How Do Freelance Writers Get Paid?
Do Print Publications Pay the Writer per Hour, Word, or Article?
Aug 18, 2009
Online magazines will normally take limited rights from the author of an article, allowing them to sell the article on, in print or in other digital forms; however, print publications will normally demand more rights to the work, making it difficult or impossible to sell the article elsewhere. In return for these rights, print publications normally pay much better rates for freelance writing jobs than online magazines or websites, but how they pay a writer, can vary enormously from case to case.
Freelance Writing Work
The first thing to take account of is that freelance writing work is different from other types of work. Anyone starting a freelance writing career from an environment where they were paid by the hour at the office (regardless of how much time they spent in that office drinking coffee) will now find themselves in an environment where editors want to give them as little as possible in payment for their work (regardless of how much time the writer spent researching or writing it).
Most print publications will make an agreement to commission an article in advance based on a proposal. This means there will be a negotiating process which will take into account the value of the particular article to the magazine. Although a magazine may have a publicly stated “rate per word”, this rate could be negotiated up or down substantially depending upon the experience of the writer and the unique qualities of the article.
Payment per Word
The truth is that no-one should take this too literally. The more words, the less money per word a writer will probably get. For example a 200-word “filler” piece for a magazine will have a fee attached to it, but an editor may ask for a piece 800 – 1000 words long and offer the same money whether a writer delivers 800 or 1000.
In other words, no-one will literally be counting the words and paying the freelance writer for each one. Generally figures will be given in a range e.g. between x and y per word. What that range is, can vary enormously.
Payment per Article
The payment for an article will depend of several factors. There is no average rate. In fact within one magazine, rates will vary. Several factors can affect the value of a story to a magazine.
- Is the story exclusive and controversial?
- Does the writer have an impressive portfolio?
- Is the writer the only person who can deliver this story?
If the answer is yes to the questions above, then the writer is in a good position to negotiate the highest possible payment for the article.
Payment per Series of Articles
A lucrative tactic is to sell a series of articles to a magazine. The magazine may offer a slightly reduced rate per word or per article, but the writer must balance this against other factors:
- the security of knowing that they are building a long term commitment
- the time saved each month by not having to sell a new idea to a different editor
Payment per Hour
No-one will pay writers per hour of their time. Writers are paid for the fruits of their labors, not the labors themselves. Whether fees are paid “per word” or “per article", it’s imperative for writers to decide what their time and their writing is worth and set their own limits on what they will accept.
Writers must learn the basics of the freelance writing business. Understanding the profession and being regarded as a professional by others will always increase writers' earning potential, and their chances of winning freelance writing jobs, whether rates are paid per word, or per article.
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