You should be paid for your work: This doesn’t always work out, of course, but this should be the default. It may be worth it to do a couple of pieces without pay to establish yourself, but don’t do more than a handful.

The rates: Most newspapers or news websites will pay between $30 and $100 for quick news stories, depending on their size. That’s the average range for the track class I teach. For longer stories, feature stories, etc., if you can get $1 a word, that’s really good. Exceptional really, and you’ll likely need to work up to that.

Freelance rates database: It’s anonymous, but useful. It will show you what typical rates are and help you know whether you are in the ballpark. You’ll also note that magazines pay a lot better than newspapers, whether dead tree or online.

The contract: Some stories are quick and informal. Most outlets require you to fill out paperwork and sign a formal contract.The publication will have standard language in most instances. You don’t have a ton of wiggle room to negotiate but pay attention to two aspects: (1) who owns the copyright and (2) the spike or kill fee. See below for more details.

Copyright: Some publications want exclusive right (they will pay more for that) but this means you can’t even repost to your WordPress or Medium page. And you certainly can’t cross-post, even to outlets that don’t pay. It’s possible to negotiate down your fee in order to have the option to post a few paragraphs on a personal sites, but that’s not advisable when you’re a beginner.

Kill or spike fees: If you produce an agreed-upon story and the outlet decides to not publish it, if you have a contract you will be paid a certain fee, often 50 percent of the agreed-on price. Whether you can pitch the piece to another outlet depends on what the contract says. So read carefully.

Actually getting paid: This is a challenge, I’m afraid. Keep a spreadsheet or use a project-planning app like Trello to keep track of who has paid you. I list the story, the publication, the contact editor, the agreed-upon rate and the date I submitted my invoice. I also list a date for each follow-up email I send. And then I note when I received the check. Some publications pay on acceptance; some pay on publication. Make sure you are clear on that. DO NOT BE SHY ABOUT ASKING FOR MONEY. You are going to have to bother some editors repeatedly.

Taxes: You’re considered an independent contractor, and if you make enough money, you’re going to need to include it on your taxes. If you do more than $700 of work for a single publication, you’ll receive a 1099 form that you will submit with your taxes. Taxes are not taken out of freelance income like this. Full-time freelancers generally make quarterly tax payments. If you’re just freelancing on and off, you won’t need to do that, but you do need to realize that you’re going to owe some money when tax time arrives.

The invoice: Get used to submitting one after you’ve finished the edit. It can be a simple Word doc or PDF. If a publication needs something specific or has a specific form to fill out, the editor will let you know. But in general, include this information:

  • Your name, mailing address, phone number.
  • Title of the article, or at least a description of it.
  • Date published or accepted.
  • Agreed-upon rate.