What You Must Know To Get Paid As A Freelance Writer
This is one of the most important aspects of writing for magazine and journals because it will have a bearing on which publication you write for and when. There are 3 main ways that magazines pay for articles. They are: By word, by page or by assignment.
To elaborate, if you get an assignment for 500 words and the magazine pays 20 cents/word, you will earn $100.00. If the magazine pays $75.00/page and you write 2 pages, you will be paid $150.00. And for assignment, this is where the magazine offers a flat fee for the article and they will tell you how many words they want you to use.
The second thing you need to know is when the magazine will pay you. Like the section above, there are 3 main methods: On submission, on acceptance and on publication. The first method is self-explanatory and is one of my favorite methods of getting paid. The second method indicates that while the publication has received your submission, they still have to review it, edit it, make corrections, ask for clarification from you, etc., before they accept it. Once they do, you’ll get paid.
The last option, on publication is one I don’t recommend, unless you have a great relationship with the publication or deep pockets. If the publication pays within a reasonable amount of time, that’s great. If not, be prepared for a long wait. This is because the magazine will only use your work when they have a space in their editorial calendar. The reality is that you could be waiting for many months to get paid. In one case a magazine hadn’t paid me for 9 months. Needless to say, I stopped writing for them.
The last thing to realize is that even when you work is accepted, it still takes time to get paid and you could be waiting for up to 120 days, although that is extreme. Generally, you will receive a check within 30-60 days from the time of the invoice.

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