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For Love or Money?
By Mridu Khullar
At some point in a magazine writer's career, he will
realize that he can't just work for either love or money.
It has to be a balanced dance between the two, which can
sometimes be difficult, often exhausting. We become writers
because we love to write and want to express our feelings
and opinions on things that matter to us. Yet, if we don't
earn an income, that time and space to write that we desperately
cling to, comes in danger of being replaced by a full-time job.
So how can you feed your soul even as you earn to feed your
body? By finding that balance.
For Love: Personal essays
Personal essay markets don't pay exceptionally well. Even
first-person columns in some of the highest circulation
newspapers pay only from $100-500, though you'd get more
from consumer magazines. What you don't get in money, however,
is more than made up for in prestige, sharing of personal
challenges and triumphs, and sometimes, even book deals.
Market: Skirt Magazine, pays $150, guidelines:
http://www.skirt.com/contributor_guidelines
For Money: Trade magazines
For magazine writers, sometimes the only way to have a decent,
regular income is to write for trade magazines—publications
that cater to professionals in a specific industry. The pay
rates are high—an average of $1 a word. But even though the
assignments can be frequently challenging and sometimes boring,
the money in the bank proves to be sufficient motivation for
getting them done.
Market: Distribution Channels, pays $0.50 per word, guidelines:
http://www.awmanet.org/dc/dc_write-guide.html
For Love: Travel articles
Travel writing can be fun, exhilarating, and the thrill of
writing about a new destination, culture or people almost
always takes out the pain of delayed flights, lost luggage,
and cranky co-passengers. There are a few markets that will
foot the bill for your escapades as well as pay you highly,
but such markets are few and far between. For the most part,
you'll be paying for your own expensive sea food.
Market: Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, pays $1 per word,
guidelines:
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/bt/info/writerguidelines.asp
For Money: Service pieces
How-to articles or service pieces are a great way to break
into new-to-you markets as well as snag regular assignments.
The best part? Consumer magazines for almost every target
group will pay highly for them. The tough part? Finding new
ideas.
Market: Redbook, pays $1.50 a word, website:
http://www.redbookmag.com
For Love: Social issues, problems faced by minority groups
There are magazines that specialize and focus on personal
stories and heavily-researched articles in these areas. They
are not always well-paying. The best bet for people who want
to write about issues in local communities, nationally or
internationally, is to target newspapers and news magazines.
Unfortunately, unless you bring something special to the table
and are willing to spend a lot of time and energy chasing
stories, opportunities can be hard to come by and income can be
a challenge.
Market: The Christian Science Monitor, pays $200-225, guidelines:
http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/guidelines.html
For Money: Profiles of people doing amazing things
Stories of people overcoming intense challenges can be difficult
to find, but if you do happen to hit on one, you will be
rewarded with three things: fantastic pay, fantastic work, and
if you write it well, a fantastic clip. Almost all consumer
magazines, including those for women (Marie Claire, Self), for
teens (Seventeen), and even general-interest (Reader's Digest),
publish such stories monthly.
Market: Woman's Day, pays competitively, contact:
http://www.womansday.com/information/11577/contact-us.html
For Love: Writing for writers
Writers love to write about writing and to educate new writers.
Unfortunately, the markets for this are almost non-existent. If
you can't find a home in Writer's Digest or the Writer, consider
looking to the dozens of small newsletters and websites that cater
to the writing community and are very popular with both newbies
and seasoned professionals.
Market: WritersWeekly.com, pays $60, guidelines:
http://writersweekly.com/misc/guidelines.php
For Money: Evergreen stories
Evergreen pieces—think weight loss, achieving serenity, pleasing
your partner—are extremely popular with general-interest and
women's magazines, and will often earn you a minimum of $1 a
word from national consumer magazines. Think of topics that you
see in every issue and find a new way to present them.
Market: Good Housekeeping, pays $1 and up, website:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/
For Love: Fiction
Publications give very limited space to fiction in their pages.
Your best bet is to aim at the small literary and labor-of-love
magazines that while not making you rich, will honor your writing
and bring you respect in the literary community.
Market: Glimmer Train, pays $500, guidelines:
http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html
--
BIO:
Mridu Khullar, 26, is an Indian journalist currently working
in Accra, Ghana. She has worked with Marie Claire, Elle,
Parade.com, Ms., Women's eNews, US Airways, Writer's Digest,
and East West, among others.
http://www.mridukhullar.com
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