Going rate for freelance articles?

Looking to dip my toe back into the pond to make some extra $$$. We’re trying to redo our kitchen, our floors, I’d love to pay ahead on my car, etc.

And I’m finding no work out there. None. I won’t lie, I’ve nuked some connections and I’m not going back to them — but this is what I’m finding almost universally in my neck of the woods; dailies, weeklies, websites.

Twenty years ago I was doing high school gamers for $45. Gas also was $1.15/gallon and my trips were relatively short. I might go out for $50 now if it was the high school that’s a two-minute drive/20-minute walk from me. Might, if it’s a short gamer that involves little to prep and a quick, no-frills gamer.

 

I started freelancing almost as soon as I retired four months ago. One gig for a startup weekly pays $250 for what amounts to 10-12 hours a week. I’m good with that. I also string for my former employer. Usually get $5o per story, which means a couple of phone interviews. If I cover a game and shoot photos I get $100-125. Not gonna make me rich but enough to supplement my Social Security.

 

It's a shame. First national piece I ever wrote for money paid .50 a word.

In 1993.

Part of the trouble of course is that we've raised a generation of bloggers and online "sportswriters" who do the same work for free. We reset the floor of the business to $0. Publishers were delighted.

That said, you never get what you don't ask for, so qualified freelancers need to start asking for much higher minimums. In doing so, we might be able to get rates back up to where they were 30 years ago.

 

100%.

I had a long run doing one-source features for a Chiropractor magazine. An 1800-word main story with a 500-word sidebar. For $600. That was from about 1998-2008-ish. They changed editors and it went away. But gigs like that are all over the place if you look for them. Just don't look in sports. Like you said, too many are willing to do it for nothing. A former employer of mine still pays $40 for a high school game. They're so generous, they throw in mileage, at about $0.32 a mile. And they have no problem finding writers. And that, by the way is the problem. Supply, demand, etc.

I have little desire to write another word about sports. There are so many other things out there that few if any want to write about that the market works a little differently.

 

I just wrote for a state-wide magazine and was offered $0.40/word. Being a used and abused former sportswriter that usually just got a flat $50, it was a refreshing change! LOL

 

Thanks for the feedback, all. To explain further, my trade magazine requires no travel, no photos, and really not even any phone interviews (because quotes can be received via Qwoted dot com or HARO these days, by swapping a couple emails).

I do try to make things as efficient as possible for our freelancers. It really should be about 90 minutes of work. Fifty bucks sounds low, I get it, but it’s also easy work.

A few years back I was offered $25 an article for a business magazine, and $150 for blog-type articles for a lifestyle publication. Rates are all over the place depending on the publication these days (though none are great, in my personal experience).

 

I am in sort of an area of the OP. I write two stories a day for a B2B website, 300-500 words each, usually more like 350-400, mostly off press releases and whatever else I can find. I don't have to call or interact with anyone. I do get emails from PR people. No more than three hours a day but usually less. I get $75 per story.

I've been good with this. I find the work interesting enough and it fits my schedule. Reading some of this maybe I should ask for more? I don't know, but when I got it I was thrilled to have a writing gig that even paid!

For those who can't find anything, dig into LinkedIn. That's how I found this one, and have had opportunities for a few more. I get dozens of freelance ads a day. They are out there and some likely pay decently enough.

 

If it's steady, repetitive work, you're in a good ballpark. You don't want to over-ask and scare off a golden goose. I do editing work for a couple clients and charge them per hour. Suffice to say, a billed hour doesn't take an hour. But I still don't charge much, because it's a huge amount over the course of a month. And they have referred me out twice, too.

 

My highest-paying client is a university. Unfortunately, the university magazine for which I write only comes out twice a year, so those opportunities are limited but lucrative. Right this minute, I need to be finishing a 2,300-word article and a 900-word sidebar for $1 a word. I've put in a bunch of time on these stories -- eight interviews total -- but it's worth it to knock out a couple of house payments.

 

I’ve looked on LinkedIn — I’m not limiting myself to sports work — and haven’t seen much out there. I must not be looking hard enough.

 

I work at a university, and we don't often post an ad for writers - we'll just ask people we know. I imagine it might be the same at other ones. Just reach out to the editor with some clips, ask if they have work, etc. If you're freelancing, you usually have to be aggressive about finding work.