9 Things to Consider When Submitting to Websites That Pay for Your Articles
What are the questions you need to ask before submitting an article for paid publication?
As a freelance writer, I have done my share of submitting my articles to various websites that pay for their publication.
The rate of payment can be from $50 to $75 per article on average. For some, it can even range from $100 to $500!
I must admit that such amounts can be very tempting for writers who want to earn a decent living as a freelancer. I even tried to estimate how much I could earn by submitting to as many websites as these monthly.
But to separate truth from fiction, we need to consider some things that can help us earn our target earnings.
Based on experience, here are the 9 important questions you need to ask before submitting your articles for paid publication:
1. How long would it take you to write the article?
Not all articles are the same. Some articles can be written in a blink of an eye. Other articles need some time for familiarization. And some can be too technical to be written in a short time.
As I can see it, the articles with bigger pay are those that require some research. You need to dig deeper and provide some references to support your work.
As such, these types would require you to invest more time writing.
What can help you is if you already have a relevant experience for the topic you’re writing about.
Are you an accountant writing about tax and the accounting process? Or are you a psychologist writing about mental health?
2. Will you be writing within your niche?
When you are writing from your niche or specialty, you write faster. You also become more credible.
Websites accepting your articles would see your qualifications and more will find it easier to give weight to your work.
Writing more articles within your niche strengthens your expertise. It helps you create that profile that can demand a higher rate later on.
On the other hand, if your niche is too narrow, it may prevent you from submitting to more websites that pay for your articles.
You must decide the right balance between expertise and earning potential.
3. How much is the pay?
Of course, this is one question you should never fail to ask. Before everything else, you need to ask, “How much can this website or magazine pay for my article?”
It will determine the amount of time and energy you can invest in the work.
In many cases, this increases the writer’s motivation for writing the article.
4. How will you be paid?
The rate of payment would not count if your preferred method of payment is not available.
There was a time when I got paid by check in a foreign currency, and before I could encash it, I needed to open a bank account first using that currency. Imagine the time and effort, not to mention the minimum money you need to deposit to create the account before you can encash that check.
Fortunately, I asked if I could be paid through PayPal instead and I was granted my request!
5. Can you be a regular contributor?
One thing that often helps me decide whether to write for this or that website is whether I can be a regular contributor.
Can this be a recurring source of income? Will it be easier for me to submit my succeeding articles?
This will eventually save you a lot of time.
6. When will you be notified for feedback?
Websites that pay for your articles often include a note on their submissions page the time frame when you can be notified about your article.
How long will it take before you learn whether your article has been accepted or rejected by the publisher? Will you ever receive any message in case your article is not accepted by the website?
Some websites and magazines receive so many submissions that they cannot promise to reply other than if they approve your article for publication.
When this happens, the earning potential of that article you wrote would be put on hold. You cannot even submit it to other publications or post it on your own website because you don’t have any idea whether it will soon be rejected or accepted.
What can mitigate this risk is when the publication allows simultaneous submissions, which means that you can submit the article to other websites at the same time. If, in case, someone else has approved it before they do, you merely have to notify them so that they would no longer consider your article.
7. Will you be submitting a pitch or a complete article?
Some websites require you to submit a complete article. On the other hand, some require only a pitch where you will provide a tentative title and a brief outline or description of what you intend to write.
Sending only a pitch can save you time since you don’t need to write a polished article only to be rejected in the end. The website can also include some suggestions before you finish the final article incorporating whatever adjustments they may advise you to make.
8. Can you post the article on other websites?
Many of the publications that pay writers for articles would require you not to post an accepted article anywhere else. Quite often, the reason would be because of SEO.
If you intend to publish your article later on even on your own blog, you should carefully ask first if this would be in violation of your agreement.
9. Will you be allowed to post some links on your article or author profile?
Sometimes, some author can accept a lower pay for their articles if they can promote their books through them. If they are allowed to put links on the article itself or on their profile, they may consider it as a good opportunity to make money other than from direct payment for their articles.
Final thoughts
There are many things you need to consider before you submit your articles to websites that are willing to pay for them.
While many may be quite attractive initially because of the pay, you still need to ask yourself the above questions to save time and energy while doing your freelance work.
As a freelance writer, you need a system that would work for you and that would maximize your earning potential. By considering the above, you’re on your way to earning more from doing the job that you love!