The world of freelance writing has changed a lot in 2019. There are finally starting to be more publishers actively seeking writers – and openly stating payment rates of $1 per word or more.

As part of that change, the media company, and publishing platform Medium, has launched quite a few new websites, many of which pay professional rates to freelance writers for feature articles.

In 2019, the transition away from print magazines finally gained solid footing. Let’s hope that in 2020, that solid footing will turn into more opportunities and better pay for freelancers working with these publishers

If you are thinking about launching a freelance writing career in 2020, then I highly recommend that you watch this free webinar.

Publications from Medium

Zora is Medium’s online publication about women of color. Their topic areas include: “current events, culture, identity, race, justice, equality, work/life, family, self, sexuality, parenting, psychology, spirituality, career, friendship, aging, habits, love and dating, body image, trauma and recovery, caregiving, hobbies… and the list goes on.” According to payment reports, they pay up to $1.00 per word. Writers can send pitches to their editor-in-chief at vanessa@medium.com. To learn more about them, refer to this page.

OneZero is a new Medium publication about technology and science. Their senior editor is seeking pitches for future-facing science stories. She is especially interested in “big ideas in biotech, genetic engineering, climate science, and all the weird stuff in between that’ll shape the next 10, 20, 50 years.” According to one payment report, they paid $1.25 per word for a 3,200-word feature. For details, refer to this Twitter post. To learn more about them, refer to this page.

FFWD is a new publication by Medium. They offer the smartest takes on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. According to their editor, they are seeking “agenda-leading stories about the online video space.” They pay $1.00 per word, and run 3 stories (1,000 to 1,500 words) per week. Learn how to pitch them here. Read their editor’s Twitter post here.

Heated is a food publication from Mark Bittman (a food journalist, author, and television personality) and Medium (an online publishing platform). Their “goal is to showcase the links between food and just about everything else: agriculture, politics, history, and labor; culture and cooking; identity, family, and love.” They are actively seeking pitches. According payment reports, they paid $1 per word for a 1000-word feature. Though it seems their features rate may be $1,000 per article. To learn more, visit this page.

Gay Magazine is a new publication partnership between Roxane Gay (an author, editor, and commentator) and Medium (an online publishing platform). They offer interesting and thoughtful cultural criticism. They are looking for personal essays, short fiction, illustration and photography. They pay $1.00 per word for work up to 3,500 words. Details here.

General Interest / News

Input is a tech publication (launching soon) that is committed to “offering a fresh perspective on the devices, creators, trends, and ideas that are changing our world.” According to their contributing features editor, they are seeking stories at the intersection of technology and culture. They pay $0.33 to $1.00 per word for features. View their website here.

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 our sources, they pay up to $1 a word. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

Chatelaine is a Canadian magazine that covers the topics of health, fashion, and beauty. They publish briefs, how-tos, and features. For seasonal articles there is a four to six month lead time. They pay $1 per word. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

The Logic provides in-depth reporting on Canada’s innovation economy. They are seeking investigative and feature stories about Canada’s innovation economy. They don’t list payment rates, but state that their rates are competitive. One payment report indicates payment of $1.00 per word. To read their submission guidelines, visit this page.

Critical Read is a New York-based nonprofit publishing company that supports the promotion of arts and culture in the United States. They are looking for artwork biographies of 4,000 to 5,000 words. They pay up to $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.

Institutional Investor is an international business to business publisher that focuses mainly on international finance. They are looking for “stories that feature conflict, narrative, access, and disclosure”; “international content that will resonate with American readers”; “articles based on novel data or research about the asset management industry”; “cultural stories about the financial industry”; and “freelancers who know the institutional investment world.” The pieces should ideally be 1,000 to 2,000 words long. Pay is $1 a word plus reasonable expenses. For more information, visit this page.

The Intercept is a nonprofit news organization that is devoted to holding the powerful accountable through its fearless, adversarial journalism. According to payment reports, they pay up to $1.00 per word. To contact them, refer to this page.

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.” They pay up to $1.50 a word for feature articles. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

Experience is an online magazine by Northeastern University. They welcome “pitches for reported stories that examine how experience is driving change in industry and society — and inspiring solutions to global problems.” According to one payment report, they paid $1.00 per word for a 600-word piece. To pitch, refer to this page.

High Country News is a non-profit magazine covering the American West. They pay between $.50 and $1.50 a word. Their feature articles can be more than 2,400 words. They accept article pitches on an ongoing basis. They do not generally accept pre-written articles. To learn more and to pitch them an article, be sure to read their submission guidelines.

Scientific American covers science discoveries and technology innovations. They “welcome ideas for articles on recent scientific discoveries, technical innovations and overviews of ongoing research.” The average length of their articles is about 2,500 to 3,000 words. They also welcome essays (700 to 800 words). Payment reports indicate that they pay up to $1.50 per word. For details, refer to this page.

Esquire is a men’s magazine that covers news, politics, style, food and drink, and entertainment. According to payment reports, they pay up to $1.33 per word. To contact them, refer to this page.

Food / Natural Living

Eating Well focuses on all aspects of food and nutrition. Their motto is “Where Good Taste Meets Good Health,: and their articles reflect that. Their pieces take a scientific approach to food and provide advice on healthy eating. They’ve posted a list of columns that are suitable for freelancers, and they pay up to $1 per word. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine features wine ratings, reviews, recipe ideas, pairing information, news, and guides. They welcome proposals from freelance writers about wine, fine food and travel. They also accept story ideas for their website. According to one payment report, they paid $1.00 per word for a 700-word profile or interview. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

Rodale’s Organic Life covers “living naturally in the modern world.” Payment reports indicate payment rates of 25 cents a word for online posts, and $1 a word for print. Rates will need to be negotiated. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

Travel

American Way is a free, inflight magazine of American Airlines. They publish on a monthly basis. According to one payment report, they paid $1.00 per word. To contact them, refer to this page.

Southwest: The Magazine is the official inflight magazine of Southwest Airlines. They usually publish two works of narrative nonfiction (3,000 to 3,500 words) each issue. They also assign special advertising sections. For features, their rate is typically $1.00 per word. For details, read their writer’s guidelines.

AFAR is the ‘experiential travel guide.’ They cover travel stories from a more personal perspective, telling their “stories through people, allowing readers to explore authentic local cultures from the inside out.” Payment reports indicate $1 a word as a common payment rate. Keep in mind that pay will need to be negotiated. To contact them, refer to this page.

Journey is AAA’s magazine for their members in Washington and Northern Idaho. They reach over 600,000 readers a month. Payment reports indicate $1 a word for payment. They aim to “present readers with lively and informative stories on lifestyle, travel and automotive topics that encourage them to discover and explore the Northwest and beyond.” To learn more, read their writers’ guidelines. 

Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine. Air Canada’s magazine reaches over 1 million readers a month. They have an international audience, and high expectations. They accept submissions in a variety of categories. They aim to respond to submissions within 30 days. According to our sources, they pay $1 CDN per word. Be sure to read their full submission guidelines.

Travel + Leisure Magazine pays $1 a word. The vast majority of their writing is from freelance writers. They have a very large audience, with a circulation of 950,00. The editors “are looking for a compelling reason to assign an article: a specific angle, news that makes the subject fresh, a writer’s enthusiasm for and familiarity with the topic.” To learn more, read their contributor guidelines.

Outside Magazine is a monthly publication that covers “the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors.” According to our research they pay between 25 cents and $1 per word for the writing they publish. To learn more, read their contributors’ guidelines.

Backpacker publishes articles that target the backpacking and hiking communities. Their pieces cover foot-based travel, backcountry experience, North American destinations, and other topics that they highlight. They pay up to $1 per word depending on complexity and experience. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

National Parks is an award-winning, quarterly magazine known for high-quality photography and writing. The magazine is published by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a non-profit group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the National Park System. Reports indicate they pay $1 per word. To learn more, read their submission guidelines. Be sure to click “Downloads” on their guidelines page to access the file.

Science and the Environment

Physics Today is the American Institute of Physics’ flagship publication. They publish both in print and online formats. They inform their “readers about science and its place in the world with authoritative features, news stories, analysis, and fresh perspectives on technological advances and ground-breaking research.” According to their website director, they pay $1.00 per word. To learn more, visit this page.

Science Magazine covers news on science, science policy and issues that are of importance to the scientific community. They want “everything from 140-word news briefs to 2500-word features to investigative projects.” According to payment reports, they pay up to $1 per word, and sometimes more. To learn more, refer to this page.

Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) is a non-profit news organization that produces explanatory and investigative journalism on food, agriculture, and environmental health. They pay $1.00 to $2.00 per word plus travel. To learn more, refer to this Twitter post and this page.

Business Insider and Insider are looking for pitches for features. Business Insider is a website that covers business, financial, and technology news. Insider is a website that shares all the adventures that life has to offer. According to their features editor, their pay starts at $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.

Today’s Parent is “Canada’s #1 source for parenting content that informs, inspires and builds a sense of community.” Their articles help parents of children from birth to 9+ tackle a range of parenting issues including discipline, health, behavior and education. Payment reports suggest that they pay up to $1.00 per word. To find out more, visit this page

Teaching Tolerance publishes articles for a national audience of pre-K through 12 educators with a focus on diversity and social justice. They accept freelance submissions for articles, blog posts, and lessons that reflect their perspective. They pay up to $1 a word for features and their Story Corner section. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

National Geographic Kids is a general interest nonfiction magazine for 6 to 14 year-olds. It is published 10 times per year. Their stories cover a wide range of topics including “natural history, science, geography, history, and human interest.” They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. They prefer short and to the point queries of about 250 words. One payment reports suggest that they pay over $1 per word. To find out more, refer to their submission guidelines.

Regional

D Magazine is a resource for news, food, arts, health, business, weddings, and more in Dallas, Texas. Payment reports indicate that they pay $1.00 per word. To contact them, refer to this page.

Midwest Living is a regional magazine covering the 12 states of the Midwest U.S. They have a circulation of 925,000, and reports indicate they pay up to $1.25 a word. New writers should expect $150 for a short “scouting” assignment or website article. To learn more, read this interview with their editor, and their submission guidelines.

Washingtonian is a general-interest magazine for the DC area. They cover politics, technology, art, entertainment, dining, shopping, health, parenting, and personalities. They publish profiles, true-crime yarns, pieces of narrative journalism, trend pieces, column-length arguments, comprehensive lists, and photo essays. According to payment reports, they pay about $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to their writers’ guidelines.

Atlanta Magazine is a general interest publication based in Atlanta, Georgia. They cover news, culture, food, travel, entertainment, style, and all things Atlanta. They are interested in stories focused on Atlanta and the metro region. According to payment reports, they pay up to $1.00 per word. To submit a pitch, visit this page.

Texas Monthly is a magazine and website that covers Texas news, politics, culture, food, travel, history, music, crime, and more. According to payment reports, they pay $1.00 per word. To contact them, refer to this page.

MLK50 Memphis is a nonprofit news website focused on poverty, power, and public policy.  They are looking for freelancers. They pay up to $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this Twitter post and Google form.

Chicago Magazine is a print and online publication that focuses on the culture, lifestyles and politics of Chicago. They want writers to send a brief pitch of 1 to 3 paragraphs stressing why their idea is unique and compelling for their readers. They do not publish stories which lack a Chicago angle. Payment reports suggest that they pay up to $1.00 per word. To learn more, visit this page.

Central Coast Farm & Ranch is a quarterly magazine based in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in California. They publish articles that cover a variety of topics specific to Central Coast agriculture. They pay up to $1 a word for published features. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.