15 Publishers that Pay $1.50+ Per Word

Want to get paid to write?

These publishers work with freelance writers. All of them pay at least $1.50 per word, and sometimes much more. (Six of them pay $2.00 per word; another pays at least $6,000 per article.)

However, if you want to actually get paid by these publications, you’ll need to learn how to write a good pitch. The good news, is you can easily learn how to write a good pitch, if you have the right guidance.

And you can get that guidance for free, with a free trial to Litworth.

The author of their course on pitching, Maggie Gigandet was published by the Atavist, listed below in this article. Maggie was very new to freelance writing when she landed the publication. If you want to learn how she did it — and how you can land these types of assignments, I highly recommend taking her course. Sign up for a free trial, and take Maggie’s pitching course here.

If you’re already confident in your pitching skills, then I encourage you to check out the list below.

1

Design Observer

Art & Design

Design Observer is “a leading platform offering thought-provoking content on design, culture, and social innovation.” According to their guidelines, they offer a $150 honorarium for art-eds, op-eds, and essays (around 800 to 900 words). Rates begin at $1.50/word for commissioned short pieces that include original reporting and sourcing (usually 500 to 900 words). To learn more, refer to their call for pitches.

2

National Wildlife

Environmental & Sustainability

National Wildlife is a magazine published by the National Wildlife Federation, the largest private conservation group in the United States. It is quarterly, has an average circulation per issue of more than 300,000 and focuses on storytelling related to wildlife and habitat conservation, environmental justice, climate change, and more. They are looking for features from 1,000 to 2,000 words and departments (short pieces) from 350 to 900 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $1.50 a word for print. For web, pay is negotiated per article and typically starts at $250. To learn more, refer to this page.

3

The Sierra

General Interest / News

The Sierra is the magazine of the Sierra club, the non-profit environmental activist organization. Their readers are "are environmentally concerned, politically diverse, and actively enjoy the outdoors." According to their guidelines, they pay up to $1.50 a word for feature articles. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

4

Fortune

Finance / Business

Fortune is “a global leader in business journalism with major franchises including the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, 100 Best Companies to Work For, 50 World's Greatest Leaders, Most Powerful Women in Business, and 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.” A payment report indicates that they pay up to $2.00 per word. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide.

5

Audobon

Lifestyle / Entertainment

Audubon publishes journalism, photography, and illustrations to "to celebrate the joy and wonder of birds and to inform its readers about the natural world, inspire them to care passionately about that world, and motivate them to take action on its behalf." They`re interested in issues that affect birds through a much broader lens—whether that’s native and invasive species, land use, pesticides, climate change, racial and environmental justice, and many more topics. They prefer freelancers to write articles of 1,500 words to 4,000 words, with a preference for 3,000 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $0.50 to $1.50 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.

6

Mother Jones

General Interest / News

Mother Jones is an investigative news organization. They report on politics, criminal and racial justice, democracy, human rights, education, climate change, food/agriculture, and more. They commission revelatory and dynamic stories that teach people something they didn’t already know. According to their pitch guide, print rates begin at $1.75/word, while their online rates begin at $0.75/word. For more details, refer to their freelance writer guidelines.

7

Type Investigations

Human Rights / Social Justice

Type Investigations is a nonprofit investigative newsroom. They cover the “most urgent issues of our time, including racial and economic justice, climate and environmental health, and civil and human rights.” Their written features are generally 4,000-5,000 words and, according to their pitch guide, they typically pay $3,000-$6,000 (including travel and reporting expenses). For more information, refer to their pitch guide.

8

Esquire

Lifestyle / Entertainment

Esquire is a men’s magazine that covers news, politics, style, food and drink, and entertainment. According to a payment report, they paid $2.00 per word for a 3500-word feature. According to an old post by their previous editor, rates start at $500 per piece. To contact them, refer to this page.

9

AARP The Magazine

General Interest / News

AARP The Magazine accepts submission from freelance writers on a variety of topics, including personal essays. They want “thoughtful, timely, new takes on matters of importance to people over 50.” According to a payment report, they have paid $1.50 per word. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

10

The Atavist Magazine

General Interest / News

The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Atavist stories can be historical or current; they can be about crime or science, adventure or romance; they can be rooted in investigative reporting or in first-person experiences. What unites them is their narrative approach. The stories should be 8,000 to 30,000 words long. According to their submissions page, they pay at least $6,000 per story plus expenses. They pay kill fees upfront. For more information, visit this page.

11

Travel + Leisure

Travel

Travel + Leisure Magazine tells stories from around the world: stories that are big or small, visually driven or essayistic, first-person or as-told-to or service-oriented. They’re interested in stories about a place that is misunderstood or changing, stories about seeing the world in a new way, and especially stories by writers or photographers who bring a new voice to the conversation about a place or topic. They don’t pay by word count; according to their pitch guide, they have a flat rate by type of story. That being said, previous calls for pitches have indicated pay rates of $2.00 per word. To learn more, refer to their pitching guidelines.

12

Smithsonian Magazine

History

Smithsonian Magazine ‘’places a Smithsonian lens on the world, looking at the topics and subject matters researched, studied and exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution—science, history, art, popular culture and innovation.’’ They accept proposals from established freelance writers. When sending in your pitch for a history article, you must supply links to previously published works. While no pay is listed on their website, according to a payment report, they paid $0.23 per word. According to a deleted tweet, their print rates are $2.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.

13

Popular Woodworking Magazine

Miscellaneous

Popular Woodworking Magazine is a woodworking magazine that provides resources, techniques, how-to articles, artist features, and much more. They publish 6 times annually. They accept article pitches from people of all backgrounds. According to their guidelines, they mostly pay $1,000 to $3,000 per feature (about 2,500 words, 20 photos, and 1 or 2 illustrations). To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

14

Solver Stories by the New York Times

Miscellaneous

Solver Stories is a feature in New York Times’ column, Gameplay. It includes personal essays regarding the effect of puzzles on people’s lives. They prefer essays of 800 to 1,000 words. According to their guidelines, they pay $1.50 per word. To find out more, refer to their submission guidelines.

15

Wirecutter

Miscellaneous

Wirecutter is a product review site owned by The New York Times Company. They cover electronics, home appliances, travel gear, home and garden tools, kitchen and dining products, money management and personal finance, office gear and supplies, and much more. According to their guidelines, they pay $500 for shorter pieces, $300 for scout reports, and $500 for light updates. More involved updates earn up to $1,500, while new reviews or substantial rewrites range from $2,500 to $4,000. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

 

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