Freelance Writing in Online Magazines: Follow These 39 Magazines

Finding clients that pay well is a difficult task. But we have to do it if we need freelance writing jobs in online magazines, especially in these pandemic times

Don’t worry you are not alone in this, somebody somewhere is feeling the same way as you are. But content is something that never goes out of need, especially in businesses, digital publications, or magazines, they will always require a content writer.

If you think the market is getting saturated, then let me tell you that there is always a requirement for well-written articles by expert writers who can do deep research, meet deadlines, and interview sources.

But the biggest question is HOW? How can we get freelance writing jobs in online magazines? And the answer to this is to target the magazine editors and pitch them a great story idea.

This is high time and editors are looking for stories to complete their magazines in an interesting way.

The warning here is “Do not feel scared of rejection”. Having this fear will stop you from beginning anything and you will just sit back. Instead, take action and pitch the editors with a great story idea.

If you are doubtful about which online magazines to target, here are 39 online magazines divided on the basis of niche that you pitch anytime and they really offer decent pay.

How do pitch editors grab freelance writing jobs in online magazines?

This may be the hectic but the most important part of your freelancing journey. Make this a habit of pitching 5 people daily. To go ahead with pitching, follow these quick tips:

• Analyze the online magazine properly.
• Notice the headlines, voice, and formatting style.
• Research its audience and what kind of articles the magazine publishes.
• And then just go and pitch.

Keep pitching different magazines every day. If you do this daily, you will get more freelance writing jobs in online magazines.

NICHE 1: SCIENCE

1. DISCOVER: This magazine includes topics like space travel, technology, physics, medicine, paleontology, and other science-based topics. If you have expertise in such a field you can message editor Eric Betz on Twitter. Keep pitching despite not being rejected in the first few attempts.

You can expect the pay of $0.52 per word but varies on many factors.

2. AUDUBON: Do you love birds? Then this magazine is for you. You can catch up with Martha Harbison on Twitter by including stories based on birds including habitats. You can expect a pay rate of $0.40 per word.

3. SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE: They accept proposals from experienced freelancers in stories based on art, history, science, travel, and innovation. Try to pitch according to Brian Wolly on Twitter and the charges they offer are around $0.36 per word on average.

4. HAKAI MAGAZINE: They feature reports on coastal ecosystems in the form of both long- and short-term journalism articles. They publish the work of freelance writers in various ways:

News and views(300-800 words).

Features(1000-1500 words).

You can pitch senior editor Shanna Baker or managing editor Adrienne Mason on Twitter. Their pay as recorded was $1.05 per word.

5. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL: Do you have nature lust? Do you love to spend time in the natural environment? You can email the editor on this email “editor@natgeo.com” with stories on wild, unique, and beautiful places. They will tell you the further processing of selection.

The lowest pay as recorded was $0.50 per word which varies with sections.

NICHE 2: WOMEN

1. OPRAH MAG(digital version):

The digital version of this magazine is a newly launched version online to motivate women to live their best lives. There are no criteria to follow but you can directly reach its director on Twitter named Arianna Davis. The payment for the print version was $2 per word but you can expect a lower amount for the digital version.

2. GLAMOUR: Women are all about beauty, style, wellness, culture, and entertainment, a complete package in themselves. There are no guidelines to be followed to pitch the editor but you can pitch the digital editor Perrie Samotin on Twitter. The recorded payment was .27 per word.

3. COSMOPOLITAN: This magazine has a massive readers list: 16 million. This magazine is focused on young women’s empowerment. The payment they offer as recorded last year was .25 per word for digital content. Send an email to the senior editor Emma Barker at “emma.barker@time.com”.

4. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING: This magazine has a readership of 25 million and most of them are married women who have children and work outside the house. You can send your pitching application to Lauren Matthews, who is a digital director, on Twitter.

The pay they offered was .67 per word for short narratives on overcoming health issues.

5. TEEN VOGUE: I would say the difficult age is teenage. You start facing harsh realities at this age. For digital publication, their average pay is $0.30 per word. For this, you can pitch its editor Samhita Mukhopadya along with topics related to teens.

6. LIISBETH: It publishes content based on feminist creators, leaders, and entrepreneurs who deal with gender equality. You can email a pitch to Margaret Webb or pitch her on Twitter irrespective of your gender expressions.

If you are interested in this niche, their rates are listed in the guidelines where the lowest recorded rate was $250 for personal essays and the highest was $800+ for issue/policy analysis.

NICHE 3: STORIES AND ESSAYS

1. BUZZFEED NEWS: Buzzfeed readers are most impressed with the long-form personal essays and cultural criticisms. Pitch the editor Samantha Henig on Twitter for topics mentioned here. The recorded pay was about 0.50 per word.

2. THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR: Are you a nonfiction writer? Then go and pitch to the editor Robert Wilson through emails or via the link on Submittable with the nonfiction submissions. The magazine of Phi Beta Kappa Society accepts pitch applications from both new and established writers.

3. BOSTON GLOBE MAG: Good news for freelance writers who are looking for freelance writing jobs in online magazines. You can bestow the connections and perspectives columns of the Boston Globe Magazine.

Message the editor Veronica Chao on Twitter. And expect the pay of around $0.78 per word

4. LONGREADS: This magazine publishes long-form journalism, features, investigative projects, personal essays, narratives, and even book excerpts. The average pay was $0.23 per word for articles. You can get the list of persons to pitch including their names and contact information in the guidelines and pitch anyone among them.

5. PACIFIC STANDARD: This magazine is focused on promoting serious thinking about societal problems. If you can write narratives on social and environmental topics which can do justice to their mission, you can pitch them right away on Twitter to the editor named Jonah Newman. You can expect a pay of $100 per piece.

6. THE SUN: The unique feature of this magazine is that it is an ad-free magazine. You can send fiction, personal essays, and poetry to the pitch editors named Sy Safransky or David Mahaffey online. Their pay rates depend on the submission page as they have different sections. Depending on the quality they pay as high as $2000 for long-form essays.

NICHE 4: DESIGN

1. ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST: This magazine includes articles on gems near and far – gardens, houses, interiors, and landscapes of iconic places, celebrities, and designers. You can email the digital editor David Foxley with your pitch. As per their past record, payment includes $1 per word for digital articles.

2. DWELL: You can pitch to the editor Mike Chino on Twitter if you are an established writer with expertise in the architecture of homes. While pitching, remember that you must add photos of lived-in houses and not the downloaded images. The pay as recorded was $1.0 per word for an article that was published in print and online.

NICHE 5: BUSINESS NEWS

1. VOX: In the first-person section, they publish personal narratives with an exciting twist on modern life. To pitch, follow the guidelines given. You can expect a pay of $0.50 per word.

2. THE ATLANTIC: They are the explorers. They will accept your pitch if it is based on the areas which they haven’t covered yet mainly in the education sector. You can email Editor Don Peck with your cover letter. The recorded pay was $0.56 per word.

3. TIME MAGAZINE: One of the oldest magazines with a history of 96 years and more than 100 million readers across the globe. You will be proud to write for this magazine. To be a writer in it, pitch to the editor Brittany Robins on Twitter.

The payment for digital content is around $0.22 per word at par.

4. FOREIGN POLICY: If you are someone interested in topics like culture, politics, world events, and issues in politics, you can email the editor James Palmer. To get a real feel, indulge in some original reporting before pitching.

They prefer writers who give a distinct angle to the situations based on the above topics which can challenge people’s opinions. You can expect a median pay of around $0.33 per word.

5. FORTUNE: Are you into business? Or have connections with companies or business executives who are popular enough? Then be ready to pitch the digital editor Andrew Nusca through email. The pay range is about $0.35 to $0.67 per word.

6. FORBES: Does this magazine need any introduction? To be a writer for this magazine, you will need good connections which take time to develop. So have patience and keep pitching. You can send your ideas to “ideas@forbes.com”. You can expect the pay $100 per digital piece if you get the chance to be in.

NICHE 6: TECHNOLOGY

1. WIRED: Its online content is based on culture, politics, gear, security, and science. You can message the editor on LinkedIn. And you can search for him by the name of Michael Calore. Or you can email them at “submit@wired.com”. The payment for digital content was 0.50 per word. 

2. POPULAR MECHANICS: This magazine includes articles that explain the functioning of things for Popular Mechanics readers. This topic excites people rarely. But if you are one among them, then consider yourself lucky. You can expect a pay of around $0.40 per word. Pitch to the editor Alexander George via Twitter.

NICHE 7: TRAVEL(Most exciting niche for freelance writing in online magazines)

The pandemic has hit the whole globe but on a positive note, we can expect things to get normal soon. Soon restrictions will be lifted and we will be free to visit our favorite places. Though during the pandemic travel industry has suffered badly we can still expect freelance writing jobs in online magazines for the travel niche. Here are some publications:

1. HEMISPHERES: This is an in-flight magazine for United Airlines which is targeted toward affluent travelers. According to the words of Hemispheres Executive Editor Nicholas DeRenzo, are “writing about our favorite places in our favorite cities, some of which are making the best of hard times and continuing to bring joy into our homes”, they are focused travel magazine.

You can email its editor Nicholas DeRenzo along with the freelance pitch featuring catchy characteristics and captivating content for the diversions and navigator sections. On average, they offer around $1 per word.

2. AFAR: If you love to explore foreign lands, then this magazine is for you. To pitch the editor Julia Cosgrove on Twitter, first, join the team of creative ambassadors of Afar. Then read one of them, Matt Gross, who writes about hate/love relationships with travel here. You can expect a pay of $0.50 per word.

3. TRAVEL & LEISURE: Here you can look at articles on traveling and things to do while doing that. You can also find articles on how to become a travel writer. Pitch the editor Deanne Kaczerski via Twitter. The pay offered is around $0.50 per word.

NICHE 8: LIFESTYLE

1. HIGH COUNTRY NEWS: You will have to check the guidelines for getting contact information, names, and other information to pitch the editor because there is no fixed editor. There will be different editors for different sections.

They offer payments in the range of $0.50 and $1.50 per word as per the articles on the modern American West.

2. EARLY AMERICAN LIFE: This magazine features the topics like history, studio crafts, travel, antiques, architecture, and decorating. If you are interested in such topics you can submit your applications with articles from colonial times to the mid-1800s based on the above-mentioned topics at this email “queries@firelandsmedia.com”.

The editor is JeanMarie Andrews and as mentioned in their guidelines, they offer around $500 per article even to new writers.

3. HOOFBEATS: If you are a freelance writer looking for freelance writing jobs in online magazines, then you just pitch your photos and ideas on Standardbreds and harness to its editor Kim French by emailing “french@ustrotting.com”. This is because 70% of the articles published here are credited to freelance writers.

They promise to pay even $500 for quality articles.

4. THE NY TIMES MAGAZINE ONLINE: You can go to its official site and check the interview which explains how you can get into its writing team for the digital version. Then you can search for its editor Isabel Wilkinson on Twitter. The recorded pay was $0.50 per word.

5. HARPERS MAGAZINE: You can pitch its editor Rachel Poser by emailing him any or both of the fiction or non-fiction articles. This is a general magazine posting on various interesting topics. And you can expect a median pay of around $0.70 per word.

6. NEW YORK MAGAZINE: For freelancers, this is a perfect match as this Pulitzer Prize-winning magazine publishes freelancers. So you can send your articles to its editor by emailing at “editorialsubmissions@nymag.com”.The recorded pay was $0.70 per word at par.

MISCELLANEOUS Magazines for freelance writing jobs

1. THE DEVELOPMENT SET: This magazine publishes stories on social impact and global health. It is financed by the very famous Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Pitch the editor on Twitter named Sarika Bansal.

2. RUNNERS WORLD: This magazine has both print and online versions and posts on everything related to running. So if you are an adventurer runner, backtracker, or ultramarathoner, pitch to the editor Hailey Middlebrook. You can expect the pay $1 per word.

3. SCRAP: This magazine belongs to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. You can find or write articles on new processing and handling equipment, new legislation and regulations, market trends, and management techniques.

If you are interested in the recycling industry, you can email its editor Rachel Pollack with your pitch. The pay offered is around $100 per article which increases if you have more expertise and better writing quality.

In conclusion, finding freelance writing jobs in online magazines is not an easy task but absolutely not impossible. It just requires consistency. In the beginning, you might fail to get a client but once it starts, it never stops. All the very best and put in all your efforts.

Do tell us in the comment section which magazine you are going to pitch first.

Suggested:

How to create an online magazine?

How Do I Become a Magazine Writer for a Tech-Magazine?

Best Tools to Improve Your Writing.