Can i get paid to write for magazines?

Question

i'm trying to earn some cash for my writing, since i've been told it's good. i remember reading back in the day about people selling their stories to magazines. does that still work? do i just e-mail a magazine and ask them if i can get paid for a story i wrote, or do i ask them if there are any topics they want me to write?

also, do i get copyright or if i'm selling it to them [since they're paying me] does that mean they can choose whether or not to say it was written by me?

if i'm really going to try this, i'd like a lot of information so if anyone has a website or something, that'd be great. thanks!

Answer 1

Luckily yes, most magazines still pay people to write articles for them :)

Decide what magazines you'd like to write for and then check their web site for submission guidelines if they have them, before you send any pitches -- ideas for stories etc. Read the magazines and try and get a handle on what it is they like to publish and tailor it accordingly.

Many magazines buy all rights to a published article - rights vary from title to title and publisher to publisher so it's impossible to give a definitive answer here. The same goes for bylines (credits).

Good luck!

Answer 2

It depends on the magazine. I would think the bigger the circulation, the bigger the pay. I know Metal Maniacs pays like $25 for a review, and $100 for an interview/article. I don't know how many copies of each issue are printed each month, but if you could compare the popularity of the magazine to another, I'm sure the pay would be in the same ballpark.

Answer 3

You are talking about becoming a journalist. A link below shows salary info. If serious, you would need to check out schooling required also.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=...

I must say the only magazine I've seen actually ask for articles, jokes, stories, etc. is the Reader's Digest, but that would surely be a start and show you if you really have something going. Good Luck, sounds like a great idea!