Dear Writers,
When I first started Freedom With Writing, many years ago, it was difficult to find web publications that paid decent rates. At that time, the publishing industry was still transitioning away from print to online publications. Since then, however, the transition to online publication has become fully established. The good news: It is now much easier to find decent paying publications, in a wide variety of niches. There are now many general interest publications, niche publications, and regional publications that pay freelance writers for writing to be published online.
Below is a sample of 29 such publishers. All of them work directly with freelance writers, and pay up to $500 or more per article. The rates will vary significantly, and may need to be negotiated. Note that we’ve done our best to research payment rates, but they may have changed. Also, keep in mind that some of these publications may not be open to pitches right now. If you have updated information about any of these publishers, please email me: jacob@freedomwithwriting.com
A friendly reminder: Do not approach these publishers without carefully studying their publications. If you’re not sure how to send a quality pitch, please watch this free lecture.
— Jacob Jans
BBC Worklife is “a BBC.com features site about the way we work, live and think in a rapidly shifting world, where the boundaries between the professional and the personal are increasingly blurrier.” They publish reported, narrative features of 1,200 to 2,000 words. They pay $600 for around 1,200 words. To learn more, refer to their author brief.
Good Beer Hunting produces “strategic beer brands, intellectually honest editorial, beverage industry analysis, and a deep-dive podcast.” Their voice is “human, friendly, and confident.” They pay $700 for features, $325 for mini-features, up to $200 for Sightlines pieces, $100 for blog posts, and $250 for podcasts. To learn more, refer to their style guide.
Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP) is a nonprofit organization that produces compelling journalism about income inequality and poverty in America. They commission “op-eds, personal essays, investigative reports, rich narrative features, podcasts, nonfiction cartoons, photo essays, and documentaries about the United States.” Grants usually range from “$500 for an op-ed to $10,000 for a documentary.” To learn more, refer to their submissions page.
The Monitor is a bimonthly policy and current affairs magazine by CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). They publish “feature articles, original research, book reviews, letters to the editor, and illustrations.” According to their senior editor, they pay $300 for short articles of 700 words, $500 for 1,300 to 1,500 words, up to $800 for feature length stories, and $150 to $800 for illustrations. If interested, send your pitches to monitor@policyalternatives.ca. To learn more, refer to this page.
Business Insider Australia is the Australian edition of Business Insider. They cover business, financial, and technology news. According to their editor, they pay $180 to $500 per story. To submit your story ideas, refer to this page.
Capital & Main is a publication that “reports on inequities related to class, race, immigration, gender, corporate accountability, climate change and energy, education and health, both in California and nationally.” They publish daily and accept pitches from freelance writers all the time. They pay $250 to $500 per story. For more information, refer to this page.
Generocity is a solutions journalism organization that covers social impact and connects people and organizations in Greater Philadelphia. They are always seeking “new voices to chronicle how social impact organizations are changing Philadelphia.” They are also seeking “stories of the people behind that change.” According to their editor, they pay $50-$500 per story. To learn more, refer to their editorial calendar for 2021 and this page.
The Counter, formerly known as The New Food Economy,is a nonprofit website. They are interested “in new business and funding models, food safety, nutrition, economics, policy and the great, wide-open middle of the food supply chain: everything that happens between farm and fork.” Multiple payment reports reflect a payment rate of $300 to $500 per article. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
The Earth Island Journal is a quarterly magazine that discusses the environment and how it relates to present-day issues. They pay 25 cents per word. According to their guidelines, an in-depth feature of 4,000 words pays $750 to $1000. To learn more, make sure to read their full submission guidelines.
Southerly is an independent media organization that covers ecology, culture, and justice in the American South. They are looking for news analysis, short features, profiles, and photo stories. They pay $500 for up to 1,000 words and $750 for up to 1,500 words. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide.
Defector is a sports blog and media company. They pay at least $1,000 for longer essays and reported pieces, and at least $500 for shorter pieces. You can submit your pitches to pitches@defector.com. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide and freelancer policies.
The News Station is a national alt-weekly that covers the war on drugs, prison and criminal justice reform, CBD, the innovations in health and wellness, culture, politics, and more. They welcome pitches from freelancers. Regarding the rates, their managing editor tweeted: “my interns get $75 for short pieces explaining new science/research, then about $150 for a researched news piece or $200 for features; then we’ll usually be $250 for day of, non-breaking news pieces, and as much as $500 though usually around $300 to $400 for features.” Learn more here. Read their style guide and journalistic standards here.
Life & Thyme is a print magazine and website that specializes in culinary storytelling and food journalism. They welcome contributors from all over the globe. They typically pay $200 to $500 per story. To become a contributor, refer to this page.
Self covers health and wellness. They are always seeking new writers and are especially excited to work more frequently with BIPOC, LGBTQ+ writers and writers from other marginalized groups. They want stories that will help improve personal or public health. Their main categories of focus are health, fitness, food, beauty, love, and lifestyle. Their rates start at $300 for stories with minimal to no reporting, $400 for reported service stories, and $800 for features. To learn how to pitch them a story, visit this page.
GreenBiz is a business-to-business media company that focuses on corporate sustainability practice and strategy. They are looking for both shorter (500 to 800 words) and longer (800 to 1,200 words) pieces across a range of topics. Their target audience is senior leaders in large corporations. These senior leaders’ “firms are driven by hardcore business goals as much as by sustainability ones, and they’re seeking to align the two.” According to their editorial director, they pay $200 to $500 per piece. To learn more, refer to this page.
Via Magazine is a magazine and website that serves AAA (American Automobile Association) members in nine western states. They offer travel tips and inspiration. They also offer practical life advice about managing your money, living well at home and away, and taking care of your house and car. They pay $200 to $500 per piece. To contact them, refer to this page.
Sisters From AARP is a weekly newsletter that celebrates Black women. They cover style, health, relationships, culture, work, money, and more. According to their contributing editor, they generally pay $500 per post. To contact them, refer to this page.
Phenomenal World is a publication that features research, analysis, and commentary on social sciences. The publication is managed by staff of the Jain Family Institute (JFI). They publish content by JFI staff and fellows, as well as by external researchers and writers. They “welcome submissions on any topic in the social sciences, particularly economics, history, philosophy, sociology, economic history, and kindred fields.” Their interests are very broad. According to this Tweet, they pay $500 for longform pieces and $250 for interviews. Details here.
Contently is “a technology company that helps brands create great content at scale.” To help freelancers during the coronavirus pandemic, they have decided to frontload their freelance content budget for The Content Strategist (Contently’s publication about content strategy and content marketing). This will allow them to accept more freelance work. They will pay a flat rate of $500 for a story. They will pay $300 for Q&As (published occasionally). For details, visit this page.
The Block is a source for all things related to blockchain and crypto. They are seeking cryptocurrency/blockchain/digital currency pitches. They pay $200 to $500 per piece. Send pitches to their managing editor at mmcsweeney@theblockcrypto.com. Read their managing editor’s Tweet here and learn more about them here.
Wethos deploys “responsive teams of creative and marketing specialists to help meaningful brands stay competitive in a rapidly-evolving digital landscape.” They are interested in pieces on the following topics: “business development tips for freelancers, building teams with diverse perspectives, Gen Z and digital entrepreneurship, imagining a more ethical gig economy, distributed teams and leadership, the future of agencies and workplaces.” They pay $50 to $500 per piece. Details here.
Distiller Magazine is a publication of the American Distilling Institute. They cover the art and business of craft distillation. They welcome queries for articles. They pay $500 plus $75 per image for topical features of 1,500 to 2,000 words. They pay $100 plus $25 per image for single-topic, narrow-focus blog-style articles of 300 to 500 words. For details, read their submission guidelines.
Fast Company is a progressive business media brand that focuses on innovation in technology, design, leadership, and ethonomics (ethical economics). They are seeking reported stories and essays that critically examine the impact of technology, while tracing an ethical way forward. They are mostly seeking stories from journalists. They pay $250 to $500 per piece. To learn more, refer to their deputy tech editor’s Twitter post and this link.
SF Weekly is a source for news, movies, music, food, reviews, and events in San Francisco. Their editor-in-chief is “looking for freelance reporters to write about: local news, food, drink, music, cannabis, and movies, among other things.” He is also looking for sports writers for their spring baseball issue. They usually pay $75 to $125 for articles and $450 to $750 for cover stories (2,000 to 3,000 words). Their contact details can be found here.
Study Hall is “a media newsletter & online support network for media workers.” They are looking for “media criticism, reported media-adjacent stories, etc.” They especially encourage pitches from trans, queer, and people color. They pay $100 to $500+ per piece. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread. You can pitch them here.
Honeybadger is an error monitoring company that helps developers find and fix bugs quicker. They are looking for developers to create several series of articles. A series will consist of 3 to 5 stand-alone articles of 500 to 1,000 words each. Payment for one article will start at $500. Payment will be higher for longer pieces. For details, visit this page.
Flight Safety Australia is the flagship aviation safety magazine of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). They are looking for “close calls” (450 to 1,400 words) from any sector of aviation. They will pay $500 per piece. To learn more, refer to this page.
Prism is a nonprofit that is working in tandem with Daily Kos. They elevate “stories, ideas, and solutions from leaders, thinkers, and activists whose voices are critical to a reflective democracy.” They are seeking pitches for articles, essays, and op-eds. They pay 40 cents per word. They are also seeking comics, graphic stories, or other illustrated work, for which they pay $150 to $500. To learn more, refer to this Twitter post and their call for pitches.
The Revelator is “an online news and ideas initiative of the Center for Biological Diversity.” They cover climate change, endangered species, wildlife, conservation, pollution, and more. For about 1,000 words, they pay $300 to first-time contributors and $350 to returning contributors; they publish one freelance article per week at this rate. They also publish one slightly more involved story per month, for which they pay up to $500. Details here.
