Whether you want to start a writing side hustle or want to see your work for sale on the stands, you can write for magazines and earn a bundle. It’s possible to earn thousands from a single article, even if you’re a beginner with no published clips or a writing degree. Here’s a deep dive into how to get started, what to expect as a magazine writer, and how to find outlets eager to publish your work.
How Do You Start Writing for Magazines?
Writing for magazines isn’t as complicated as it looks if you take the right approach and stay persistent. The main reason writers struggle to land magazine work is a lack of focus in their pitches and a lack of expertise. However, it doesn’t mean you need to be an expert writer or even have a degree. Instead, you need to be an expert at what you’re pitching. Don’t try to pitch an article about a celebrity when you have no connection to them or have just seen them around town a few times. A magazine editor also isn’t interested in an article about personal finance if you have no experience with it or a unique takeaway.
The good news is you already have some kind of expertise. Everyone has experience in something, no matter how small. Here are a few ideas:
- Moms who find ways to entice kids to make healthy food choices
- Travelers who have interesting hacks or takeaways to stay on the cheap, even in expensive locations
- Newbies who turned themselves into confident gardeners and now grow a sustainable food source
- Students who started a side hustle to avoid student loans
- Someone who uses Excel spreadsheets to optimize a specific area of their lives, like budgeting or fitness
The goal is to come up with something that you have personal or professional experience with and find the right outlet to pitch it to. Once you come up with an idea, start doing some research on relevant search terms to track down publications. Combine terms like “magazine for parents that pay freelance writers” and “websites for parents that pay freelance writers.“
Although websites aren’t the same thing as magazines, some are considered “digital magazines” or are online versions of existing magazines. Don’t discount digital publications if they open the door to working with new editors and building up your status as a published writer.
How Do I Submit My Writing to a Magazine?
Once you identify a topic idea and publication, you need to find the editor responsible for the type of content you want to write. For example, there are often a dozen editors in a single magazine that cover everything from current events to business. However, small magazines may only have one editor or no editor at all. In this situation, it usually means the publisher is in charge of the content, or they hire editors on a freelance basis.
Sometimes publications will have a submission form for magazine pitches, but I steer clear of these as much as possible. When you submit a pitch through a form, you have no way of following up. You want to identify the correct editor, hunt down their email address, and pitch them directly whenever possible.
Unfortunately, finding the email for a magazine editor isn’t always easy. They usually don’t advertise them, and more prominent magazines are often owned by an umbrella parent organization, making it even harder to find the correct email address. Most of the time, I can figure it out with a few tricks.
- Head to Google and use search terms like “Jane Doe email, Travel Extraordinaire Magazine.”
- Try the search string “Email JaneDoe@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com”
- Use the term “Email Jane.Doe@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com”
- Move onto “Email Jdoe@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com”
- If you’re still not having luck, try “Jane@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com”
- When you come up empty, just try “Email Travel Extraordinaire Magazine” and see if you can figure out what their emails should look like. You may find the email address relates to a parent company instead.
The above steps usually yield a hit, but not always. Another option is to try Googling “Advertise on TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com.” No, you don’t want to advertise, but you may be able to come up with the naming convention or structure of the email addresses. So, if your Google search yields an email for SamW@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com, you now know Jane’s email should look like this: JaneD@TravelExtraordinaireMagazine.com.
How to Write a Pitch
Now that you have an idea, publication options, and the editor’s email address, it’s time to start writing. But before writing a single word for your article, you need to take a step back. Don’t waste your time writing up the piece first; wait for the editor to give you the go-ahead. Chances are high they’ll have a slightly different angle, specific instructions, or say no. Rejection should be expected in your writing side hustle, but if everyone says no, there’s something wrong with your topic. You may need to pivot, despite spending hours on this one piece.
Instead of writing the article first, focus on writing your pitch. Don’t shy away from pouring yourself into it and really getting it right. Once you get a sense of what makes a good pitch, you can tweak and customize each one.Â
Here’s what you need to include in a magazine pitch:
- A hook that draws the reader into your idea
- Explain the main points and your point of view
- Offer support as to why you’re qualified to write the article
- If you already have published writing experience, mention it near the end of your pitch
Unless you’re trying to write for a highly professional scientific journal, your tone should feel like talking to a friendly acquaintance. You can learn how to write a rock-solid pitch, where to send them, and how to break into magazines and tons of other outlets with The Writers Den. It’s how I landed high-profile projects and kickstarted my writing career out of the dumps.
Learn more about The Writer’s Den here.
What If You Don’t Have Any Published Writing Samples?
Some editors want to see some kind of writing sample before you start writing, although it’s not always the case. Be prepared to offer some samples and make them as relevant as possible to your topic. For example, if the article you want to write is about personal finance for Moms, write some like-minded samples, like saving for college or how to meal plan on a tight budget.
In an ideal world, you have an online portfolio and a writer’s website showcasing your work. But it’s not absolutely necessary. Instead, you can optimize your LinkedIn profile and combine it with Contently, a free platform to upload your samples and writing work. Another option is to drum up writing work on Upwork. With thousands of jobs uploaded daily, you can put yourself out there for everything from article writing to creating witty social media posts.
How Much Do You Get Paid for a Magazine Article?
Rates are all over the place for writing for magazines but can range from $50 for a small publication to up to $2 per word, commanding $2,500 or more. In most cases, there’s not much room to negotiate on the rate. Magazines typically have a set budget for writers, although you can ask for more as you land repeat work and build a relationship with an editor. In some cases, you won’t get paid anything, but those published clips can help build credibility.
Just don’t start out as an unpaid magazine writer and stay there. Commit to only taking up to three unpaid assignments before moving on. That’s enough to establish yourself as a published writer. It’s also important not to work under the assumption you deserve nothing for your work. Put yourself out there and assume you’ll land paid work from the very start. You deserve it!
How to Impress Your Magazine Editor
It’s true magazine editors want great story ideas and content, but they also need you to make their lives easier. They’ve got their hands full with multiple writers, plus their editing duties and whatever else they’re doing at the magazine. Make it your goal to bend over backward to be the most helpful and easy to work with magazine writers around.
Start by submitting polished, edited work that looks incredible. If you don’t have a paid subscription to Grammarly–get one immediately. Let your article sit for a day or two before doing a final edit, and read it out loud to see how it flows. It’s also wise to submit your work at least a day early to give your editor a little extra time. Even if they can’t get to your assignment right away, you’ve established you’re proactive and can exceed their expectations.
You can also make a dazzling impression by offering up another idea at the end of your pitch. Before you sign off, you can include, “If this pitch doesn’t fit right now, I also have an idea about XYZ I can send you.” It gives the editor a reason to engage with you and shows you’re not just a one-hit-wonder.
Take a Shortcut Into Magazine Writing
It’s true there are no shortcuts to creating high-quality, compelling writing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shorten the path to getting published. I’m a big supporter of aiming high in your magazine journey and working your way down the list. It’s how I got published in outlets like The LA Times and The Boston Globe. They were only about five down on my list. If I had followed conventional advice, I would have started at the bottom, gotten far less exposure, and paid for the same work.
Beyond starting high and moving down, you can look to custom content publications instead. These publications are produced by an organization or business. All those airline magazines you see in your back pocket are custom content publications. So are the magazines you find at hotels and stores like Costco. These magazines are competitive to break into but usually not as difficult as the glossy consumer publications you see in the store. There are also hundreds of smaller but just as credible niche magazines that are more open to emerging writers.
Is it Hard to Become a Magazine Writer?
No, it’s not hard to become a magazine writer if you’re taking a freelance route, but it does take time. You can leverage your current experience to break in, especially if you’re trying to sell a personal essay or topic in which you already have expertise. But if you’re asking if it’s hard to become a magazine writer as your full-time job on staff, then yes. Landing a job at a magazine is more challenging as editorial budgets shrink. But it’s certainly not impossible.
Some magazines may require a degree or a specific amount of industry experience. Don’t get discouraged if you feel like you don’t have any of the experience area magazines want. Instead, you can build up your experience by submitting your work as a freelancer and fine-tuning your skills. If you really want to land at a publication as a magazine writer, identify which ones you want to work for. Then spend time pitching the editor’s fantastic ideas and well-polished writing.
As you build up a relationship with the editor and publisher, you’re more likely to be considered for a staff role as they become available. They’re also more likely to overlook a lack of experience if you’ve already proven you can do the work.
How Much Do Magazine Writers Get Paid?
If you’re writing for magazines as a freelance writer, expect to get paid $50 up to $2,500 per article. The rate is usually by the word and could be pennies up to $2 a word. Research shows the average magazine writer in the United States earns $53,816. That rate can vary dramatically depending on which publication you work for and where you live. San Francisco and New York magazine writers may make in the six figures. Yet working in a smaller regional publication may pay less than $50k.
I love magazine writing, and it’s a fantastic credibility builder for your career. You can take the same steps I took to explore magazine writing (plus copywriting, web writing, case studies, and more) with The Writers Den. Get started by grabbing a free ebook on how to book work, even as a beginner or in a recession.
