23 Popular Magazines That Need Freelance Writers

Here are some magazines that may occasionally accept both writing and artwork/photography submissions. Some of these are very well known, while others are fairly small.

You'll need above-average writing and photography skills to get your work accepted, and there might be a lot of waiting.

With this kind of work, you will spend a lot of time sending query letters to editors to see if they're even interested in an article before you write it, then more months to see if your article is up to their standards.

You might even need a decent portfolio of previous work to prove your professionalism before they'll even take you seriously.

BUT if you're willing to wade through all the upfront difficulty, the pay rates are fantastic, and getting articles published with these magazines can help your career in a big way!

Read on for a list of magazines that are currently accepting submissions.

Popular Magazines Looking For Freelance Article Submissions

Animals – Pets

• Animal Wellness Magazine – Welcoming unsolicited articles and story outlines. Articles may range in length from 500 to 1,500 words.
• Reptile Magazine – A monthly publication that caters to reptile and amphibian hobbyists. Pays about $200 for 2,000 to 2,500 words.
• The Horse – A monthly magazine devoted to horse care. They prefer “how to” and technical topics.
• Tropical Fish Hobbyist – They accept both articles and photos. Guidelines listed on site, down at the bottom of the page in the link.

Business – Career

• Family Business Magazine – Family Business Magazine publishes only five times a year — thus, the opportunities we offer are few and far between. We accept very few of the dozens of writer queries we receive every day.
• Working Money – About investing. Flat rate payment made upon publication, about $180.

Children – Young Adult

• ADDitude Magazine – This publication is for parents raising children who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. They pay up to $200.00 per article.
• Fun for Kidz – They are looking for lively writing that involves an activity that is both wholesome and unusual. We are looking for articles around 500 words as well as puzzles, poems, cooking, carpentry projects, jokes, riddles, crafts, and other activities that complement the theme. They pay five cents a word for both fiction and non-fiction.
• Girl's Life – Girl's Life magazine will pay for your freelance articles, but pay amount is not listed.
• High Five – High Five (affiliated with Highlights for Children) will be accepting freelance submissions from May 15th to June 30th, 2024. They are most interested in stories and non-fiction.
• Pockets Magazine – For kids aged 6-12, Christian magazine offering fiction, scripture, puzzles, games, etc. Pays 25 cents a word for stories and $25 and up for other types of submissions.

Crafts

• American Craft Magazine – They work primarily with experienced arts journalists who are able to write with depth and nuance, and value freelancers who can write for a general creative audience with clarity and insight. They pay $.50–$1.00/word, depending on the assignment.
• Threads Magazine – Bi-monthly, how-to magazine. Interested in articles about construction and embellishment techniques, materials, tools, and design. They claim to accept submissions from inexperienced writers and say that submissions do not have to be perfect. It is your know-how they are most interested in. Pay is not mentioned, but that doesn't mean they don't offer payment if they publish your work.

Education

• Teacher Magazine – Teacher magazine may take your commentary submissions, but amount of pay is not listed.

Family

• Family Fun – This publication is looking for articles about games and fun outdoor activities that families can enjoy. According their submission guidelines, they pay $1.25 per word. They require 850 to 3,000 words.

General Interest

• Reader's Digest – You can submit jokes to Reader's Digest. They pay $25 for any joke, gag, or funny quote, and $100 for any true funny story they publish.
• Cosmopolitan – This is one of the big-time women's magazines, with a long and prestigious history. You can submit articles through email, and will usually hear back from them within a month. Submitted articles for the print version earn $200.00 to $400.00. They also accept submissions for their online magazine, but they only pay $100.00 per article.
• Good Housekeeping – This well known publication allows for unsolicited submissions, but they're only looking for articles in certain very limited categories. Check their submissions page to see what they're accepting at any given time. The pay rate is reportedly around $1.50 per word.
• The New York Times – The New York Times Magazine accepts pitches from freelancers for well-researched, in-depth stories. You'll need to familiarize yourself with their content and pitch stories that offer unique insights or perspectives.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

If you have an interest in jumping into the higher end freelance writing market, the above links should give you a good set of starting points.

Tips For Crafting Your Pitch For Magazine Content

As you may have noticed above, many of these magazines do not allow unsolicited submissions. Meaning, you can't just send them anything without getting in touch first to be sure they have interest in your content.

Your pitch is everything! It will either get you in the door or not. You need to be sure it captures the editor's attention and shows them why your story is a perfect fit for their magazine.

To start, take the time to really research the magazine. Get a feel for their style, tone, and target audience.

Your pitch should include a strong, attention-grabbing subject line, followed by a brief but engaging introduction that outlines your article idea and why it matters.

Be sure to highlight the unique angle you bring to the topic you're writing about, and give them a detailed list of the key points you'll cover in your piece.

Make sure to tell them why you're the right person to write the piece, whether it's your experience, expertise, or a personal connection to the subject.

Don't forget to include links to any writing samples you have out there, especially if they're relevant to the topic you're covering. And follow the magazine's submission guidelines to a T!

Finally, keep your pitch professional and to the point, ideally no more than a few paragraphs. This is because editors likely get hundreds of submissions per month (or even more depending on how popular the magazine is), so presenting your idea clearly and succinctly increases your chances of standing out.

So, to sum up:

• Research the magazine’s content, tone, and audience.
• Write a subject line that grabs attention.
• Provide a brief introduction and outline your article idea.
• Highlight why you’re the best person to write the piece.
• Include relevant writing samples or links (links probably better because some people won't open emails with attachments)
• Follow submission guidelines exactly.

Pitch Templates

If you're nervous about your pitch, there are templates online to help you put them together. I've rounded up some links that have them for you below.

You are of course going to want to tailor these to suit you, but it should help if you are unsure about how to throw something together.

• The Storyboard
• Kat Boogaard
• Make a Living Writing
• Diana Kelly Levey

Using ChatGPT To Write Your Pitch – Should You?

While it may be tempting to get a pitch from ChatGPT, I would discourage this. The main reason is that most editors will know that's what you did. The language and sentence structures that ChatGPT tends to go with are getting pretty easy to spot.

If they figure out you sent your pitch using ChatGPT, they are likely to think you might craft your article using it, too.

Your intention should be to create a connection with the editor, helping them understand who YOU are. ChatGPT tends to be pretty impersonal, so you won't accomplish that with it in the way you could if you write your pitch yourself.

On the flip side, ChatGPT could help you structure your pitch and give you ideas on key points to include, so don't hesitate to paste it in once you have it written and ask how it could be improved!