Get Money, Get Paid – pay rates for emerging writers
One of the key findings of the Emerging Writers’ Festival in recent years is that there is a lack of understanding among new writers about how much they could or should expect to get paid for their work.
To assist in bridging this knowledge gap, we are undergoing a documentation process to collate freelance submission rates for writers. Our goal is to inform emerging writers about pay rates and hopefully assist in connecting good writers with publication opportunities. Knowledge is, after all, power.
In 2010, Margaret Simons undertook a similar project documenting freelance journalism rates for Crikey. Her investigation was informed by reports from the journalists themselves. We requested our information from the publications directly.
The Australian Society of Authors outlines rates and conditions writers should expect to be paid; these ‘ASA rates’ are often referred to as the industry standard, but in reality, going rates vary wildly.
This information will shortly be available as a searchable database that we will continue to update in coming years. For now, it is a table.
Magazine
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| Lip Mag | voluntary, including editorial staff | Free copy of the magazine | |
| The Big Issue | My Word (750 words) $150; Features (850 words) $200 (1200 to 1300 words) $300 | ||
| Dumbo Feather | $800 for a feature interview, $250 for a 600-word short feature | Two contributor copies of the magazine | |
| The Monthly | $1/word | Free copy of the magazine; fame and glory | 29, 982; Readership: 122,0000 |
Opinion
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| Crikey | $0-$150 | 14, 000 subscribership | |
| Opinion online | $0 | 350,000 page views in a month from around 80,000 unique browsers |
Street Press
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| X-Press | $40-55 per feature article | benefits (tickets/CDs/DVDs/glory) | 38000 copies per week |
| The Nose | Rates of pay: AUD$0.70/word for features and long-form book reviews, alternatively paid in the currency of the writer’s choice (pegged to the exchange rate at the time and date of publication) minus transaction and conversion fees. | Writers can occasionally expect to get in on the odd jug at the pub after work. | 4500-5000 |
Websites
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures | |
| Inside a Dog | ASA rates | |||
| EWF blog | Staff writers; content from writers syndicated and unpaid. Contributors to blog paid $75/piece from August 2012. | Syndicated content is not reproduced in its entirety, rather the heading links back to the author’s site to ensure traffic click-throughs. Free festival tickets and professional development. Editing support. | ||
| The Enthusiast | $0 | Free access to review materials (books, theatre/comedy, festivals, CDs, live music, etc). | ||
| Vibewire | Voluntary, including editorial staff | Name attributed, Access to professional writers and content partners, Promotion on social media and newsletter, Access to networking events, Mentoring from editorial team. | 3000 unique views a month | |
| Milk Bar Mag | Voluntary, including editorial staff | Links to author, social media mentions, exposure. | ||
| Mean Land | $70/post | Links to author, social media mentions, exposure. |
Festivals
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| Emerging Writers’ Festival | $75 | Professional development, concession ticket prices |
Lit industry publications
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| Queensland Writers Centre | $75 for 400 words, $105 for 800 words and $150 for 1300 words | a copy of the print and/or pdf version of the magazine in which their article appears. | 10,000 |
| If:Book | ASA rates, 50c per word or $110 per hour | ||
| NSW Writers’ Centre member mag | $400 for 1-page article (700 words); $700 for 2-page article (1200 words); $75 reproduction fee for reprinting article (from blog, journal etc) | It’s a good way of establishing contacts and getting your name known in the writing community, and emerging writers are often published alongside experienced writers too | 3,000 – the print publication goes to NSW Writers’ Centre members only |
| Victorian Writers | $0 | Contributor copies | 4000/month |
| Readings Monthly | $50 Readings gift card; The New Australian Writing feature pays $650-800 | ||
| Bookseller & Publisher | $75 for 200-word reviews; 55c a word for features | Free copy of the review book | |
| The Emerging Writer | $75 | 1500 circulation |
Literary journals
| Publication | Rate of pay | Other benefits | Circulation figures |
| Meanjin | 20c per word (30c/40c per word for commissioned pieces funded by grants) | editing, copy editing, publication in print and online, distribution, copy of the journal, discount for subscription, archiving of the article | print run 1500, 41,141 unique visitors (web) |
| Overland | The only set rate is for poetry, $120 per poem. The rest of the payments are worked out by dividing the total contributor budget for the year by the number of issues. So I’m not sure how you’ll represent that. It usually works out to be about $500 for fiction and about $400–$500 for essays, but this varies too. | Circulation figures for 2011 is 8305 copies. | |
| The Lifted Brow | $50 – $200 flat, depending on resources | Contributor copy | 1500 print run |
| Australian Book Review | Minimum rates: Book review –$300; Short story – $400; Poem – $200 | 20,000, and our online (ABR Online Edition) is 100,000 | |
| Voiceworks | $100/piece | free copy of the magazine and then discounted copies; extensive, collabrative feedback on all submissions; ongoing advocacy for authors and their work (linking writers to further publication possibilities, performance opportunities, etc.) | 4000 |
| Going Down Swinging | Variable flat rates depending on budget; in 2011 they were $75 | comprehensive editing process where required, as well as the efforts we make to get those works considered by compilation anthologies, writers festivals, and so on. | |
| Mascara | Poetry: $50 per poem. Fiction: $100 per story. Translations: $50 per piece. Reviews or Essays: $60. Cover Art: negotiable. Videos: negotiable. | 4000-8000 page visist monthly from 70 countries | |
| Australian Poetry Journal | $80 for poems up to 40 lines and $2 per line thereafter | ||
| The Mook (Vignette Press) | Contributors to the mooks receive membership into the Vignette Press family; print and online exposure; a line for their CV; and good, good, good, good vibrations. | 500 print copies; e-book also available. |
Not available (declined to contribute)
Frankie magazine, The Drum, The Age (arts reviews), The Thousands, Broadsheet
No response (did not respond)
Peppermint magazine, Arena, Dolly, Rolling Stone, Sunday Life, QWeekend, The Age (opinion), The Punch, New Matilda, Beat, In Press, TimeOut, Scene, Rip It Up, Readings blog, Melbourne Weekly, City Weekly, MX, Rave, The Brag, Cherrie, LOTL Mag, the Ember, The Conversation, Crikey Blogs, The Vine, Mama Mia, Wheeler Centre Dailies, Artshub, Kill Your Darlings, Killings, Island Mag, dot dot dash, Ampersand, Cordite, Griffith, Southerly, National Young Writers’ Festival, Overland blog
What’s next?
We will continue to request pay rates from many publications. If your publication is not represented please email us at [email protected]
Tonight we are hosting a discussion about money – Get Money, Get Paid – at the Emerging Writers’ Festival.
Bhakthi Puvanenthiran has a piece in our book, The Emerging Writer, about empowering emerging writers to discuss rates of pay with their peers and editors.
Knowledge is power
The Festival firmly believes that knowledge is power and we want to encourage and empower emerging writers to value their work and publish with care.
33 Responses
What a fantastic resource for emerging writers! Great work Lisa.
Very useful. Thanks Lisa.
Wow, I genuinely thought freelancers were paid more than that. How can an article be properly researched or a living made from that sort of money?
You can’t.
I freelance for 4 separate clients, part time, and my biggest month so far has gained me $1500 (before tax) for roughly 14 feature articles.
The other problem is that a lot of places have ridiculous invoice periods (30-60 days) so you get paid in a trickle over a long period of time.
If I didn’t have my fulltime job I wouldn’t be able to reliably pay my bills, feed my family or pay my mortgage.
You can. I’ve been making an impressive living via freelance for over three years now. I earn more than I ever did in a corporate environment, and living in a dressing gown is amazing and I’ll thank you not to stare.
I’m not sure who your “clients” are, but $1,500 for 14 feature articles sounds a little bit like you might be subscribing to an internet content farm or something. I will earn a little under that for 1, although I dare say our specifics might be somewhat different.
You’re doing it wrong.
I’m a bit surprised you didn’t request rates from technology and gaming sites, particularily when they have much higher circulation and higher rates of freelance use.
Examples: CNet/ZDNet, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, IGN, Gamespot, Games on Net, Ausgamers etc..
Hi James, this is a starting point. We will be expanding the net across the next few months. Thanks!
Mountain Ocean and Travel Publications pay $50 per magazine page published for Sportdiving Magazine.
http://www.divetheblue.net/pdf/SDguides.pdf
ThePunch.com.au do not usually pay for contributions (from experience). To add insult, they can simultaneously publish on all other News sites and publications (it’s in the fine print).
@James – I’m the founder of DelibNow, which has a goal of making well researched freelance journalism much more viable and sustainable.
If you want to follow us on twitter @DelibNow and send me a DM I’d love to chat… or you can pre-register at our .com
Great Chris, will do.
ACP mags (Dolly, Rolling Stone, Men’s mags), 70c; Pacific Mags (Marie Claire) 70-$1; SMH/Age, 50-80c; The Vine (Fairfax), reviews $50, interviews/features $100-150; Daily Life, $300 per piece; Sunday Life 60-80c; Qantas magazine, $1; Weekend Australian, 70-80c.
Non-fiction writers and pro journos (uni trained or decades of experience ) charge according to MEAA recommended minimum freelance rates. government and corporates pay these rates or higher. you need to differentiate between literary writing and bread-and-butter writing. Totally different animals. citizen journalists and hobby writers cannot expect high rates.
Hang on a sec… are you implying that literary writing is “hobby writing”? In terms of pay that might be the case, but in terms of experience, dedication and contribution to culture and debate, creative non fiction and fiction are equally valid and important. People writing in these genres will often have a univeristy degree and many older writers of fiction and creative non-fiction will, like the journalists that you mention, have “decades of experience”. I fail to see how these are “totally different animals”.
Hi Pam,
The MEAA-recommended rates are fantastic (in theory), but the only publications in my experience that pay accordingly are union-affiliated (no surprises there). The exceptions include titles like Reader’s Digest, in flight magagazines and weekend supplements, which have paid $1/word for years.
Even the biggest/most respected broadsheets do not pay the MEAA rate (50-70 cents a word being much more common). Sure, corporate gigs allow you to charge per word/hour as you like, but the MEAA rates have little sway in newspaper/magazine land, and any writer asking for more than the relevant freelancing rate would receive short shrift I should think (unless they are very prominent/have a special agreement with the editor).
That such variability exists proves how valuable these exercises/forums are. This information is particularly useful for emerging writers, who need to know what to expect.
Find me a recent uni graduate who earns the MEAA-recommended 93c per word and I’ll fall off my chair (you need to be top of your game in this industry to pull that kind of cash), but like the other pro-freelancers on this thread I can vouch that the monetary situation is not quite as dire as the table above suggests.
The reason the rates are so low is because the publications approached are all ones that are known for not paying well/paying at all. Speak to Fairfax, News, Pacific or ACP – or the people who write for them – and you’ll field a somewhat different response.
My rates? Fairfax: 70-80c, depending on the editor (starting rate 50c). Pacific: 70c-$1, depending on the magazine (starting rate 50c). ACP: 75c (starting rate 50c). Publications I write for because the clips look nice on my resume: $200/piece.
Hello! Actually we asked but couldn’t get pay rates from the outlets you mention. Margaret Simons covered those kinds of publications in her investigation, by asking the journos how much they get paid: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/contentmakers/2010/02/08/what-are-freelancers-paid-the-complete-data-so-far/
I currently write for a particular magazine’s blog and print edition. I have worked around 3- 4 hours a day for them for 3 months as an intern, and after that they’ve been calling me a contributing writer, providing entirely original content for the website (both requested of me, and under my own steam), and extended material for each magazine (every 3 months) do you think it’s possible to approach them for pay, considering the amount of work I do and how long I’ve been there. And if so, how much would be fair to ask for?
Nicole, your earnestness in doing large amounts of unpaid writing work is commendable but I must say, and I do not mean this disrespectfully, that you are a fool.
Or, rather, you are making a fool of yourself by giving away your time, effort, skills, and knowledge to someone who clearly thinks it’s OK to take, take, take with no compensation. You will run into many, many people like this in the publishing industry, especially for online sites that suck words out of writers by the tens of thousands for a pittance so they can generate ad revenues – and one day you will realise that they are wasting your time, and that you are encouraging it.
There are many people in the publishing industry who will rightfully pay you for your time and your work. The key for you is to stop telling yourself that you are fortunate to be writing regularly, and to not be afraid to stick up for yourself. These publications would not exist without writers so you are adding more value than you seem to allow yourself.
From the kind of work you describe you would be best to ask them for an hourly rate – I’d say $30 to $40 an hour if you are producing a good deal of content. If they value you they will offer to pay you. If they expect you to continue working for free past your intern period, they are disrespecting you. Don’t let them.
I’ve been freelancing for a long time and I can tell you there is one rule many young writers just don’t seem to have gotten into the core of their being. And that rule is this: If you are doing work for someone that is deriving a commercial benefit from your work, you deserve to be paid too. Full stop. Learn this and never, ever forget it.
Should change the nomenclature … freelance really means free lance. What about paidlance?
Content is king. Editors all need ideas and content and this will never change. Keep finding editors that will pay for your work; do not do it for free. As ‘another freelancer’ says, “If you are doing work for someone that is deriving a commercial benefit from your work, you deserve to be paid too. Full stop. Learn this and never, ever forget it.”
Broadsheet pay about 10c per word.
Freelance writers are the exploited workers of the internet age. Shame on the publishers who allow this to be so.
The Stilts Journal (www.underthestilts.com) pays a $50 flat fee per contributor.
Really, no “other benefits” for Overland?
“Fame and glory” as benefits for The Monthly sounds ridiculous.
I write for newspapers and magazines and the rates vary between 70c and $1 a word. I make more by insisting that I retain rights and then selling some features again. I do very well compared to most freelanceers but I work ridiculous hours and the rates have not moved in about four yers. So, in real terms I’m going backwards. Anyone who writes for nothing is making it harder for everyone else. I always ask up front what the pay rate is. This isn’t a hobby, it’s my living. I nearly always haggle over the rate too. Respect and value yourself as a writer because if you don’t you will be shafted.
I appear to have arrived a little late to this fiscally-sensitive party, but I just wanted to advise that “Red Leaves / 紅葉”, the independent English-language / Japanese bi-lingual literary annual which I edit, still pays AUD $50.00—$75.00 for original prose, poetry, creative non-fiction and graphic fiction (*manga*) relative to the editorial mandate / format of each respective issue. I should also clarify that we’ve been on hiatus and/or in editorial hibernation throughout 2011, but will be returning in the near future with much cross-cultural gusto.
It’s amazing how low paid writers are. I can’t see it ever changing. I find writing for Fast Fiction magazine (That’s Life) very lucrative as far as writing goes. It’s not literary fiction, but it’s fun and it pays. I get $400 for a 700 word story and the rate goes up for more words.
Hi,
Where can we see similar rates for broadsheets? I note that Marc says that broadsheets pay $0.10 per word – but surely there is more specific info out there?
Hi Dave,
I think Marc was referring to Broadsheet (the publication), not broadsheets in general.
It’s a bit old, but the Margaret Simons article referred to above gives a run-down of the broadsheets’ rates as of 2010:
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/contentmakers/2010/02/08/what-are-freelancers-paid-the-complete-data-so-far/
Thanks heaps for all your effort, this is a great resource
This is a great resource and clearly a playground of a lot of passionate writers. Thanks and keep up the good work
Hi, thanks for this resource. But has it been updated for 2013 anywhere?
Hi Aria,
We hope to update and revise in the second half of this year.
Best,
STM