How to Land A High Paying Magazine Writer Job in 2024

Magazines are gradually transitioning from finely printed digital papers to well-designed digital prints hosted on different web platforms. There’s a lot of argument regarding the number of people who read magazines every day.

In 2016/17 Magazine Media Factbook revealed that 91% of American adults read magazine media, and that number increases to 94% for adults under 35 and 96% for adults under 25. So, there’s still an enormous market for the magazine industry. And if you’re thinking of getting into a high-paying magazine writer job position, then you’ve probably stepped on the right pedal.

In this article, you will learn the tricks you need to land that amazing magazine writer’s job. Furthermore, you will also learn about the skills you need and the remuneration you can access in this position.

Who is a Magazine Writer?

Magazine writers act in the same capacity as journalists. It vests a large part of their responsibility in identifying, researching, and writing stories that interest a set of readers. However, magazines don’t cover as much as blogs and newspapers because of their focus.

With minor exceptions, magazine writers seldomly create feature-oriented pieces. Many magazine writers pay more attention to smaller stories, while a few produce long-form or narrative pieces. Some of these long-form contents could be exclusive interviews with celebrities or political officeholders.

All magazines need enough information to enable them to complete any of their publications. And that is why they ensure they take on the pain of hiring some of the best magazine writers available. Although a magazine can get a thousand stories, they can choose to print the ones that can draw greater traction.

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What Skills Do I Need To Become a Magazine Writer?

The role of a magazine writer requires a level of expertise, experience, and attention to detail. For this reason, everyone cannot fit into such a role easily unless they attain these qualities. However, if you have certain skills, you can get into the position of a magazine writer without a lot of fuss. These skills include:

  • Writing, Proofreading, and Editing Skills
  • Ability to Create Stories From Events
  • Commendable knowledge of Current Affairs and General Knowledge
  • Excellent Communication Skills
  • Interpersonal skills
  • IT skills

What is the Salary of a Magazine Writer?

When you consider the level of work involved in researching, organizing, and writing an interesting story, you would commend these writers. Researching a single story can span many weeks, as it will also require a constant routine for the writer.

Magazine writers earn a little higher than journalists. According to ZipRecruiter, these writers bag about $54,062 /year while journalists bag about $42,390 /year. Of course, you might say there’s a higher demand for writers, but how true would that be?

How to Land A High Paying Magazine Writer Job in 2024

Magazine writing jobs are plentiful. However, the screening process is tedious, as all interested candidates must complete the process to get into the interview room. If you’re looking to fill a magazine writer position, you need to prepare yourself to take on the requirements and fill the role well too.

There are many activities you can practice; however, the following practices listed here will make your journey easy for you. They include:

Craft a Compelling Resume

A resume is the first representation of yourself that interacts with any hiring manager. So, you must ensure your first representation is stellar. Of course, with a few tricks, you can create a resume, but the best advice you can get is to hand over this core aspect to professionals.

Your resume has to express your key results in any role of magazine writing or journalism you have ever held. A good section to portray this expertise would be the section where you discuss your job responsibilities with emphasis on the key results you attained.

With a standard resume, you can increase your chances of getting into a good magazine writing position.

Research and Discover Company Weaknesses

Every open position can be perceived as a weak link in a company. However, this perception must be backed by strong data from your research on the institution. With accurately researched data, you can get any hiring manager to listen to you.

In executing your research, a good place to start would be to check the company’s quarterly performance (for a publicly traded company), and if it’s just a startup, you will need to check the current markets they’re exploring and where they seem redundant.

Drawing it down to the context of a magazine firm, you will need to discover their readership numbers and seek to introduce strategies that will improve performance.

Possess Experience

Whatever career path you choose, the experience will set you apart largely. When you have experience, you get every hiring manager peeking at your resume more closely, as they can pick out an individual that understands the system.

However, when you’re a fresh graduate of college with a degree in journalism, business communication, or even writing, it can be difficult to get into this position; you might not just make the needed cut.

But you can make up for your inexperience by taking an internship program as a magazine writer at a firm. In there, you will work alongside certain professional magazine writers, which will give you the experience you need.

Be an Avid Magazine Reader

A talented writer is definitely an excellent reader. In creating a masterpiece, you must have knowledge of the creation process of many other masterpieces. This way, you only need to follow a structure.

A good habit you would form would be to read outstanding magazine writeups from some of the finest magazine writers in the world. As you read more of these materials, you gain greater perspective.

Have A Unique Writing Style

There are different styles of writing, and they all follow their own procedure. Although magazine writing follows a set-out guideline, you can still create your own unique writing style that will set you apart from the pack.

In adopting a unique writing style, you must carefully choose your phrases, tone, grammar, and flex. This way, every reader can track your nuance when they encounter any piece of material you create.

Be Consistent

With consistency, you can go from becoming an average writer to a professional one. And this has to be because of constant practice, as some of your writeups might never even make the magazine, just like a story.

By consistently writing and figuring out different ways to twerk your story, you strengthen your ability and increase the popularity of your name.

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Places to Land Magazine Writer Job

1. Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan magazine’s main goal is to empower young women.

They like stories with between 1,000 and 1,500 words and crisp, high-definition images.

For feature pieces, they pay $200 to $400 per, while for other stories, they pay about $0.20 per word.

Send an idea for a story to Emma Barker, senior editor, at emma.barker@time.com.

2. Glamour

Women’s fashion, wellness, beauty, culture, and entertainment are all displayed here.

To see what kind of material and style Glamour likes, check out their main page and Trending Stories.

There are no stated guidelines on the site, however, you can reach Perrie Samotin on Twitter with your idea.

For this magazine, independent writers have been paid $0.27 per word.

3. Good Housekeeping

Most readers of Good Housekeeping are married women with kids who work outside the home.

For the “Blessings” column, they are accepting 500-word entries, as well as short stories about women (or family members) who have survived major health problems or medical crises.

Read their submission rules and get in touch with their digital director, Lauren Matthews Ide, on Twitter to send your proposal.

4. The digital version of Oprah Magazine

You may get a sense of what fans can expect from the digital version of Oprah Magazine by visiting its homepage. 

It features product suggestions, in-depth article collections on fan favorites (like the Bridgerton series), and personal interest pieces

Send an email to OprahMagStoryIdeas@hearst.com to reach their editorial team, or tweet your thoughts to Arianna Davis, their digital director.

5. LiisBeth

Liisbeth magazine’s guidelines page emphasizes the publication’s focus on intersectional feminism and feminist entrepreneurs.

They give preference to contributors who have read their pieces, as well as Feminist Enterprise Commons members.

Send questions and requests to publisher@Liisbeth.com via email. Make sure the subject line includes the phrase “QUERY.”

They can be reached on Twitter as well.

6. Smithsonian Magazine

You may quickly get an idea of the range of topics covered and the articles that are highlighted by taking a short look at the Smithsonian’s homepage menu and feature slideshow.

To send your pitch (250 words or less), use their online form. Brian Wolly is also available via Twitter.

Pay is $0.36 on average per word.

7. The Sun

Fiction, poems, and other creative literary works, as well as “daring personal essays,” are always welcome at The Sun Magazine.

Send in your poetry, fiction, or essays using the given address, either online or by mail.

Their submission page has a breakdown of their pay rates. Up to $2,000 has been paid for lengthy essays.

8. The Atlantic

Pitch submissions are being taken by The Atlantic for its Education section. Email education@theatlantic.com with your pitch (and phone number) in the body of the message.

Make sure to read “How (Not) to Pitch,” one of their posts.

The range of pay is $150 to $1,600, depending on the job.

9. Vox

For their “First Person” section, Vox Magazine is constantly seeking personal stories, especially those that offer readers an insightful behind-the-scenes look at a topic that interests them.

When pitching your idea, follow their requirements.

Vox has paid writers about $0.50 per word for their released works.

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10. BuzzFeed News

Both 1,500–2,500 word personal pieces and 2,000–4,000 word cultural remark are welcome at BuzzFeed News.

Send your proposal and a short explanation of the core of your concept to reader.pitches@buzzfeed.com if you’re interested in having your essay published on BuzzFeed News. Alternatively, send your essay’s revised first draft as an attached Word or Google document.

Their recognized writers have made $0.50 per word.

11. Discover Magazine

Writers with proven experience in science-based topics, such as technology, medicine, space exploration, physics, and paleontology, are sought after by Discover Magazine.

Check out Susan Etchey’s article on how to improve your chances of being published by Discover. Next, send Eric Betz, a magazine editor, a tweet with your idea.

Pay is based on expertise and task, with an average word rate of $0.52.

12. High Country News

Choose the High Country News section you want to pitch to, study the requirements for that section, then email your polished proposal to the best contact—whose information is mentioned following the guidelines—according to their submissions page.

To make sure you stay clear of common misconceptions on the native populations in the American West, check out their Bingo Card for new contributors.

Although pay varies by area, news and reporting articles are paid between $0.25 and $1.50 per word.

13. New York Magazine

Explore the different imprints of New York Magazine, such as Vulture, The Strategist, The Cut, and so on. Send an email with your proposal for a feature story to editorialsubmissions@nymag.com to reach the editors.

Alternatively, you can mail your query to their editorial submissions desk (the address is given on their submit page).

The pay for writers who have written with New York Magazine is $0.70 per word.

14. The New York Times Magazine

Well-written, fact-based op-eds will be published by The New York Times. For more information, see their submission website and this article by Paul Tullis about how to contribute to the NYT’s digital version.

Then send opinion@nytimes.com your finished opinion piece in the email’s body (please, no attachments).

Authors who have been published by NYT get paid $0.50 per word.

15. Harper’s

Harper’s Magazine, the oldest general-interest magazine in America, favors essays and long-form narrative journalism that offers original views on politics, society, culture, and entertainment.

Nonfiction queries and unsolicited fiction entries will be accepted, but only if sent by mail with a SASE contained. Please send ideas to readings@harpers.org for the Readings section.

Harper’s pays writers $0.70 per word for their publications.

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FAQS on how to land high paying magazine writer job

What do you call a person who writes a magazine?

A journalist

What skills do I need to be a magazine writer?

Writing, Proofreading, and Editing Skills
Ability to Create Stories From Events
Commendable knowledge of Current Affairs and General Knowledge
Excellent Communication Skills
Interpersonal skills
IT skills

How do magazine writers get paid?

$54,062 /year

How do I apply to write for a magazine?

Traditionally, you’d send an editor a brief, businesslike letter expressing your interest in writing for their publication. Forward it to the editor who takes on proposals related to the theme of the story, if the magazine has many editors. Address them by their name, mention the time, and lay out your proposal.

Now, just look out for online job listings for a high paying magazine writer job

Is a magazine writer a journalist?

Yes, a magazine journalist.

What type of writing is magazine?

Magazine writing falls into two categories: journalism and commentary.

Conclusion

Writing is fun. With writing, you explore different creative energies you have as you craft and tell different stories from unique perspectives. And this is always an advantage owing to the different views people hold over matters.

As a magazine writer, you would find this skill very helpful, as you have the responsibility of taking people through the journey of a story while embedding the lessons they must understand from the story as well.

By simply following these steps, you can strongly increase your chances of getting into any magazine writer’s job position you can find.