Continuing the series of tips from the ASJA panels in Chicago 10 days ago, we have Gina Roberts-Grey weighing in. Gina is an extremely successful freelancer (and fantastic person!) who has who has written scores of health and consumer
issues articles for women's print and online markets including Glamour,
Better Homes & Gardens, Woman's Day, Redbook, Self, Essence, MSN.com,
InsuranceQuotes.com, iVillage and others, as well as numerous celebrity
profiles.
Gina built her business writing health features for big women's pubs like Glamour, Redbook, and Women's Health, but several years ago, realized it was time to add something new to her repertoire. "Ads were disappearing, and it was time to create a new specialty from what I had already done," she says. For her, that meant both cracking online markets and developing a new specialty. After writing a 250-word piece on credit cards for Good Housekeeping, she pitched CreditCards.com, and got an assignment. Since then, she's written dozens of financial-related articles for that site and for InsuranceQuotes.com among others.
More importantly, she says that now the majority of her work and money comes from online sites rather than print publications. "Websites may only pay $1/word [compared to $2/word or more for national print publications], but you can make a lot of money writing for $1/word when you're not doing two, three, or four rewrites," she says. "You write 1,000 words, and you get paid for 1,000 words." [Note: as someone who's experienced "rewrite hell" and "story creep" many times, she has an excellent point!]
So, tip #3: Go online, young man (or woman.) If you're not writing for online pubs, you're missing out. There's more work available online than ever before, and many sites are more open to new writers than their print counterparts.
"All of your favorite mags have dot.coms. They use original content because they have to, and they're constantly updating their sites" says Gina. "Query those [online] editors. It's easier to break in than going the print route." You can then use those online clips to get your foot in the door with the print publication--or you may find you're perfectly happy writing for the online magazines. Gina and other freelancers agree there's less hassle involved and often a higher per-hour rate as well.
**Readers, what say you? Do you agree with Gina's analysis? Do you write for online pubs and print magazines, and find that online markets involve less hassle? Please let me know! :)
Writing Is Hard Work
5 years ago
Interesting! I have not maximized this as much as I should. I was under the impression that online markets pay much less (and the few I've dealt with do), but I guess it's a different story if you're talking about major national magazines' web sites.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have not forayed into freelance journalism like I would like (I currently a freelance Copy Writer with a FT job) but I have concluded that online pubs may be the way to go for a journalism newbie like myself. Thanks for the article!
ReplyDeleteGreat series of posts with the tips from the ASJA conference. Thanks, Kelly, for sharing them. I've written for a few on-line pubs and, like Abby implies, I haven't yet found the better-paying publications that Gina mentions. I guess I need to take another look writing for the on-line sites of national pubs.
ReplyDeleteWhere would you go to find these online pubs? I've never found one that paid $1 a word. More like a $1 an article. Is it just as simple as pitching the online editor for print's digital counterpart?
ReplyDeleteYes, Kelly, I have been writing for online venues. Although Carol Tice also says you can make the kind of money you describe, the most I make is $50 for a 600-1000 word post. BUT, I like writing for online clients because I get paid at the end of the month rather than on publication, which in my experience tends to be a year later. So, my online writing buys the groceries and my print pay goes in the bank for larger goals.
ReplyDeleteRe: pay--it depends. National mags tend to pay pretty well for their web content as well, so, Allison, check out the dot.coms of the print pubs, as Gina suggests. Yes, there are lots of online markets that pay crap, but there are plenty that pay well. And as Carol says, there are markets that pay promptly and that helps make them worthwhile. I've written for as little as $75/article (short blog posts) and as much as $1/word for online markets, FYI.
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice here, Kelly. Any tips for how one goes about finding the details of online editors, especially for sites that don't have a masthead handy? The print editions seem so much simpler - just buy the magazine and figure out an email address :)
ReplyDeleteMy experience so far has been that most PRINT publications don't even pay $1/word these days, and online publications are even worse. I know there are good paying publications out there, but I haven't managed to sell to one yet.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for Kelly or Gina, what is the lead time for pitching to online pubs? Am I wrong in thinking it is shorter than their print counterparts? Thanks! Amy
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy--
ReplyDeleteI agree, lead times for online pubs are shorter than for print ones, but that's going to vary depending on the online mag. I'd say assume two-three months out to be safe, but I'm guessing. Anyone else want to weigh in?