Writing for a Magazine
All of us have our own way of making ends meet. Some people work a nine to five job while others earn sales commissions by recruiting others to work for them. But if selling is not your niche and writing happens to be it, perhaps you should write for a magazine company.
Most magazines hire people who graduated with a degree in Journalism. But it takes a special skill to write about airplanes, cars, medicine and computers. This is where you come in because if you are knowledgeable about any of these topics, a magazine publication would like to get your input and have this published.
Are you well compensated while working for a magazine publication? A lot of people say yes. Just to give you an idea, some companies who make brochures and fact sheets pay writers from $50 to $1000 per project. A blogger is could be paid per word, by the hour or per project that could also translate to thousands of dollars.
These rates vary on several factors namely where the article will be published if it is print or online, the kind of article being written, word count, number of pages and if there will be diagrams or images included.
For writers who are required to add images to their articles, the rates will also vary because this will be assessed by an article editor and a photographic editor.
If you are able to work for them for quite some time, naturally the rate will be higher. You may even be able to demand how much you want to be paid. This is not applicable to a newcomer because he or she has to prove themselves first. They will have to prove their writing abilities and eventually build up their own portfolio so they too can negotiate how much they will be paid.
For veterans and newcomers alike, once your article has been approved, do not think that the job is finished. Most often than not, some things will have to be revised so be prepared to edit.
If the article you wrote is not approved, find out why so you can improve your writing skills. Getting feedback is better than not getting any.
Also try to submit this elsewhere so all the hard work you did in doing the necessary research does not go to waste.
Some people find it easier to write for a newspaper than a magazine publication because of the larger circulation size. People who have tried both say that the pay rate is not that far apart. You just have to work for it.
Once you have landed a nice writing job for a magazine publication, the trick now is to keep it. The only way this can be done is by maintaining consistency in your work.
So should you write for any magazine publication? This depends if you share the same interests. If you don’t, perhaps you should work for someone one else. If you have a magazine in mind, it is best to read as many copies of that magazine as possible so you know how they work and who their target audience is.
If the editor likes what you did, the title of your article may just get on the front cover and this could be the start of something big in magazine Publishing.