33 publications paying for personal essays!

A collection of 33 online and/or print publications that pay freelance writers for personal essays.

Hello!

Today, I’m sharing an updated list of 33 publications looking for freelancers to pitch and write personal essays, with loads of new publications and pay rates.

Have a personal essay or essay idea you want to submit to somewhere? Not found a home for it yet? This is the resource for you!

If you do have any insight into specific pay rates, or you have been paid/offered something different to what I have shared here, please let me know via email (thefreelancewritingnetwork@gmail.com) or by messaging me on Substack.

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Publications Paying for Personal Essays

• Longreads is dedicated to finding and sharing the best longform nonfiction storytelling on the web. We look for smart, unexpected angles and compelling voices across a wide range of topics. Their personal essay rate is $500. Check their submission guidelines here.

• The Sun Magazine publish personal essays, short stories, poems, and black-and-white photography in print and online in a monthly magazine. They pay $1 a word for commissioned work. Check out the details here.

• The i Paper is a UK-based publication which publishes personal essays from writers. One of their editors regularly posts pitch calls on Twitter, asking for prospective writers—but also accepts cold pitches. The i has paid £250 for 1000 word features in the past. More pitch information can be found here.

• Business Insider welcome pitches of personal essays year round. Their best advice for deciding what to pitch: Read the site. Get a feel for the types of stories we run. Don't pitch stories we've already written. Be creative, and use a Business Insider-style headline in the subject line of your email. Business Insider generally pay in the $200-$300 range for this kind of work. Guidelines here.

• Noema is an award-winning magazine exploring the transformations sweeping our world. They publish essays, interviews, reportage, videos and art on the overlapping realms of technology, philosophy, governance, economics, geopolitics and culture. Previously, Noema have paid writers in the region of $1 per word. Contact and pitch details can be found here.