If magazine publishing worked like any other business, writers would fix their rates, and magazines would run around trying to hire
best writer in lowest possible cost. Sadly, that’s not case. In this bizarre business, writers trying to compete with each other not only have to prove their worth once, but again and again, and each time they want an assignment. You’ve got clips. You’ve written perfect query. You’ll even deliver best assignment. But then again, you’ll have to ask for more money and negotiate your way into getting what you deserve.If you’re a writer whose only source of income is writing, then you have to negotiate. It’s whole lifeblood of your business. Don’t get paid less simply because you didn’t ask. Don’t worry. You’re not going to sound greedy. You work hard, and you deserve to be paid for it.
When a magazine puts “pays $50-$700” in their guidelines, what can you do to be writer that is paid in higher range? If you’re a beginner, you probably won’t even think of getting into high-paying slot. You’d think those places were reserved for regular and more experienced writers, right?
Wrong!
Admitted, regular writers are preferred, and their pay rates will usually be much higher than yours. But you don’t fall into that lower category because you’re a beginner; you fall into it because you fail to negotiate.
If you’ve got a sparkling query, an article proposal that editor simply loves, and good writing skills that leave editor craving for more, she’s not going to bail out on you simply because you asked for more money. In fact, she’ll be glad to arrange it for you. Not having a dozen clips on your resume does not entitle you to less pay. In fact, if you act like a professional, and give editor what she wants, money won’t even be an issue.
Spot Loopholes -------------------- Whenever you find a magazine that has a variable pay rate, be sure there’s room for negotiation. Why else would they have such a broad category? A very well known magazine mentions in their guidelines that they pay their writers anywhere from $50-$1000 based on experience and length of article. What I also noticed was that they’ve specified length of pieces in their columns and departments. So, reading between lines, I’m thinking—negotiation!
What about all those magazines that pay fixed rates? Do you just settle for what they have to give or is there room for something more? If you’re looking to be paid more, there’s a very remote possibility. However, there are other things that you can ask for. For one, there are rights. If you could use one piece in more than one publication, it would get you more money, though indirectly. Even so, another publication means another name added to your list of growing credits. Wouldn’t you much rather sell one piece to ten different magazines, than get paid only once? Other than increased pay, you’ve also added to your list of credits. That’s bound to bring in more money in future.
Other than that, kill fees are a definite must. You don’t want to spend hours on your research, only to have your article removed off publication list. You deserve payment for time you put in. Talk to editor about this before you’ve actually started writing process. Normally, kill fees are around 20-50%. It’s very unlikely that you’ll get more even if you have a working relationship with editor.
Another issue is payment on acceptance versus payment on publication. Magazines have very long lead times. In simple words, this means that there you could have to wait as long as six to eight months after acceptance to see your article in print. If you’re an international writer, delay is even longer, sometimes leading to getting payments months after you’ve written article. Do you really want to wait that long? Can you?
What else? Bios. Short blurbs after our names that could point to a website, have contact information or simply mark us as experts. A few magazines give them, but if they don’t, you could ask for one. Or you could ask for a bigger bio or a photo alongside. This is much easier to do if your article is appearing online. If editor is unwilling to pay you more, this is your best bet.
