Are you a
political junkie with decent writing chops?
If so, you might be able to
use that knowledge to your advantage and start making significant additional
income as a freelance political writer.
Anyone who follows
elections closely has probably spent plenty of time reading the various news
articles and opinion pieces that are promoted every day on social platforms
like Twitter and Facebook.
Some of those articles,
naturally, are from well known members of the news media. But many others are
written by freelancers or bloggers, and in some cases, these writers are being
paid very well for their efforts.
Political Writing Can Be Difficult To Break Into
Political writing can be a
tough field to break into, but with the general election coming up, there's
plenty of demand out there for well written political content from informed
individuals. You might have to struggle for a while to rise in the ranks and
start earning big bucks, but if this seems like a field you'd like to explore,
right now could be a great time to get started!
The list below includes 10
companies that will pay you (often very well) for political writing. You'll
probably notice that many of these are well known publications, which means
they have very high standards, and it can be tough to get your foot in the
door.
If you have a relevant
background related to politics, special expertise, or an online platform of
some sort, your odds of having your submissions accepted will be greatly
improved.
Note: for most of the sites
listed below, I've linked to the page where they publish their submission
guidelines. To improve your odds of success, remember to pay close attention to
their rules and expectations. Also, think of your query as an audition – it
needs to be very well written, and it should do a good job conveying a sense of
your personal writing voice.
Ten Sites That Pay For Political Content
1 – Reason
This well known publication
has a noted libertarian slant.
They don't typically
publish unsolicited manuscripts, though you're free to submit them anyway. The
best way to get their attention is to send a query letter with your article
idea. Make sure to include information on your background, and a few writing
samples.
The pay rate per article
varies, but with a big-time magazine like this, I'm sure the compensation is
more than decent.
Go
here to learn more about writing for Reason.
2 – Foreign Policy
If you're well traveled and
have plenty of knowledge about international affairs, you might want to
consider pitching an article idea to the editors of this high-profile
publication.
The guidelines for
submission are pretty detailed. Two things to keep in mind are to avoid
techno-jargon, and come up with a unique take on something topical.
The pay is not listed.
Go here to learn more
about writing for Foreign Policy.
3 – The American Conservative
This publication, aimed at
readers with right-leaning political views, will accept both finished article
submissions and idea queries.
Articles should be in the
800-1500 word range, and they suggest you check out a few of their published
pieces to get a sense for the proper style.
The pay isn't disclosed,
but I've seen figures between $100 and $150 per article quoted elsewhere.
Go here to learn more
about writing for The American Conservative.
4 – Salon
This well known
left-leaning magazine covers a wide variety of topics.
Unfortunately, their
submission page has virtually no real information on what they're looking for,
so you'll basically be flying blind.
The pay is not disclosed,
but I've seen rates north of $100 per article mentioned.
Go here to learn more
about writing for Salon.
5 – Mother Jones
Another well known magazine
that is slightly left-leaning.
Their guidelines for
submission are extremely detailed, and (reading between the lines) it sounds
like you could potentially build a long-term relationship with the editors to
get future freelance assignments, assuming your work is impressive enough.
Unfortunately, unless I'm
misreading, some of their web-only articles are uncompensated, so you may be
working for nothing more than a prestigious byline, which might not be worth it
to some.
Fortunately, their paid
articles are worth $1 per word, which is definitely pretty nice.
Go here to learn more
about writing for Mother Jones.
6 – National Review
This esteemed publication,
founded by William F. Buckley in the 1950s, has played a major role in the
evolution of modern conservative thought.
Their editors are open to
article queries from freelancers, but the page doesn't have a lot of
information on what they're looking for, so the best suggestion is to read a
few pieces on the website to get a feel for the tone and the kinds of topics
they prefer.
The pay rate is not
disclosed.
Go here to learn more
about writing for the National Review.
7 – The Progressive
One of the oldest
left-leaning publications around (the first issue was apparently released in
1929), and very well regarded.
They're interested in
article queries on a wide rage of topics, from culture to foreign policy and
activism.
Pay rates aren't disclosed,
but based on reports around the web, it ranges from $50 per article at the low
end, all the way up to $1000 or more.
Go here to learn more
about writing for The Progressive.
8 – Harper's
This magazine, known for
its high-brow aesthetic, isn't specifically focused on politics, but they do
include quite a bit of political commentary.
Unsolicited manuscripts are
not welcome. They only want query letters pitching ideas, and you have to send
them via snail-mail.
The pay is not disclosed.
Go
here to learn more about writing for Harper's.
9 – Slate
An online only publication
with a tendency towards liberal ideology, and a reputation for outside the box,
contrarian thinking.
Their submission guidelines
are extremely detailed, and should be helpful for anyone interested in sending
them a query.
The pay is not disclosed,
but is reportedly in the neighborhood of twenty-cents per word.
Go here to learn more
about writing for Slate.
10 – Vice
This is a large media
company that produces news content of all varieties, from online video to the
written word.
If your query is accepted,
the editors will work with you to shape the final article, so it's best to wait
until you've captured their interest to begin writing.
The pay-per-article varies
depending on a number of factors, and is not disclosed upfront.
Go here to learn more
about writing for Vice.
Additional Options For Political Writing
If you have trouble getting
your content accepted by the sites above, another option is to start your own political blog to
begin building a reputation.
Having a large audience of
readers who take your writing seriously will make it possible to earn
significant money without having to get approval from the gatekeepers at the
big magazines, and if your audience grows large enough, it will help build your
credibility, which could make it easier to get published by well-known media
outlets in the future.
You could also pursue a
journalism or political science degree, and then get hired on at one of the
smaller online political publications to establish yourself.
In any case, even if you
don't feel like your resume is up to snuff yet, it won't hurt anything to query
some of these companies with article ideas and see what happens. Getting even
one piece published on a major platform could serve as an effective launch pad
for your eventual career.
Not Sure Political Writing Is For You?
If you want to start a
freelance writing career, but you're unsure about writing on political topics,
consider grabbing a copy of Gina Horkey's downloadable FREE list of 200+ writing niches to
consider! That should definitely get your wheels turning around some
other ideas.
In Conclusion
We hope the above list gave
you some ideas for how to break into this exciting field. We know we have
readers all across the ideological spectrum, so we tried to include
publications with content from a wide range of different political
perspectives.
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