What will I be doing?

A magazine writer researches, develops and sells articles to magazines and newsletters. Some writers specialize in a field, such as aviation or consumer finance, while others prefer to be generalists writing about a variety of topics. A typical day for a freelance magazine writer will include researching a topic, writing query letters, making calls to editors and, of course, writing. A magazine writer is paid for both creativity and craft.

What will I need to start?

Of course, to get paid well for writing you must know how to write well. There are excellent books, classes, seminars and correspondence schools that will help you learn and apply the craft of writing.

There was a day not long ago when all the tools you needed to be a writer were a pen and paper. Today you need a computer to access online research sources, to write using a word processor and even to deliver your manuscript electronically.

Who will my customers be?

Customers for your articles will be magazine and newsletter publishers. Which ones? That depends on what you're writing about. The annual edition of Writer's Market (Writer's Digest Books) is an important tool in finding buyers for your articles. Your local newsstand is another valuable resource as the editor's name and address for submissions is usually found in the front of the publication.

Once you have identified which publications would be good sources for your articles, write or call to request editorial guidelines and schedules. This information will help you determine how and when to submit article proposals--or queries.

You will market your ideas in what's called a query letter--a letter to the editor describing your proposed article and why it will be useful to the magazine's readers.

How much should I charge?

Magazine article writers establish an hourly or daily rate that helps them calculate profitability. The typical rate is $25 to $50 an hour. However, most magazines pay by number of words. An editor might offer you $450 for an 1,800-word article, based on 25¢ per word. If you figure it will take you nine hours to research and write the article, you will have earned $50 an hour. If it takes you more than 30 hours to write the article, it may not be such a lucrative opportunity.

You will be paid separately for photographs and drawings, if you provide them. You may also be able to sell reprint rights to another publication or keep them for a book you're writing, but don't count on these opportunities until you've established your writing business.

How much will I make?

You'll spend 20 to 30 percent of your working time trying to sell your work. Some writers set aside a full workday each week for marketing while others develop and market article ideas a couple of hours each day. Overhead expenses are lower than many businesses because you don't need inventory or expensive supplies. Typical overhead expenses are 15 to 25 percent of gross income. As a rule of thumb, professional writers get to keep about half of the money that comes in the mailbox. The other half pays for overhead, taxes and a couple of bucks toward retirement. As a magazine writer you can earn $30,000 to $60,000 a year once you are established and become recognized as an expert in your field.

How can I get started?

Writing is a craft that can be learned through classes and books and lots of practice.

Here's a valuable secret about writing: writers really don't write. Instead, they pre-write, then write, then rewrite. Pre-writing involves researching and organizing facts on a topic, writing is putting them on paper--and rewriting is correcting and improving the writing until it reads effortlessly.

Identify publications you would like to write for and send away for editorial schedules and writer's guidelines--then spend time developing queries to send off. Or find a small magazine that you enjoy, read it over carefully a few times trying to define who the magazine's reader is, then write an article of interest to that reader and submit it to the magazine. Start small and learn your craft. (My first sale was to Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine in 1962!)

How can I use computers to increase profits?

Besides being a great tool for writers, the computer is also a valuable tool for magazines. Not only do many magazines publish condensed versions on the Internet, many also consider magazine proposals and accept article submissions. Learn more about electronic submissions in the latest annual version of Writer's Market available in bookstores. The electronic edition includes a CD-ROM to make market searching easier.