undercharging. Freelance writers are no exception, but it turns out that being hush-hush on how much writers make ends up hurting the industry and those who benefit from it. Let's put an end to that today by digging into freelance rates for writing work and how much writers should charge per article.

First things first: Charge per project, not per hour

Before we dig into some numbers, let's talk about how freelance writers should charge for their work. The biggest question freelance writers have when coming into the business is whether they should be paid per word, per project, or per hour. With few exceptions, always charge clients based on per-project or per-word rates, not per hour. Use this as a general guideline for your freelance writing business:

• Let's say a client asks you to do two articles, and you provide an hourly rate for the task. Let's say your hourly rate is $25, and each article is about 750 words. Your pay will be $25. Now, let's say you charge per word for this writing task. If your rate is $0.05 per word, you can earn $75 for the two articles.
• Proofreading is a time-consuming task, and we recommend charging clients per page or per hour for these types of projects. Per page rates work well for business writing like white papers and proofreading academic work, while per hour rates work well for magazine articles and blog posts. The average hourly wage for these services will depend on your experience and how much a client is willing to pay, and can range from $10 per hour all the way up to $100 per hour.
• Writing an 'easy' article, on the other hand, can take as little as two hours if you jump right into it, or a few days, depending on the job. If you spend more than half of that time doing research, a client may feel like you're trying to cheat him/her on a job and payment terms may break down. Charging per word in these instances works best for everyone.

Charging per word benefits both you and the client. For one, clients care about their completed project, not how long it takes you to do research and write an article. Sometimes, it's difficult to tell how many hours it will take to write an article. Charging per project makes it easier for them to know what they'll get and for what price from day one, and there won't be any surprises when an invoice for hourly rates comes in.

Per-project rates benefit writers too. As freelance writers gain writing experience, most writers learn how to complete projects faster. Your writing work shouldn't cost less as you learn to do it more efficiently.

How much should freelance writers charge per article?

So, the nitty-gritty: how much should you earn for your work? First of all, don't compare freelance income to an employed writer's salary. Freelancers aren't just writing, we're running a freelance writing business, so it makes sense to value that added responsibility.

Remember that freelance writers also have more expenses, including paying about twice as much in taxes. All this means a freelance writer's income should be significantly higher than a writer with traditional employment, although it can take time to build up to it.

The fact is that there's a massive range of prices freelance writers charge. You'll regularly see freelance writing rates ranging anywhere from $.05 to $1 per word or more. A good rule of thumb for a new writer is to start around that lower end, perhaps $.06-$.08 per word, and gradually move up from there as you improve your freelance writing skills.

Keep in mind that some writers translate their per-word rate into a per-article rate. For instance, you might want to make $.10 per word, so you price a 1000-word article at $100, even if the exact word count ends up anywhere between 950 to 1050 words. (Always try to stay within the agreed word count for each article. Some clients may not be willing to pay extra if you write more words) Regardless of how you price projects, always be clear about the per-project rate and payment terms from day one. Life is easier for freelancers and clients alike when everyone's on the same page rather than waiting and bickering about prices when the invoice arrives.

Factors That Affect Your Freelance Writing Rates

Within that huge range of prices above, how do you know where you should land? Take these many factors into account when setting your freelance writing rates :

Type of Work

Most types of freelancing allow writers to set or negotiate their rates, but not all do. There are also content mills: businesses that hire freelancers to write high volumes of content. Usually, it's a white label situation: the company has many clients, and they farm out the content creation to freelance writers. These are almost always ghostwriting jobs, and most times, there's no room for writers to grow.

Content mills and other high-volume arrangements often have set prices they'll pay. Usually, content mills pay freelancers less, and the rates tend to be low: as low as $.02-$.03 per word. Writing for content mills means you have no control over how much you get paid per article, and the amount of words you write per day determines your pay.

Many writers advise against working for content mills altogether, but truth be told, there are pros and cons. Sure, they're not high-paying clients, but when you're working for that low pay, you train yourself to work quickly so the pay isn't so low for your time. These gigs also offer steady work and can help you kick off your freelance writing business. All told, I wouldn't keep them around long-term, but they can help while starting your career .

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Experience level

Clients expect to get what they pay for, so more experienced writers can charge more per project because they generally produce higher-quality work. For this reason, most freelance writers start at the low end of the pricing spectrum, and as their years of experience increase, they raise their prices.

Personal brand

This isn't a factor for ghostwriting, but for freelance writing jobs that have your name attached, sometimes that name carries clout. If you were running a site, would you prefer an article from someone without name recognition or someone with an established brand that readers will seek out, recognize, and respect? For work with a byline, raise your price per article as your personal brand grows.

Pay rates vary by industry and niche because some niches require more specialized background knowledge. You'll find higher-paying clients when writing for tech , healthcare, and the financial sector. These clients are paying more because they aren't just hiring any writer; they're hiring a freelance writer who can speak knowledgeably about the topic. Marketing-related content, such as copywriting, press releases, pay-per-click ads, and email writing generally pays more than SEO articles and blog writing.

Type of content

This blog is focused mostly on articles or blog posts, but most writers offer many types of content. Your prices should change based on that content. For instance, blog posts and articles come together quickly, so those per-word rates I mentioned above are appropriate. Social media captions, though, require fewer words but are more carefully worded, so the per-word rate should be higher. Anything technical should pay more because you'll have to do more research.

Research and other work needed

Writing work doesn't just involve writing. Most articles require some amount of research, while some also require meetings, collaborations with other freelancers, and more. You deserve to be paid for all that time. Consider all the time and work involved along with the word count while pricing a project.

Package pricing

With freelancing, steady work is like gold. Spending time finding new clients costs you time and money. That's why some writers offer packages that include savings for larger volumes of work–for example, batch rates, which mean less per word, but a steady paying job.

In doing this, though, be careful not to short-change yourself. Having consistent work is great for a writer, but not if you've offered such a discount that the time you're investing in a project isn't worth it. You are running a freelance business, not a charity.

How to increase earnings as a freelance writer

• Raise your rates- You are in charge of how much your clients pay you. Raising your writing rates is the most obvious way to get more money when freelance writing, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about seeking higher pay. The worst thing you can do as a writer is suddenly demand more money from your clients. It will come off as distasteful, and some clients might stop working with you altogether. Instead, give your client enough notice and raise your per article or hourly rate by a percentage. If you're charging $50 for a 1000-word article, don't expect to get $150 on your first release. Instead, raise your rates in 10%-20% intervals. If you do great work, it should be no big deal for your clients to pay you more.
• Think bigger- Thanks to the internet, a freelance writer can be based on one side of the world and write for a company in a country he/she has never been to. Your writing business is not limited based on geography, and you can find an online writing job fairly easily. This can mean higher pay and ongoing work without ever having to set foot in a client's office.
• Learn a new skill- The more value writers can add to a client's business, the more writers make. Learn in-demand skills like SEO Optimization, social media marketing, WordPress optimization, topic pitching, etc., that pay bank! This way, you'll be a one-stop-shop, and a client can hire you for ongoing work outside of content writing.
• Market yourself- Spend time marketing yourself to clients and big publications that may need a freelance writer to pick up some of the slack. Send pitches to new companies and start-ups that will need a writer to handle everything from press releases to web content writing.
• Use freelancer platforms- A great way to find a constant stream of freelance writing work is to join popular freelancing platforms like Upwork, Indeed, Guru, Who Pays Writers, etc. Here you can sift through different online writing gigs and find paid writing jobs to help grow your business.
• Push for credited work- Most freelance writers work on ghostwriting projects, meaning they never get credit. The problem with this is that your name doesn't get out there, and you don't get a chance to build a brand as a credible freelance writer. Where possible, ask your client for a chance to be credited on the blog. The next time you apply for a writing job, you'll have a better chance of landing it because of this. You can also negotiate more pay.
• Start your own blog- If your client won't give you credit, write your own blog outside of work hours. Choose an in-demand niche, or something you are knowledgeable about, and just start writing. Send the latest posts from your personal blog to your clients to show how well you write, and your ability to optimize your content on whichever hosting platform you use.

Choosing your freelance earnings

Choosing our own income is both the best and worst part of freelancing. It offers great freedom and income potential, but most of us don't start out knowing the going rate clients pay freelance writers. Ultimately, it's a matter of reading up on the variables and price ranges, and above all, knowing your worth. And if those clients aren't paying, we have advice on how to handle that too. Now make that money!

10 Women Writers Answer: How Much Do Freelance Writers Make Per Article?

A few weeks ago, I decided to ask women writers on Twitter about money. I wanted to know how much they got paid per article, what they were asking for, and if there was any negotiation involved in their process. We know that women earn less than men pretty much as a rule, and we’re often told that at least some of that blame lies in our reluctance to negotiate, or to advocate for ourselves. But in an industry like freelance writing, where there is little transparency about what anyone is making, it can be nearly impossible to even open the conversation. How much do freelance writers make a year? What is a normal number, and how much of that is a result of negotiation?

So I spoke to women to find out about their specific negotiation tactics, what they were making, and where they are in their writing careers. Unsurprisingly, nearly everyone who responded said that the key to their current rates was negotiation, and nearly all seemed to have worked up their rates slowly over the years, not unlike the gradual raises one might get as a staffer. This all pretty much echoes my experience, where every jump in per-article rates came from a distinct decision that I was raising my value, and the occasional decision to walk away from a project if it didn’t meet it.

Condensed for (relative) brevity, my  breakdown is something like this:

I’m currently 26, and published my first ‘real’ article in March of 2011. When I first started writing, I did it for free, several articles a week. I wrote for a few different publications, including a few big-name ones, that never paid me (at least in part because I didn’t yet have the nerve to ask). I do have one email record of an editor at a big magazine telling me that there was no budget for my article at that time, but I was still interested enough in “exposure” that it felt worth it to me. Looking back, this was dumb, but so was I at the time.

After about six months of writing for free, I started charging for my articles, and my first rate was $25 a piece. This gradually increased over the next few months, until I was brought on as a staff writer at a publication, where I switched to salary.

I barely freelanced during my years at my old employer, but I did do some copywriting here and there, most of which came through the website Contently (I’d check it out if you’re looking for copywriting gigs). The average pay for those was about $450 per, and the highest I ever got was $750 per 500-word post for a large brand. At the time, I only had a couple thousand Twitter followers, and these rates were many times more than what I could make for editorial writing. In that way, copywriting is generally much less tethered to your personal platforms, and much more about your ability to produce the content in a way that the client likes.

Towards the end of last year, I left my staff position to go freelance and pursue TFD full-time. At that time, as I knew I would be doing a lot of freelancing, I formed a personal LLC in addition to TFD’s, both for tax purposes, and so that I could take on more projects. (Many publications and brands are picky about working with LLCs as contractors for longer-term or larger-scale projects because, from a legal and tax perspective, it’s a lot less risky on their end.) My personal LLC was an up-front of investment of about $1200, because I did it through a lawyer, but one that I consider worth it.

As I jumped back into the pond of freelancing, it took a few months to really figure out my new rates, particularly given that I could only take on a limited number of projects per month while running the site. When I first left my job, I was doing more articles (maybe 25 or so a month), at a rate ranging from $100 per post at the least, to $350 for my best-paying client at the time. As the year went on, I started doing fewer and fewer (now I’m at about 10 freelance articles per month), but increased my rate. Now, I don’t do articles generally for less than $250, and cap out at $600 for a more involved piece. (Only one client pays that rate, and rarely, for what it’s worth.) I also occasionally take on larger-scale copywriting work, which tends to be a flat rate for several pieces, often in the $1,000-$2,000 range. This work is of course to supplement my income from TFD, as well as occasionally get more visibility for TFD, so it’s something that I have the benefit of adapting to my schedule, depending on, say, how many clients we had that month on the site. If I were relying uniquely on freelancing, this breakdown would likely be different.

It’s also worth noting that I’m not a journalist, so I don’t do reported/investigative pieces, and therefore likely put in many fewer hours than someone doing a lot of research per-post would. This means that my hourly rate breaks down quite favorably, and there are times when a post I finish in less than an hour will earn me $300. But I’ve also spent ages reviewing and editing a post with a client, only to earn half that. I’ve gotten more savvy about which projects seem like they might be a drain on my time and resources.

In general, the key to my rate raising quickly and significantly has undoubtedly been my ability to say no. Several times, I’ve said no when a client wouldn’t meet my rate, only to have them come back to me. I always start the negotiation on the higher end, and let them come up to meet me, until we find something we are both comfortable with. I also sometimes do pieces for little or no money, if it means a direct benefit for TFD. But those I consider wholly separate from my freelance life. All in all, asking for money is of course essential, but just as essential is arguing for the rate you are comfortable with. If I had never done that, I might still be getting $25 an article, thinking that just having broached the money conversation was enough. Yes, I have a relatively strong social platform and my own site/community, but even at a fraction of my current following I was able to raise my rates, even if it meant doing things like copywriting to supplement my income.

Here are more women writers on the strategies they’ve used, and where that’s gotten them in terms of payment.

“I’m a blogger and personal finance writer — I charge $200 to $400 per article. A huge jump from a year ago, when I made $25 to $75 per article. Usually I get it, but someone recently negotiated from $400 to $350. I accepted. I focused on start ups and companies, and NOT other bloggers. I also started to really believe in myself and stop low-balling my skills. I’ve started to aim higher than normal, so that even if we negotiate down, it’s still at a number I’m comfortable with. In addition, I explicate how I will add value to the client, such as sharing posts on social media, introducing clients to others in the finance community, etc. I also recently raised my rates for the new year and let people know I was being more selective with writing clients in 2016, so that I could provide the most value to current clients. I reviewed our accomplishments over the past year and asked for 10 to 25 percent more. All of them said yes. In some cases, if a negotiation doesn’t go the way you want, you may have to walk. I remember earlier this year when I was still writing  $40 posts, I asked one client for $5 more per post. They said no. I didn’t leave right away, but knew that I had to stop accepting low paying work and focus on higher paying clients.” -Melanie Lockert, 31, freelance writer and founder of DearDebt.com

So, it varies wildly. Tech tends to pay well, feminism tends to not pay well at all. [Popular feminist geek culture website] has a serious ethical problem with not paying freelancers. I wrote a piece for them that went ridiculously viral, didn’t get a dime. To be fair, their editorial team is excellent and underpaid, and I knew that going in. But they aren’t a first choice. [Large feminist website] only pays $100 a piece. [Gaming site] tends to pay $250 to $300 a piece. Not great, not bad. Magazine work has paid about $800 a piece for me, but those take a ton of research. Tech is where the money is. I can count on $350 to $500 a piece easily — and just for 500-600 words. The most I’ve negotiated was $1200. [Major city newspaper] paid $800. [Financial newspaper] paid nothing. The ones that seek me out I can negotiate with. But, most writers don’t have editors asking them to write for them constantly. Passion pieces that I pitch usually do well traffic-wise, but you’re coming to them first. The pay is lower. I would say, it helps a lot if your editor trusts you and you have a reputation for bringing in traffic. If I negotiate, my message is usually that the traffic of the piece is worth the investment from the publisher. When I left journalism school, I found it hard getting a straight news job. I worked in tech a few years, and found more writing work than I could accept. Find a specialty that you can speak to authoritatively. -Ellie*, mid-30s, prominent writer on tech and feminism

So, I typically ask for (and get) anywhere between $100-$250 an article, depending on what the publication is, the topic of the article, word count, and how much research (if any) is involved. Once in a while, I do work for a client I have that pays less than I usually get ($60-$80 an article), but I’m more flexible and understanding with them because they’re a smaller publication without a big budget, and I’ve had a great working relationship with the editors for years. Plus, I genuinely love the work they do. I’ve never worked for free since I’ve become a professional writer, but I wouldn’t be opposed if the publication was a byline I really wanted, or if the publication was new and run by people whose work I respected and admired. -Jackie*, 30, freelance writer

I don’t do as much article writing for clients anymore, but my base rate is $350 for a 1,000-word, well-researched, narrative essay. I’ve been doing this for over a decade, so that makes a big difference. When I was starting out, I absolutely took articles for $50-$100 (and a few horrible Demand Media articles for $20-35 when desperation times hit) to build my portfolio and credentials…to stair step my way to being able to say “I don’t get out of bed now for less than $350.” -Elisa Doucette, 35, owner & managing editor at Craft Your Content

I’m a journalist, and pretty much exclusively do reported pieces, with the occasional op-ed. I try as much as possible not to get into the ‘thinkpiece economy,’ both because I don’t really like doing those pieces, and because they tend to pay much less. I generally demand a minimum of $400 per article, and have gotten all the way up to $2,000 for a very involved piece for the prestige magazine of a popular online writing platform. I haven’t actually done print yet, though I’m in the process of negotiating a piece with a men’s magazine right now which, if I land, will be my new highest rate. I came up in a very traditional way, in that I worked at a NYC-based independent newspaper/website, first as an unpaid intern, then a paid intern, then a staffer. My salary there topped out at $32,000/year (for an extremely demanding schedule), which wasn’t good, but it did enable me to really start my freelance career with the platform, network, and experience I needed to command a good rate. -Kate*, 29, freelance journalist and occasional editor

I’ve only negotiated twice, and both times were with recognizable web publications. For the first time, this pub that I was regularly writing for wanted to repost something I wrote for another site. I asked if I could get paid the same amount I get paid whenever I write for that site, which was $200, but I only got $75. For the second time, the regular rate for op-eds was $100. I requested $150 and got $125. I took it anyway. I don’t regret both times because I wanted the money and I’m not a full-time freelancer, so that may have to do with my lenience on these issues. However, I will admit that I should be more aggressive. When I hear my fellow writer friends tell me that I need to push more, it’s hard. I’m a black, female writer and I’m afraid that if I push too far, my writing opportunities will plummet, since the industry is very small. Morgan Jerkins , 23

I’m not sure that I’ve ever actually had to negotiate up a rate, but I do selectively not work with publications that I know aren’t going to pay me a reasonable amount. The last time I wrote for below my rate (which is $200, at least for a piece with little or no reporting), it was because I hadn’t had a chance to write outside my full-time edit job in a while. In that case, they gave me a range of what they pay writers, and I suggested the higher amount was fair. It was also a question and answer, so I didn’t feel like I deserved that much more. In general, I think 50 cents a word is a minimum for a reported piece, though I’ve tried to work more with places that pay a dollar. Even though a dollar per word seems magical in this age, as a writer who has had a lot of pieces killed, I feel like it’s good protection against significant income loss (assuming they have a fair kill fee as well). I think I don’t negotiate as much because I’m still a young writer, not because I’m a woman. That said, as an editor, I’ve seen male writers with much less experience than me negotiate for more (even though I know they’ve written for free in the past few months for male editors). -Tonya Riley, 22, associate editor at a media startup and freelancer

So, a couple facts for context: I’m in my second year as a paid writer, I’m not a journalist, and I’m currently still on the hamster wheel of ‘content creation’ for several websites that do a lot of aggregated content and viral write-ups, in addition to ‘articles,’ that are mostly personal essays and lists. I have about four that I write for, and my rates vary depending on the site and the kind of content I’m doing. I have one Buzzfeed knockoff, essentially, that pays me a flat fee of $25 for viral write-ups, which are usually videos or a quick news story, and I can do as many of those as I want. I tend to probably do about eight a week, and they make up the majority of my writing. Then I have a rotating cast of three websites for which I write lists and essays, sometimes under pen names, and those tend to pay somewhere between $75 and $125 per article. I used to get paid $50 at most of them, but earlier this year I went back and renegotiated at all of them, and got at least a $25 raise at each. My argument was my engagement on my articles, my increases on social media following, and my consistency with filing on time and without errors. Now, I’m able to make a total of $600/week on writing, which means I no longer have to work a side job. My next goal is to renegotiate with my current sites, and start doing longer/more researched pieces for more prestigious publications. -Nat*, 24, freelance writer

My current rates are anywhere from $325 to $500 for a longer-form blog post. I have one client I work for $150 per post, but they’re much shorter, and require way less research. I tend to not work with clients if they’re budget is underneath my rates since it creates unnecessary tension and makes them think they can buy you out at rates lower than what you ask. I don’t really do much negotiation, but if a client requests to go down on price, I won’t just lower the price for the same work proposed and call it a day. (Gotta stand your ground and command respect, you know?) But I do understand what it’s like to be limited by an office budget, so most commonly, I tell them I can reduce word count in proportion to my rate (if I feel it makes sense for me), or depending on the offerings I’ve worked out in the proposal, I try to do some give and take there. -Chelsea Baldwin, 27, founder of Copy Power

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Write for Magazines: 21+ Publications That Pay $500+ Per Article

When you first start out as a writer, you might be tempted to accept very little payment for your work through content mills or other low-paying venues. Though writing for pennies per word can be reasonable when you're building your portfolio, it certainly isn't the best long-term strategy as a freelance writer if you want to earn a reasonable income.

What if we told you that there are magazines out there that will pay $500 or more per article? Sounds a lot better than that $20 per 1000-word gig you've been thinking about, doesn't it?

Publications That Pay $500+ Per Article

Earning more than $500 per assignment can sound too good to be true if you're used to earning a penny or two per word. Of course, this higher pay comes with a catch-- these major publications are often looking for truly unique and creative articles that incorporate research, interviews, and more.

That being said, if you're an expert in certain topics, you might find that your knowledge and expertise allow you to land high-paying magazine assignments that pay you well when you factor in how much time you put into them. Beyond that, you also might be able to build ongoing relationships with some of these major publications, allowing the potential for more work in the future or even a role as a regular contributor.

1. Freelance Writing Jobs

While the Freelance Writing Jobs board isn't a magazine, it is one of the best ways to find high-paying writing jobs. You can find magazine gigs, blog writing work, white-paper assignments, and much more through our jobs board.

It can be disheartening when you first start looking for writing work to come across jobs that are only paying a penny or two per word. Using our jobs board, you'll find that there are new jobs posted every day, many of which offer great rates and are available to new writers.

2. National Geographic Traveler

National Geographic Traveler is published by the National Geographic Society eight times a year. Each issue they have five or more features that tend to both high subjects in the U.S. and abroad. They like to focus on topics that are accessible to most travelers rather than just the uber-wealthy or extremely adventurous.

They are particularly interested in the following subjects:

• Historic places
• National and state parks
• Little-known or undiscovered places
• Train trips
• Driving trips

Most of their departments accept freelance queries, and they look for engaging, original, and authentic pieces about the best destinations around the world.

• Pay: Reported to pay roughly $0.50 per word for feature articles that are usually 1,000 or more words

3. Eating Well

Eating Well has been writing about food, nutrition, and sustainability for more than three decades. If you have a deep passion for and knowledge about food origins, nutrition, and social food-related issues, you might be excited to learn about this high-paying writing opportunity.

You'll definitely want to become very familiar with their writing guidelines before submitting, as they are quite specific. That being said, they are always looking for creative, original ideas, so you shouldn't be dissuaded from pitching your concept just because you don't have a ton of experience.

• Pay: Up to $1 per word for articles of up to 500 words

enRoute is the official in-flight magazine of Air Canada. If you'd love to write about conservation efforts, glamping, wine, pop music, or just about anything else, you might consider pitching this widely-read publication.

• Pay: Unspecified but reported as CAN $1.00 per word

5. Esquire Magazine

Esquire Magazine was first published nearly ninety years ago, in October of 1933. It is one of the best-known magazines out there and is famed for having pioneered the New Journalism movement.

A men's magazine that focuses on news, celebrity, fashion, politics, food, and more, this is a great place to pitch if you're interested in publishing work in a publication that has had an enormous and lasting influence on the culture for nearly a century.

• Pay: $500 per article on average for 500 to 750-word articles

Wired usually assigns stories to contributors from outside their staff (aka freelancers) in two primary areas-- their Ideas section and long-form features. Additionally, the sections science, service, gear, and business also sometimes have some assignments given to freelancers.

• Their long-form features are almost always narratives, so you'll want to focus on the story you plan to tell when you are pitching the idea rather than discussing a topic you're interested in.

The ideas section, on the other hand, is a place where subject-matter experts (like academics and journalists) can offer argument-driven essays.

• Pay: $0.50 per word

Is reading one of your favorite pastimes? Take a look at our recent post about more than ten ways that you can get paid to read !

7. Early American Life

Are you an American history buff? If so, you'll want to learn about the publication Early American Life , which focuses on the culture, traditions, and style of America's earliest days.

Even though the topics covered in this magazine seem academic in nature, the writing isn't academic. They want to entertain the audience and present information in a readable way. The time period the magazine focuses on is from the founding of America to the mid-1800s, and they cover the following topics:

• Architecture and Decorating
• Studio crafts
• Pay: Roughly $500 per piece for new writers and more for experienced and seasoned freelancers

Are you ready to start marketing yourself as a freelance writer? Check out these writer websites for inspiration .

8. Earth Island Journal

Earth Island Journal covers "the entire spectrum of environmental issues," including:

• Innovations in science and technology
• Wildlife and land conservation
• Climate and energy
• Public policy
• The politics of environmental protection
• Animal rights
• Environmental justice
• Public health
• Cultural survival
• Environmentally related media

Earth Island Journal has an international readership, so they ask that you pitch stories that have broader interests or implications. They also ask that you read the current and previous issues of their magazine before pitching so that you have a clear sense of the types of stories they publish.

• Pay: $0.25 per word for print stories, with in-depth features of about 4,000 words earning $750 to $1,000

Where can you make real money writing online? These twenty websites are known for having awesome rates.

9. AARP The Magazine

Did you know that the magazine put out by AARP has more than 35 million subscribers and is the highest-circulating magazine in the U.S.?

Given this, it should come as no surprise that this is one of the highest-paying magazines out there. On average, you can fetch $1 per word or $1,500 per assignment.

The target audience of this publication is individuals over 50, and they put out articles on all kinds of topics, including:

• Health and Fitness
• Relationships
• Pay: Average pay of $1 per word or $1,500 per assignment

Are you more interested in writing blogs for websites than articles for magazines? Take a look at our list of more than twenty websites where you can get paid to write blogs .

10. Discover Magazine

Discover is a print magazine that puts out six issues per year and focuses on developments in science, technology, medicine, and "the world around us." If you've ever paged through  Discover , you know that they specialize in compelling and spectacular photography as well as spreading interesting ideas and concepts about complex subjects.

• Even though the main focus of this magazine is scientific topics, this isn't an academic magazine. Instead, it's designed to convey fascinating concepts and ideas to lay people.

If you thought $1 a word sounded good from AARP, wait until you hear what Discover pays-- $3,000 for a 1,500-word feature story! If math wasn't you're favorite subject, I will save you the calculation-- that's a whopping $2 per word.

Of course, getting a story in Discover is going to be highly competitive, and a feature is going to require lots of research and hard work.

• Pay: $3,000 for a $1,500 feature ($2 per word)

11. Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institute is the largest education, research, and museum complex in the world, and the Smithsonian Magazine is the official journal of the institution. The first issue was released 53 years ago, in 1970, and the publication is still going strong half a century later.

Established freelance writers can submit unsolicited proposals for features and some other categories of the magazine. As you might imagine, this is another highly competitive gig, and it probably shouldn't be the fit submission you make when you're starting out as a freelancer.

According to the Senior Editor over at Smithsonian Magazine, pieces must have something narratively interesting or surprising even to be considered for publication.

• Pay: $1-$3 per word

Many writers are trying to determine how AI is going to change the industry and whether or not they should use it as a part of their process. Take a look at our post about using AI to fact check content and whether or not its a good idea.

Sierra is the official magazine of the Sierra Club, which is an American environmental organization that was founded all the way back in 1892 by John Muir.

A quarterly national print and digital magazine, Sierra is always looking for reported stories on environmental and social justice issues.

• Pay: $1 per word and up

What's the difference between blogs and articles, anyway? Take a look at this post to learn the difference between these two terms that are increasingly used interchangably.

13. Kitplanes

Kitplanes is a pretty niche publication that focuses on kit and amateur-built aircraft construction. This is a great example of how having a highly specific niche can actually pay pretty well-- even though there are only about 72,000 readers of this publication, the pay for articles can be up to $1000 per assignment.

If you have experience as a kit builder, you might consider pitching a story to this publication. They ask that your topics aren't overly broad and mention that they don't accept AI-generated stories.

• Pay: Up to $1,000 per assignment

14. Hemispheres

Hemispheres is the in-flight magazine of United Airlines . If you've ever paged throug h one of the magazines you find in the back of the seat in front of you on the plane, you might be familiar with this one.

Stories in this publication focus on adventure, entertainment, global culture, sports, and business.

• Pay: $750 to $1,500 on average per assignment

If you're just starting out as a writer, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to find your first gig. Take a look at our article about finding entry-level writing jobs for beginners to help you land your first paid writing job.

15. Hakai Magazine

Hakai Magazine is a publication that explores coastal ecosystems from a societal and scientific perspective. They look at the ties and overlapping places between the land, ocean, and human societies through video, photography, illustration, and long- and short-form journalism.

They ask that you thoroughly review their guidelines and their publication before submitting a pitch (are you noticing a theme here?) to increase the chances of your pitch being considered.

• Pay: Varies depending on the type of story and research, but the pay is reported as between CAN $1.00 and CAN $1.55 per word and up.

16. Popular Science

Popular Science is a magazine that was first published a whopping 150 years ago-- all the way back in 1872. These days, it is a digital magazine that focuses on popular science content that is geared toward an educated lay audience.

• This is an awesome opportunity for writers that specialize in the fields of science and technology, as the pay rate is outstanding.

Beyond paying about $2 per word, this is also a publication that is seen by roughly 1.5 million readers. If you're really interested in growing your business as a freelancer, there's hardly a better place to be published in the science and technology niche.

• Pay: About $2 per word or $1,000+ per assignment

17. The Sun

The Sun is an aesthetically beautiful print and online magazine that publishes short stories, personal essays, poems, and black-and-white photos. They are always looking for narrative writing from across the globe.

You can get a sense of the tone of this magazine from their writer submission guidelines, which asks:

Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot because the truth is never so simple.

You don't have to be an award-winning author to pitch this magazine-- they accept submissions from established and new writers alike.

• Pay: Up to $2,000 per assignment

18. LiisBeth

LiisBeth publishes articles about entrepreneurs, creatives, gender issues, and feminist success stories. They do say that they fill their spots roughly three months in advance, and they receive a lot of queries, so they ask that you be patient after submission.

The audience of this magazine is largely women between the ages of 25 and 55 that self-identify as feminists.

• Pay: $800+ for articles that analyze policies and issues, $250 for personal posts

Have you always fancied yourself more of a poet than an article writer? If so, check out our list of ways you can make money writing poems .

19. Chatelaine Magazine

Chatelaine is a women's magazine coming out of Canada that has been published for more than eighty years.

They ask that you become very familiar with their publication before pitching, which focuses on current events, social issues, health, food, beauty, fashion, and everything else that Canadian women want to read about.

• Pay: $1 per word

20. The Open Notebook

The Open Notebook is a non-profit organization that exists with the stated goal of providing tools and resources to help "science, environmental, and health journalists at all experience levels sharpen their skills."

They welcome pitches for reported features and "story-behind-the-story interviews." They don't publish stories about specific areas of scientific research or interviews with experts about their particular field of science. Instead, they "publish stories about the craft of science journalism."

• Pay: $1,000 for 1,500-word interviews, $1,350 for 1,500-word reported features

21. LA Times Travel

LA Times Travel is a section of the Los Angeles Times where they publish destination articles that are original, compelling, and sophisticated. They describe the pieces they publish as evoking "a strong sense of place (sounds, colors, smells, tastes,) time (when did you go?), expertise and personal perspective."

They ask that the trip you've taken occurred during the last two years. They look for both Guidebooks (about 500 to 700 words) and first-person experiential pieces (roughly 2,000 words).

• Pay: $500 for online-only stories and $200 to $750 for print stories

22. Southerly

Southerly is a publication that focuses on the U.S. South-- specifically, the "relationship between places and ecosystems" in the region.

The U.S. South encompasses:

• West Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Mississippi

Pay: $500 for up to 1,000 words, $750 for up to 1,500 words

Finding High Paying Writing Jobs as Freelancer

The ability to earn money by doing something you love can sound too good to be true, but there are tons of opportunities out there to earn a great income writing as a freelancer.

One of the things that can be most difficult when you're starting out is figuring out where to find work. In my experience-- having worked both as a writer and as a site owner managing writers-- there is a funny thing that happens where writers and clients can have a hard time finding each other.

Writers won't be sure how to track down people that are willing to pay good money for their work. At the same time, site owners will feel like they're scrambling trying to find a writer that offers high-quality content and copy for their site.

Our mission at Freelance Writing Jobs is to help connect writers and clients with one another. Using our jobs boards , writers can find writing job posts for all manner of work-- everything from blog writing and article writing to guest post writers and reader reviewers. If you're ready to take the plunge and start earning good money for your writing, the Freelance Writing Jobs board is the first place you'll want to look.

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