creative writing earn money

This post may contain affiliate links. See our affiliate disclosure for more.

12 Creative Writing Jobs Sites to Make More Money from Your Passion

BIG NEWS! We just released The Freelance Files , a collection of professional done-for-you email scripts, contracts, invoices, and more for smarter freelancing. The first 50 customers, save 50% with this link .

12 Best sites to find creative writing jobs

Creative writing jobs vs. other writing jobs, the basics of creative writing jobs, types of creative writing jobs, how to land creative writing jobs, building a creative writing career.

Landing creative writing jobs is a dream of many people around the world: high pay, flexible hours, interesting assignments… What’s not to like?

The hardest thing about taking the leap and starting a creative writing career is that it’s very unclear where to start.

Where do you even find jobs and projects? What skills should you possess? What kind of salary can you expect?

We will answer all of these questions and more in our comprehensive guide to creative writing jobs. Read about some of the best sites where you can land a job , tips for successful applications and possible fields you can work in.

You might also want to review our guide on how to make money writing once you’re done with this article.

1. ProBlogger

ProBlogger is a writing platform that has its own blog section with tips and tricks for writing. At the same time, it features one of the most versatile creative writing job boards out there.

To start applying for creative writing jobs on ProBlogger, simply sign up and provide some of the details about your experience and expertise. As soon as you confirm your application, you will have an opportunity to start taking up jobs.

2. Freelancer

Freelancer.com is a versatile platform where writers of all niches can find extra work.

You can filter project and contest announcements according to your interests and track creative writing jobs by receiving notifications when a new project comes up.

If you consistently provide top-quality service and get great reviews, you can also join their Preferred Freelancer program and get access to exclusive creative writing jobs.

3. SolidGigs

Sign up for this direct-to-your-mailbox job listing service to save your hard-earned hours for what matters most. They help find the best online gigs for you, and all you have to do is apply.

Not just a creative writing jobs site, SolidGigs provides a library chock-full of resources to improve your business. Pretty sweet!

Similarly to Freelancer, Upwork is a freelancing platform that gathers clients looking for a service and writers, designers, programmers and other experts.

The job application process is structured in the form of bidding: when a job posting becomes available, you can bid with your rate, cover letter, milestone requests and other questions for the client.

You can also create a specialized profile that will attract clients who are looking for creative writing experts.

iWriter is another writing platform which functions a bit differently than those we have previously mentioned. Instead of bidding on projects and waiting for your application to get accepted, you simply pick up a topic that a client requested.

Topics can widely range and you can accept only those you are interested in. After you accept a project, you will have a certain amount of time to submit it on iWriter’s platform.

The payment for your articles depends on your experience and ratings. If you consistently receive great ratings and you do a lot of work on the site, you will be eligible for high-value writing projects which are available only to premium writers.

6. Freelance Writers Den

This one is very popular among US-based writers. Freelance Writers Den is an online writers’ community where users can simultaneously learn how to increase their income and visit the job board for new gigs.

The job postings are collected and published by the FWD editing team, along with applications made over the site. The site guarantees a junk-free job board with loads of attractive and interesting creative writing jobs.

However, the job board is visible to members only, so you will need to sign up first if you want to start taking up Freelance Writers Den projects.

7. FlexJobs

FlexJobs is focusing on providing an all-encompassing job platform for all remote-friendly jobs: from writers to IT professionals and customer support experts.

Unlike some of the other platforms that we’ve mentioned, FlexJobs gigs are not exclusively freelance, but they present employment (both part-time and full-time) as well. The only condition is that a job can be done fully remotely.

After you sign up and access the job board, simply use the filter to highlight only those creative writing jobs that you’re interested in.

8. WritersWork

Just like its name says, WritersWork caters specifically to writers, so it’s not like some other huge platforms with loads of professionals from all industries (which can be a good thing and a bad thing).

The site is not only a job board, but a very extensive collection of information and tips any writer can wish for. It’s a great resource for building your brand and business and making a living solely from writing.

After taking a look at some of their blog posts and info packages, hop on over to their carefully-selected job board to find epic creative writing jobs!

9. Constant Content

Constant Content works as a writing marketplace where clients can ask for services they need and find writers who will fulfill them. Similarly to iWriter, you will be able to apply to jobs as a writer after you go through their application process.

After you get accepted, you will get access to all sorts of creative writing jobs. Of course, you have the opportunity to take up only those gigs that you find interesting or worth your while. This allows a great degree of flexibility and freedom, which are known to be jet fuel for creativity.

Medium is a bit different than the majority of writing platforms. It’s a publishing tool that you can use to post your articles, stories and essays publicly, but you can also earn from your creative writing.

The monetization of your writing is done through their Medium Partner Program. Once you sign up, your stories will become eligible to earn money.

For example, if a Medium subscriber “clapped” only to your article, you would get USD 5 from that clap. If a subscriber clapped to 500 others, you would receive USD 0.01 from that subscriber.

11. All Freelance Writing

Founded in 2006, AFW is an online writers’ community where you can find loads of resources to get you started on your path as a creative writer.

There is a job board where you can view current open projects and you can also post your profile and let clients come to you.

Next to that, you will also find a rich collection of articles and eBooks focusing on the writing process, which you can use to perfect your craft and learn how to turn your hobby into a lucrative business.

12. SalesFolk

If you’re interested in crafting awesome email campaigns, promotional material and other marketing building blocks, SalesFolk is the right address for you.

It’s specialized for creative writers who want to work in marketing and help clients increase sales through the power of words.

There are thousands of categories and niches in which modern writers can work in. Next to creative writing jobs, there are also technical writing, scientific writing, grant and proposal writing and much more.

So, how is creative writing different than other writing jobs?

Throughout history, literature has been the synonym of creative writing. But now, the definition has significantly expanded.

In our digital world, the realm of creative writing is not as narrow as literature and fiction anymore. We now consider the field and industry of creative writing as large as ever, covering a wide array of categories and employing hundreds of thousands of experts around the world.

What separates the creative writing process from other writing jobs is that technical writing is based on facts and source reviews.

Take journalism, for example. Even though a journalistic article is a result of someone’s process of creativity and imagination, it’s still grounded in actual, checkable facts. Another piece, such as a column, that incorporates subjective thinking and opinions could be considered creative writing.

Skills and education

For many aspiring creative writers out there, the question of whether they are good enough is among the burning ones when first starting their career.

Of course, many people have a knack for writing and the ability to tell stories in a compelling way, but is it enough?

Well, it’s a great basis to start with, but in order to skyrocket your career, you will need much more than a talent for writing. The creative writing market is more competitive than ever and it’s important to develop skills that will set you apart from other writers.

Education can be a great asset, but you don’t need to have a degree to become a creative writer. Some clients prefer to see a university-level education, while others simply don’t care.

A great base for developing your career would be an education in, of course, Creative Writing, Literature, Linguistics, Communications, Media Studies and other Humanities.

Just like any other job, the salary can wildly differ from one writer to another. The rate for your writing pieces will depend on, of course, the client, your experience, your skills and many other factors.

You will usually see the price offered alongside the project description, so you’ll know what to expect. When there is no price listed, you should use your own standards that you usually charge other clients.

Of course, when you first start, the pay will be much lower than after you have already been working for 2 years. However, just like you start any job at a junior position, you have to approach creative writing with the same mindset.

Copywriters are very sought-after in today’s economy. From eCommerce websites to business advertisements, every company needs someone who will present their work in a captivating way and attract new leads and customers.

Copywriters usually write ad copy, slogans, and promotional texts. If you are interested in marketing and psychology and their connection to words, copywriting is the right job for you!

Story writer

A story writer is a job that closely resembles the traditional notion of copywriting. Here is where you can let all your ideas and creativity loose, develop characters, storylines and narratives.

Clients look for stories for many different purposes, and not just independent publishing. Sometimes, companies require stories as part of their brand messaging.

In this case, your task will be to develop a storyline on the history of the company and its mission and vision.

Screenwriter

Another very creative profession, screenwriting has blossomed due to the increased demand for video content. Of course, you will not start by screenwriting for Hollywood blockbusters, but who knows, you might just end up there!

“In general, companies use screenwriters to produce text for their promotional videos, campaigns, animations and other forms of multimedia content. It’s a very lucrative writing field with thousands of projects being posted every day,” says Kathy Thompson, a creative writer at SupremeDissertations .

eBook writer

Creative writing has fully exploded with the advent of Kindle and eBooks. Now, everyone has the chance to sell their own book , be it fiction, non-fiction, self-improvement, biography…

An eBook has slightly different requirements and formats that a physical print book. That’s why you will first have to look into some basics of formatting for eBooks .

You can either self-publish or work for a client that will buy the rights to your eBook. In any case, first, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis and see what’s more efficient for you.

Speech writer

When we hear the term “speech”, we usually think of State of the Union or Urbi Et Orbi, but the fact is that speeches are happening every day, across all sectors and industries.

Be it a conference, seminar or a company gathering, it’s expected that top executives hold a speech to serve the purpose of motivating their employees or presenting the company to investors.

At the same time, many execs are not very skilled in speech writing, so they resort to hiring a speech writing expert who will help them get their point across. This is where creative writers come in!

Corporate branding

Every company needs corporate branding in order to start operating, and creative writers are part of the effort to craft a message that will resonate with potential customers.

Corporate branding relates to everything from the company name to the mission and vision statement.

Content writer

Content writing is a field that covers many categories, but some sub-categories imply creative writing.

Sometimes, clients and companies need a blog post that will promote their brand in a unique, compelling way.

Travel writer

With the travel industry growing faster than ever, it’s no wonder that all sectors related to it are growing as well: from travel websites and forums to gadgets and travel accessories sales.

Many companies are now looking for travel writers who will present destinations and attract new tourists. You can work with a travel agency or directly with the city or country that’s trying to promote itself.

Ghostwriter

Even though ghostwriting jobs can be highly creative and lucrative, they’re not the favorite choice of creative writers who want to get famous. Why? Because every ghostwriter completely hands over the rights to their text and agrees never to be mentioned as the creator.

If this is something you’re okay with, ghostwriting is a great way to earn a lot of money with creative writing, especially if you’re ghostwriting for best-selling authors.

Children’s writer

Children’s books and videos are an evergreen industry that’s been constantly growing for decades.

If you have a good understanding of a child’s worldview and you’re able to “get down to their level”, writing books for children would be perfect for you! It’s also a way to escape reality and teleport back to those happy days of childhood and innocence.

On job boards and professional writing sites, there is a limited space for information where you can explain why you’re best for a job. Follow some of these tips to increase your chances of landing your next creative writing gig:

Write an awesome personal introduction

Your personal profile introduction is a crucial component of your presentation. Think of it as your personal brand message: convey to the reader (potential client) what you do, how you do it and why you do it well.

Prepare a portfolio

Most clients will ask to see what kind of work you’ve done before. This is not only to check your experience, but to see whether your style and tone of voice match their brand.

On most writing platforms, you can upload a portfolio of the work you are most proud of. If not, you can develop a simple portfolio website where you will feature your best work.

When bidding for a project or submitting an application, you can simply direct the client to that website.

Try writing short samples

Put yourself in the client’s shoes: how can you tell that a writer will be up to the task and be able to provide a satisfactory end result?

With nothing to rely on except a shiny portfolio and a personal introduction, clients have to gamble and trust that a writer’s experience will guarantee successful work.

So, if you want to prove to the client that you’re able to provide exactly what they need, consider writing a short sample of 100-200 words based on their project requirements. This way, they will see whether you will be able to carry it out to the end.

If you have a talent for writing, a creative writing career can be a path for connecting a passion with work. In order to succeed, you will have to put in a lot of time and effort into perfecting your craft and consistently provide high-quality outputs.

You will also have to work hard on attracting new clients, especially if you work as a freelancer. A good place to start is by signing up at one of the websites that we listed above and see what the offers are.

Keep the conversation going...

Over 10,000 of us are having daily conversations over in our free Facebook group and we'd love to see you there. Join us!

Freelancing Growth

Written by Marques Coleman

Contributor at millo.co.

Marques Coleman is a blog writer at EssayAssistant and specializes in marketing and copywriting. Moreover, he is an avid traveler and always tries to learn something new.

Marques's Articles

At Millo, we strive to publish only the best, most trustworthy and reliable content for freelancers. You can learn more by reviewing our editorial policy .

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to make money as a freelance writer in 12 ways

• Rebecca Tomasis

Freelance writing has emerged as a significant force in the gig economy, offering flexibility, independence and a way to make money online and offline. With businesses and individuals constantly seeking quality content, the demand for skilled writers is on the rise. For many, the allure of freelance writing lies in the freedom to choose projects that align with your personal interests and the ability to work from anywhere in the world.

Whether you're looking to supplement your income, start a business or pursue a full-time career, understanding how to make money as a freelance writer is the first step towards turning your passion for words into profit.

How to make money as a freelancer writer: tips to succeed

To promote your business effectively, having a freelance website is a necessity. Showcasing your work on a dedicated platform or via an online portfolio is crucial for attracting potential clients.

Specializing in a writing niche can be a game-changer, allowing you to focus on a specific expertise area while making money as a freelancer. This specialization establishes authority, increasing chances of finding targeted jobs and commanding higher rates. Identifying a niche, aligned with market demand and personal passions, is key for success in the freelance writing landscape.

12 ways to make money as a freelance writer

Copywriting

Ghostwriting

Technical writing

SEO writing

Social media content creation

Grant writing

Writing for online courses and webinars

Content marketing writing

Newsletter content creation

Online publication journalism

Production description writing

01. Blogging

Writing for blogs, usually for businesses and corporate clients, is a great way to make money as a freelance writer. Blogs are a popular tool for many brands and companies and they often rely on freelance writers for their content. If you build a solid relationship with a client, you can make a steady income from regular blog writing.

If you’re serious about making money as a writer through blogging, you should consider starting your own blog to practice your writing skills and showcase your work. Get started with a blog maker and create your own writer's blog .

02. Copywriting

Copywriting is a popular way for many freelance writers to make money. This involves writing persuasive and effective marketing copy for websites, marketing campaigns including ads and landing pages and sales materials. Good copywriting is a very specific skill and if you nail it, you can make considerable amounts of money.

If you’re serious about making money as a freelance writer through copywriting it’s important to create a portfolio in order to collect and showcase examples of your copy. You can easily one with a website builder , such as Wix.

03. Ghostwriting

If you’re looking for a potentially lucrative way to make money as a freelance writer, ghostwriting is something to consider. Ghostwriting involves writing articles, books or even speeches for clients who will publish the work under their own name but you’ll write or help write it. It’s a very popular service for celebrities or famous people and their autobiographies.

This freelance business idea will involve giving up complete creative control and credit for the work but it’s a good way to make money consistently. And unlike writing for yourself and then having to work hard to sell it, with ghostwriting your income is confirmed by contract at the start of the project. You just need to make sure you deliver the expected work to a set deadline.

04. Technical writing

If you have expertise in a technical field, perhaps programming web development or machine learning, you can make money writing user manuals, product descriptions and branded how-to guides for tech companies.

Technical writing is considered a highly specialized field and generally enables writers to make significant amounts of money.

05. SEO writing

Make money as a freelance writer by producing SEO content for websites and blogs. Generally, this means planning, writing and optimizing content to rank in the top results of search engines. To make money as this type of writer you’ll need to be a great writer and have a decent amount of SEO knowledge, meaning understanding what it takes for content to rank high for different keywords. You’ll also need to understand how to optimize content for search engines, including things like writing alt text, meta descriptions and FAQ sections. In some instances, you may also be expected to research keywords and prepare SEO writer briefs, or these may be provided by the client.

06. Social media content creation

As brands and companies rely more heavily on social media marketing, there’s plenty of demand for writers who can create social media content. This can be a creative way to make money as an influencer and writer and it might involve working with various types of content - from static posts and copy to engaging headlines or shoutouts to video scripts and subtitles.

If you’re looking to make money as a writer of social media content, it’s worth making sure your own social media accounts are active and packed with great social content. That way you can show future clients what you’re capable of and why they should trust you with their content creation.

07. Grant writing

Some freelance writers specialize in grant writing as a means of income. Grant writing involves preparing and submitting proposals to funding organizations, such as government agencies, foundations, or corporations, to secure financial support for specific projects or initiatives.

The process begins with thorough research to identify suitable funding opportunities aligned with project goals. This includes reviewing guidelines, eligibility criteria and deadlines. Writers then collaborate with project stakeholders to develop a clear and compelling project plan, outlining goals, activities, budgets and expected outcomes.

The grant proposal is a crucial component, making a persuasive case for why the funding organization should invest in the project. It typically includes sections like an executive summary, project description, goals, methodology, budget, timeline and evaluation plan.

While grant writing is an intensive process requiring specialist knowledge, many writers appreciate its breadth, involving not just writing skills but also project management, research and collaboration with key stakeholders.

08. Writing for online courses and webinars

Another way to make money as a freelance writer is to create educational content for online platforms or brands that offer courses on various subjects. This can include scripting video content or creating copy to accompany courses and webinars.

This type of writing will involve working very closely with the course and webinar creators and generally may not be the most creative form of writing. However, it offers a guaranteed income and may lead to repeat work from the same company.

09. Content marketing writing

Making money with freelance content writing can encompass a wide range of types of writing for a large number of purposes. It can also include blog and SEO writing and copywriting.

Content marketing writing usually involves working on creating content to clear marketing briefs, that align with the goals of a specific marketing campaign (perhaps lead gen or brand awareness). The writing usually involves following a very clear brand style guide and brand writing guidelines.

Content marketing writing always has a clear purpose and as a freelance writer, you’ll be expected to convey this in an effective way that works for your client. This makes making money with content marketing writing more than just, well writing and you’ll generally need a good understanding of how marketing strategies and marketing campaigns work, as well as of the brand and product or service it promotes.

10. Newsletter content creation

You can make money as a freelance writer by developing newsletters for businesses to communicate with their customers or potential customers. This could include writing headlines, marketing copy for emails and content to be distributed via newsletters.

Newsletters are usually sent out on a regular schedule, which makes this a consistent and reliable way to make money as a writer. It’s also a great way to build your resume and skills as a marketing writer, allowing you to later branch into other fields of it - such as copywriting, or SEO writing.

11. Online publication journalism

Online publications and journalism are still alive and well, even if print media has taken a beating in recent years. Pitch story ideas to print and digital magazines to make money as a freelance writer. This can be a great way to get your name out there as a writer and allows you to write about topics you’re passionate about. It can be a competitive way to make money as a writer and you may have to get through rounds of rejections first.

12. Product description writing

If you’re looking for a way to make money as a freelance writer that can be done remotely, so product description writing might be a good fit. This can involve writing product descriptions for eCommerce sites or writing website product pages for businesses of all types - from clothing businesses to jewelry businesses to tech companies.

Generally, this can also be a very specialized writing niche and it helps if you have some knowledge or understanding of the products you’re writing about, especially when it comes to software and tech products.

How to get started with making money as a freelance writer

Starting a freelance writing business involves several key steps. First, assess your writing skills and identify your niche. Next, create a portfolio to showcase your work, which can include samples or links to published pieces. Then, set up a professional profile on freelance writing platforms and social media to start connecting with potential clients. It’s also critical to understand the basics of running a business, such as setting your rates, invoicing and managing taxes.

Learn how to make a website . Why? A website acts as a central hub for your freelance writing business. It's a platform where you can introduce yourself, highlight your services, display your portfolio and share testimonials from clients. A well-designed website can help you build credibility and attract clients by showcasing your expertise and professionalism. Additionally, optimizing your website for search engines with relevant keywords can increase your visibility and lead to more freelance writing job opportunities.

Get started with a Wix website .

How much money can you make freelance writing?

The allure of freelance writing lies in its flexibility and potential for a rewarding income. But how does this translate to dollars and cents? Several factors influence your earning potential, like:

Experience and expertise: Seasoned writers with specialized knowledge command higher rates than newcomers.

Niche: Certain niches, like tech writing or medical writing, are known for premium pay.

Client type: Rates differ depending on whether you write for individuals, businesses or publications.

Location: Geography can play a role, with some regions offering higher average rates.

Writing speed and efficiency: The faster and more efficiently you work, the more projects you can tackle, boosting your income.

While precise figures are tricky, here's a general earnings chart   to paint a picture:

Beginner: $10-$25 per hour

Intermediate: $25-$50 per hour

Experienced: $50-$100 per hour

Top earners: $100+ per hour

Now, let's delve deeper into specific niches and their earning potential:

Ghostwriters: Ghostwriters can earn anywhere from $0.10 to $2 per word, depending on the project's complexity, length and the client's budget. Established ghostwriters with stellar reputations can command even higher fees.

Copywriters: Copywriters crafting marketing materials like website copy or ad campaigns can earn $50-$150 per hour or even project-based fees, depending on the scope and target audience.

Finance writers: Demystifying complex financial concepts for laypeople comes at a premium. Finance writers typically charge $0.20-$0.50 per word or project-based fees ranging from $500-$5,000+, depending on the project's length and complexity.

How to make money as a writer FAQ

How do i find freelance writing jobs.

Start by creating profiles on popular freelance writing platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer and ProBlogger Job Board. Networking on social media, particularly LinkedIn, can also uncover opportunities. Additionally, pitching directly to businesses, blogs and digital publications can be effective.

What should I charge for my freelance writing services?

How do i identify profitable freelance writing niches, can i make a full-time income from freelance writing, how do i ensure i get paid for my work, other ways to make money you might want to consider.

How to make money as a student

How to make money as a chef

How to make money as a real estate agent

How to make money as a personal trainer

How to make money as a therapist

How to make money as a singer

How to make money as a contractor

How to make money as a handyman

How to make money as a notary public

How to make money as an entrepreneur

How to make money as a farmer

How to make money as a crafter

How to make money as a teenager

How to make money as a virtual assistant

Related Posts

15 part-time business ideas you can start anytime

9 scalable business ideas to help your venture thrive

10 best recession-proof business ideas to weather any downturn

Was this article helpful?

Get Paid to Write: 40 Legitimate Websites That Pay $100+

Table of Contents

As a freelance writer, building a sustainable writing career is super important. And one of the ways to achieve this is by landing consistent, well-paid gigs.

Rather than spending time filtering through scam jobs and content mills that pay peanuts, I’ve compiled a list of 40 legitimate websites where you can get paid to write for over $100.

These websites cover a variety of industries, such as content writing, affiliate sales, web design, and feature stories. Here’s the first one on our list.

Related Reading : Freelance Writing Rates

10 Websites You Can Try to Pitch as a New Freelance Writer

Here’s an updated list of websites that you can try to pitch and get paid writing in 2023:

• Income Diary
• Freelance Mom
• Chicken Soup For The Soul
• International Living Magazine
• Grow and Convert Content Marketing Agency
• Writer’s Digest
• The American Scholar

Get Paid to Write Articles About Business 

If you’ve got extensive knowledge about business management and operations, here are online websites where you get paid to write about your insights.

1. Ecommerce Insiders ($75-$150)

If you’ve got experience in the Ecommerce industry, Ecommerce Insiders will pay you to write blog posts centered around online marketing. 

Article submissions may be retail-oriented, with a focus on topics like design, marketing, merchandising, and operations. Writers can also provide commentaries on industry news/trends or write educational pieces on how to succeed in the e-commerce industry.

The publishing team at Ecommerce Insiders has very specific requirements, so I’d advise you to review their submission guidelines before sending in your pitch. They typically offer between $75 to $150 for blog posts of about 400 words and above.

2. B. Michelle Pippin ($50-$150)

B. Michelle Pippin is looking for entrepreneurial experts to share their knowledge with other women entrepreneurs and help them grow their businesses and income. So, if you’re a woman who’s an expert in marketing, making money from YouTube, sales, or other business-inclined topics, she is ready to welcome you. 

B. Michelle requires submissions to be instructive, original, savvy, and contain actionable advice for readers. She offers between $50-$150 per article and will pay more for content she intends to publish in her newsletter. However, you will not be able to republish any content that has been paid for and shared on the website.

3. Success Lifestyle Magazine (Up to $100)

Success Lifestyle magazine is an online publication house that caters to entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development. 

They are open to receiving articles about other entrepreneurs who’ve built their businesses from scratch. Furthermore, they also accept articles that cover different business development ideas. Editors at the magazine make it a duty to hire writers who are dependable, inspiring, and fun. 

If you’d like to write for the magazine, you’ll have to send an article proposal first and wait for them to request a sample article before you turn in a draft. The application process also involves a 15-minute interview with the magazine’s editors. 

Success Lifestyle Magazine pays $0.50 per word (about $250 for a 500-word article).

4. Inc. (Up to $100 per article)

Inc. is a leading magazine that pays experts to write short articles that provide guidance and actionable strategies to startups and small businesses. 

Aspiring writers who want to write for the publication are expected to be experts or thought leaders in their industries. Furthermore, writers are required to apply by sending in column proposals. The column proposal should generally include the following:

• The reasons for applying.
• The topics of interest.
• A 500-word sample article with 10 sample headlines.
• Links to existing published works.

They prefer articles between 800 and 1,200 words and pay up to $2,400 per column submission— some column editors pay as high as $2 per word.

5. Liisbeth & Rabble.CA ($100-$,2000)

If you have a mastery of the intersection between feminism and entrepreneurship, Liisbeth & Rabble may be a great fit. Here, writers produce long and short-form content that female entrepreneurs consult when building their businesses and careers.

As a writer here, you’ll cover topics on enterprise, feminism, and innovation and write critiques of policies and systems that perpetuate inequality. 

So, if you’ve got a passion for supporting women-led businesses, join hands with Liisbeth to write high-quality content that can make a difference. Writers often get paid as high as $2,000 per article. 

Get Paid to Write Articles About Lifestyle 

If you enjoy telling great stories about the human experience, you’re in the right place. Here, I’ve compiled a list of online platforms where you can get paid to write about your perspectives on freelance writing, family life, evolving trends, and lifestyle.

6. FreelanceMom ($75-$100)

FreelanceMom caters to working moms, particularly those who earn an income via freelancing. So, if you fit into both categories, feel free to share your journey in entrepreneurship and work-life balance. What’s more, you can also give advice on how other stay-at-home parents can become successful freelancers. 

The company expects that article submissions contain content that is practical, well-researched, and well-organized. The articles should also offer new approaches and actionable advice that readers can benefit from. 

As a freelance writer here, you’ll be writing from personal experiences in a manner that other moms can relate to. Be sure to check their guidelines for more clarity before submitting your article. FreelanceMom prefers blog posts between 900 and 1,500 words and offers between $75- $100 per article.

7. Listverse ($100)

If you love funny and unusual content and are good at creating lists or rating things, send a pitch to Listverse today. All you have to do is send them an original article on any topic you choose, with at least ten listed items and a paragraph or two under each item. Then, if the work gets published, they pay writers $100 per article. 

To make your work easier, Listverse assures a proper review by its seasoned editors. Also, editors will help with inserting pictures and videos where necessary. Still, to ensure that your work is properly vetted, they have a fact-checking team that verifies all links and citations. 

Listverse only pays via PayPal, and they don’t entertain alternative forms of payment. So, as a freelance writer on their team, you’ll need a PayPal account to receive payments.

8. Reader’s Digest ($50-$250)

Reader’s Digest encourages people to share interesting, non-fictional narratives, experiences, and funny stories. 

They welcome articles on current events and contemporary American life, dramatic narratives, jokes, and funny true stories. The magazine caters to a diverse audience and wants articles that will educate, entertain, and provoke their readers.

Writers here produce blogs of about 800 to 1,000 words. For every published article, the writer gets paid $50-$250, depending on the category it falls under.

9. Her View From Home (Up to $100)

Her View From Home calls out to writers to deliver blog posts and feature articles about family life, parenting, children, relationships, and other related topics. It’s worth mentioning that they accept both original and previously published works.

They require articles to be genuine and heartfelt, with about 600 to 800 words. Writers must also familiarize themselves with the magazine’s guidelines and content before submitting their articles. 

Furthermore, editors make payments based on the number of page views accumulated over 30 days. After that, they’ll ask you to send an invoice for payment. They pay up to $100 for original articles with over 4,000 views and $50 for previously published articles with over 10,000 views.

10. WorthPoint (Up to $100)

Are you an expert lover of antiques and collectibles? Worthpoint is offering you an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with their readers.

Writers are expected to write informative articles or blog posts on antiques, art, collectibles, and other related subjects that will be assigned by their editors. Other useful writing skills include fluency in English, familiarity with Google’s advanced search features, and knowledge of Microsoft Word Editor.

The company prefers articles between 400 and 1,200 words and offers up to $100 per article, alongside other benefits. 

Get Paid for Creative Writing

If you’ve got a flair for storytelling and a good imagination, you can make loads of money writing online. These websites offer various avenues to bring your creativity to life and earn money writing articles online.

11. Longreads ($350-$500+)

Longreads features high-quality, comprehensive, and captivating stories about human experiences that readers can relate to. The content they’re interested in includes book reviews, essays, columns, and reading lists. 

The required word count for an article depends on the category it falls under; thus, your submission can be anywhere from 800 to 6,000 words. Longreads pays $350 for reading lists and $500 and above for essays and columns. 

12. Bustle (Up to $100)

Bustle is a trendy site that caters to a wide target audience and delivers content under various niches— from entertainment and fashion to beauty, style, wellness, and evolving trends.

As such, they are interested in receiving creative pieces, original reporting, personal stories, and commentaries or editorials with unique approaches. It’s best to familiarize yourself with their content to know their preferred areas of interest, writing style, and tone.

Note that you’ll be required to submit a pitch first before sending your article. Bustle pays about $125 for a 500-word article.

13. Fantasy & Science Fiction (Up to $100)

If you love writing fantasy and science fiction stories, this one’s for you. Fantasy and Science Fiction welcomes stories with surprising plots and subtle speculative elements. They prefer character-oriented stories from different genres, including fantasy, horror, humor, and science fiction.

Submissions are only accepted for fictional stories, and writers are encouraged to incorporate diverse perspectives into their articles.

For every published article, the client pays $0.08 to $0.12 per word, with a maximum of 25,000 words (about $1,600 for 20,000 words). To improve your chances of getting published, ensure that you send in a high-quality story that is fully edited. 

14. Cricket Magazine (Up to $100)

Cricket Magazine is a young adult literature and comic print magazine for younger readers. So, feel free to send long-form fictional or non-fictional stories, poems, or translations that cater to this demographic. 

• Concerning fiction, the print magazine welcomes fantasy, folk tales, historical fiction, humor, myths and legends, realistic contemporary fiction, and science fiction. The stories are required to be character-driven, well-plotted, and have satisfying conclusions.
• For non-fiction, writers can pick from various subjects— art, history, inventors, explorers, science and technology, and theater. The articles should be well-researched and include biographies.
• Regarding poems, both serious and humorous pieces are accepted, and they are expected to be descriptive, well-crafted, and precise. Writers can write on different themes, including family, friendships, and nature. 

Per rates, Cricket Magazine pays an estimate of $0.10 per word for fictional stories, $0.25 per word for non-fictional stories, and $3 per line for poems.

15. Cracked ($150-$250)

Cracked is a witty site with clever and funny articles usually written in list formats. They welcome articles that tackle popular subjects from fresh perspectives. 

You can apply to write feature articles without experience, but you must have good writing skills. On the other hand, experienced writers can apply for columnist roles by sending their pitches alongside links to their previous works. 

Cracked expects writers to be funny, sarcastic, and sharp and pays an estimated $150-$250 for each accepted piece. The price range varies according to the article’s length and the number of articles written. 

16. Narratively ($300-$400)

Narratively welcomes a wide range of articles that deliver authentic and captivating storytelling of the human experience. Their niches include culture, family, food and drink, environment, news, travel, and technology. 

They prefer long-form articles that provide vivid narrations of the content. So, if you enjoy writing essays and articles from a personal and experiential point of view, give Narratively a go. 

Be sure to check out their submission guidelines for more direction in picking your article and writing it. Narratively offers an estimate of $300 to $400 per published article.  

17. VQR ($200-$1000+)

VQR is a literary journal that accepts original and unpublished poetry, fictional, and non-fiction submissions. They are not interested in genre fiction like fantasy, romance, and science fiction, and they prefer short fiction of about 2,500 to 8,000 words. 

For non-fictional pieces, they approve of essays, investigative reports, and memoirs with 3,000 to 7,000 words. For poems, they welcome all types and do not have a limit on the number of words. VQR has specific requirements, so read through their guidelines before applying. They generally pay $200 per poem and $1,000 and above for short fiction and non-fiction pieces.  

Get Paid to Write Articles on Technical Freelance Writing

For the tech experts who can demystify complex subjects with precision and clarity, you can build a successful career as a technical writer. Here, I’ve compiled some websites where you get paid to write articles about niche tech topics.

The first is….

18. nDash ($150-$450)

nDash provides an opportunity for tech freelance writers to connect with clients and reputable brands. They offer a variety of projects you can take on— email newsletters, blog posts, white papers, and online articles. You can also set your rates for the specific type of project. 

Additionally, nDash does not charge any fee for the jobs you get, meaning you keep 100% of your earnings. 

Furthermore, you can apply to write for nDash directly by creating a profile on their website and featuring your previous work experience. Then, create a Stripe account, which the platform uses to pay its writers, who earn an estimated $150-$450 per assignment.

And the best part? You can do all this for free!

19. Copyhackers ($300-$1,000)

Copyhackers centers on practical content for designers, freelancers, marketers, and startups. Their content mostly includes branding, conversion copywriting, freelancing for money, business growth and development, marketing, product design, web development, and UX and A/B testing.

For Copyhackers, your article submission must be thoroughly detailed and researched. Additionally, it should be from a first-person point of view, and it should be a minimum of 2000 words. For every published article, you’ll be paid between $300 and $1000.  

20. Writer’s Digest (Up to $100)

Writer’s Digest is dedicated to inspiring writers and helping them improve their writing skills. As such, they are open to receiving submissions that fall under this category, including personal essays and memoirs. 

They pay $0.50 per word for the one-time publishing of your article electronically and in print. Then, if they decide to repurpose or republish it, they’ll pay you 25% of the original purchase price.

21. UX Booth ($100)

UX Booth prides itself as an authority in the User Experience field, and they are open to receiving comprehensive and well-researched articles that guide improving user experience. 

Writers can select topics from different areas like analytics, business strategy, content strategy, interaction design, philosophy, and universal design and accessibility. The articles should be relatable and beneficial to readers, with guidance on how to implement what they read.

Additionally, they should be written from the third person point of view and between 1,200 and 1,800 words. UX Booth pays $100 for every published article.

22. Semaphore ($400-$500)

If you’re an expert in automation, application deployment, and software, and you know how to write, then you’re a good fit for Semaphore . 

This technical site is open to receiving articles about software architecture, DevSecOps tools, and development tools and practices. 

Semaphore pays an estimated $400-$500 for every new article and $100-$200 for article updates. Additionally, you will be paid a 50% bonus if your published article generates over 1,000 non-paid views seven days after it’s posted. 

23. Make a Living Writing ($75-$150)

Make A Living Writing is aimed at helping freelance writers develop their businesses and increase their earnings. As such, they welcome articles that provide insight and advice on achieving this. Their pay ranges from $75 to $150 per article, depending on the topic’s complexity and the depth of research required. 

To ease your application process, check out their guidelines for more clarity on the type of content they want. Additionally, this site considers your submissions for their other sites, including Selfpublishing.com and The Write Life, to increase the chances of getting your article approved.

24. Smashing Magazine ($50-$200)

Smashing Magazine is another leading technical site on the lookout for articles related to graphics design, UX design, WordPress, web development, and web/mobile design. 

They accept submissions in the form of case studies, opinions, tutorials, and guides. However, you should pitch your article idea in about 200-300 words first and wait for approval before submitting a draft. 

If your outline is approved, you may be assigned to an editor to guide you through the writing process. For every approved submission, Smashing Magazine pays between $50 and $200 per article.

25. Sitepoint ($150-$200)

Are you a web design expert? Are you well-versed in CSS, HTML, and SASS? Can you share this knowledge with others? Then you’re a good fit for SitePoint .

SitePoint is interested in receiving articles about development tools and environments, entrepreneurship and digital marketing, no-code and low-code tools, and web development and design. Article submissions are expected to be accurate, clear, concise, well-researched, and contain a bit of humor.

It’s worth mentioning that SitePoint also encourages beginner writers to pitch. This is subject to certain conditions, though, including a passion for technology, fluency in English, and the ability to share their knowledge with other developers. 

Sitepoint offers $150 for articles and $200 for tutorials. However, writers whose articles are comprehensive and estimated to generate plenty of traffic are paid more than $150. 

26. Photoshop Tutorials ($25-$300)

If you have a passion for Photoshop and design, Photoshop Tutorials invites you to share your knowledge and educate other Photoshop users.

They generally accept educational materials with comprehensive tips on how to use Photoshop for digital creations and edits like human portraits, photo manipulation, and posters.

Writers can send in short articles with quick tips or full tutorials with detailed instructions. Although the company generally pays $25-$50 for an accepted article, they pay between $150-$300 for each approved tutorial.

Get Paid to Write Articles for Journalism Publications

Freelance writing doesn’t always involve fiction or lifestyle writing. There are also opportunities for freelance writers to showcase their investigative skills and spread accurate information. 

So, if you have a passion for reporting, these websites will pay you to inspire others and ignite change. 

27. Informed Comment ($100)

Informed Comment features content on foreign policy and is looking for experts to contribute to their niche. Their content specifically focuses on US foreign policy and Middle Eastern and South Asian politics. 

Other content areas they delve into include climate change, green energy, human rights, religion, religious discrimination, and women’s and workers’ rights. 

Informed Comment typically accepts submissions from experts with advanced degrees or who have published works in prominent online publications like The Nation and The Washington Post.

Article submissions are expected to be between 800 and 1,000 words. However, you are required to send an inquiry introducing yourself. After sending in your pitch, wait for approval before sending a draft. Informed Comment pays $100 for each published article.

28. Slate ($300)

Slate is a popular site that focuses on content centered around business, culture, news, politics, technology, and more. 

They welcome submissions in any of these areas and want contributors who can deliver original pieces with brilliant and surprising arguments and analyses. Writers are required to send in clear and concise pitches explaining their articles first before submitting drafts.

Slate offers $300 for a published article, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 words. 

29. Columbia Journalism Review (Up to $100)

Columbia Journalism Review has maintained its long-standing reputation as a leading voice in journalism. It tackles worldwide pressing issues and welcomes critical essays, investigative features, and profiles. 

Applications should be made through pitches sent to the magazine’s email. The pitches generally include the intended story or argument, the reason for selecting the story, why the writer wants to report it, and the reporting plan. The writer should also include whether the story is time-sensitive and why. 

The Columbia Journalism Review pays $0.05-$1 per word for every published article (about $500 for a published article). Writers can also negotiate for higher rates, depending on the nature of the piece.

Get Paid to Write Articles About Finance

For finance enthusiasts, here are some websites that will pay you to share actionable strategies readers can use to increase their earnings and save more money.

30. The Penny Hoarder (Up to $100)

The Penny Hoarder is a leading publication centered on personal finance and prefers articles that are written based on personal experiences. Their content usually features detailed advice and actionable strategies for saving and earning money.

In this regard, writers can submit articles covering comprehensive money-saving tips, in-depth reviews, product recommendations of financial applications, products, and services, and opportunities to make more money.

Article submissions are expected to be engaging and easily understandable by readers from different financial backgrounds. The articles should be around 700 to 900 words, and The Penny Hoarder pays between $75-$100 for each article. However, the pay depends on many factors, and you might need to discuss payment with the editor first. 

31. Money Pantry (Up to $150)

The Money Pantry was created to help people learn how to increase their earning capacity while saving more money. Pretty great, right? They welcome high-quality articles that help readers in this regard and pay up to $150 for blog posts ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 words.

Writers are expected to write about unique and unusual strategies that will help their readers make and save more money. Their articles should be original, practical, precise, include real-life examples, and be written in bloggy and friendly tones. 

However, Money Pantry’s contributing page has been temporarily closed since February 2021 and will update their site when they are back up and running guest posts.

32. Income Diary (Up to $200)

Income Diary is a financial site that welcomes articles and blog posts on various financial topics— content creation, website creation, buying and selling websites, affiliate marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO).

Income Diary requires each article submission to be original, unique, and well-written. They have very high standards, and they encourage writers to check out their guides on content creation for more clarity on their requirements.

Income Diary pays up to $200 for every approved article, and they are currently looking for an expert in SEO to write an article for an estimated pay of $150-$300.

Additional Websites Where Writers Get Paid to Write

For more diverse areas, here are websites where you get paid to write and contribute to other niches— from entertainment and human resource management to traveling and living abroad.

33. The Escapist Magazine (Up to $200)

The Escapist Magazine features content about the gaming industry and welcomes articles about video games, board games, movies, science, and technology. It is every video game and technology fan’s dream. 

The magazine is interested in articles that are well-written, thoroughly researched, and offer unique perspectives on the various aspects of a game, movie, or TV show. They also welcome interview pieces that tell new stories about the gaming industry. As such, in-depth knowledge and a passion for the gaming industry are required to excel in this role. 

The Escapist pays up to $200 for every published article.

34. The AV Club (Up to $100)

The AV Club is an entertainment website that features TV and movie content, celebrity news, and all things pop culture-related. 

They strive to make their articles sharp and witty and want contributors who can captivate their target audience. As such, they are open to receiving high-quality entertainment content, including trending celebrity news, movie and series reviews, and real interviews. 

The AV Club pays an average of $0.21 per word (this sums up to about $210 for a 1,000-word article).

35. PTO Today ($125-$500+)

PTO Today caters to parents with kids in elementary and middle schools. The magazine is focused on helping the leaders of these groups be more involved in their children’s academic experiences. 

As such, they welcome best practices and instructional pieces for enhancing children’s school experiences, fundraising, leadership, group management, parent involvement and working with school authorities.

They prefer informal and conversational tones and are looking for writers that can engage their target audience. PTO Today prefers articles with 600 to 1,500 words and pays an estimate of $125-$500 and above. 

36. The Barefoot Writer ($100-$300)

If you want to help other freelance writers make money writing from home, then you should pitch to The Barefoot Writer . 

They are interested in articles that provide inspiration, tips, and tools to help build a freelance writing career, develop writing skills, and increase one’s earning capacity. Personal essays and success stories about how your writing has positively impacted your life are also welcome. 

The required word count ranges from 400 to 800 words, depending on the category the article falls under. The magazine offers between $100-$300 for approved pieces.

37. International Living ($250-$400)

International Living focuses on retiring and living overseas, and they want articles that shed more light on such realities. 

Writers are advised to write inspiring stories reflecting their experiences or those of people they interview. Their articles should also include advice about retiring in another country— including money-saving ideas, tips on moving and adjusting to a new life, and getting insurance and access to special facilities. 

Recommendations and practical solutions readers can act upon are also welcome. For every publication, International Living offers $250 for 840 words and $400 for 1,400 words. Additionally, they pay $50 for the one-time use of your photographs.

38. Great Escape Publishing ($150)

Here’s one for passionate travelers: Great Escape Publishing curates content for various travel-centered blogs and newsletters, including The Travel Writer’s Life and The Right Way To Travel. They prefer articles that help other creative freelancers learn how to build their freelance businesses as travel writers and entrepreneurs. 

Articles usually range from 300 to 600 words and may include interviews or personal experiences. The magazine offers $150 per published article. Again, I’d advise you to read through their submission guidelines for more insight on what they’re looking for.

39. The American Scholar ($250-$500)

The American Scholar magazine covers articles, essays, fiction, and poetry. However, they only accept guest posts for non-fiction pieces. In this vein, The American Scholar welcomes articles on culture, literature, history, public affairs, and science. 

They have a limit of 6,000 words for articles and only consider submissions made through Submittable, their online submissions manager system. The American Scholar offers $250-$500 for accepted pieces. 

40. iWorkwell ($200+)

iWorkwell is a resource site that aims to help organizations boost productivity, subsidize management costs, and cultivate better human resource practices. 

They seek experts willing to share their knowledge in diverse areas— including change management, employee relations, HR strategy, legal compliance, technology and HRIS, and workforce planning. 

iWorkwell generally assigns articles based on expertise and availability, and they pay $200 and above for every accepted article, alongside other benefits.

Land Your First Paid Writing Gig Today!

Today, there are many online freelance writing websites out there that will pay you more than pennies for your thoughts. If you’re a new writer, you can also explore freelance job boards where companies post freelance writing jobs you can apply for. 

So, go forth and write your way to success.

Adetayo Sogbesan

With a writing journey spanning over half a decade, Adetayo has honed her craft by producing standout articles and blogs for renowned companies like MUO, Brightlio, Careerkarma, and Copypress. Specializing in work & career, tech content writing, and both B2B and B2C content, she has established a diverse and impactful portfolio. Beyond the world of words, Adetayo is an avid bookworm and a cinephile, cherishing moments of relaxation with riveting reads and cinematic masterpieces. Valuing the essence of connection, Adetayo also treasures quality time spent with her close-knit circle of friends.

Elite Content Marketer offers education and software reviews to help beginner creators graduate into the middle class (and beyond) sustainably. Learn more about us here .

• Best AppSumo Lifetime Deals (March 2024)
• Best Lifetime AI Software Deals
• What is a B2B Writer (+ How to Start B2B Freelance Writing?)

How To Make Money Being Creative: 12 Profitable Options

How to make money being creative? In this article, I’ll explain 12 different strategies for those working in the creator economy.

I spent much of my twenties barely earning enough money to pay our mortgage and even claimed social welfare for a while. For me, creative work meant writing, and I believed I needed permission from an employer or publisher to get paid to write.

In my thirties, I gradually discovered successful online writers take charge of their careers and don’t ask for permission from any publisher, employer, or high-profile publication. And they build a business behind their work. Of course, the same applies to content creators in other fields, too.

Years ago, it was exceptionally difficult to earn money from creative work . You had to seek permission from a gatekeeper like a publisher or an employer before even standing a chance of connecting, let alone selling to an audience.

The cost of creating and distributing meant many past creatives worked around the side of a job or even on the breadline. Worse still, society affixed a type of glamour to the  starving artist .

Today, it’s an unhelpful cliché to say artists must starve for their craft. Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals get paid for their work, so why not creatives?

Thanks to opportunities in the creator economy, it’s easier than ever to earn a living from your creative work if you’re committed to creating high-quality content and also spend time connecting with your ideal audience.

1. Build a Content Website

A good content website sells for 32 to 47 multiples of monthly profits. That’s an insane amount of money for a content creator who’s comfortable with the written word or working with freelancers. It’s also a better business model than many options online as you own this site rather than a third-party.

A while ago, I interviewed Jon Dykstra of Fat Stacks blog who earns over six figures a month from this approach. When I asked him about  building content websites , he said:

“I liken content to a widget. If you’re in manufacturing, you produce widgets. If you’re an online publisher, you produce content,” he says. “There are multiple workflows. I have a couple of in-house writers that I work with.”

2. Set Up Display Advertising

Display advertising is a proven and relatively method for monetizing a content website with traffic. Compared to options like launching a course or public speaking, it’s also a relatively stable and passive income stream.

Google AdSense has a low barrier to entry for new website publishers, but it doesn’t pay that much. If your site attracts over 50,0000 page views per month, consider applying to MediaVine. AdThrive is a popular option for bigger sites. Then, use earnings from advertising to invest in more content, thus building a content flywheel.

Some personal brands and small content publishers frown on display advertising, but it’s how many big media brands earn a return on content (or their case employees). It’s a good approach if you’re committed to creating high-quality content at scale and enjoy working with freelance writers and editors.

3. Start a Podcast

A reader enjoying an article typically spends two minutes or less engaging with a piece of well-written content. A YouTube user watches several minutes of a ten-minute clip before moving on to something else in their feed. But an engaged podcast listener sticks with an episode for 30-minutes or longer. That’s a long time to hold somebody’s attention!

If your audience is engaged, you can monetize a podcast by selling promotional spots to advertisers. However, you’ll need several thousand downloads per episode for this option to work. Meanwhile, you could promote products and services (or affiliate products) to listeners.

Although podcasts are harder to monetize than other content formats, they still help you build a relationship with your audience, indirectly leading to revenue opportunities later.

4. Become an Affiliate Marketer

I stumbled into affiliate marketing several years ago (read my guide to affiliate marketing to learn more). These days I promote several products as an affiliate, including Grammarly. I’m happy to promote them as I use these products daily in my business.

Affiliate marketing is an excellent way of earning five or even six figures a year from content. Work as normal on your online projects. But also take time to recommend the products and services you use for these projects too. Create content about how you use these products via walk-throughs, guides, tutorials, and reviews.

Affiliate marketing is also a good option for creators because it enables validating an idea and promoting a product without necessarily spending a significant amount of time or resources building one. Plus, you don’t need to provide customer support.

5. Join a Partner Program

Many content platforms offer partner programs for content creators. They’ll pay you to create content for them.

I’m two minds about these programs. I’ve earned several thousand dollars from the  Medium Partner Program , and some other writers I know earn that much … a month. It represents an excellent opportunity for writers who need validation that they can get paid for their work. You don’t need to write for free anymore.

Similarly, the YouTube partner program pays top-tier creators millions of dollars. But these partner programs are a grind. And you’re still building a business for another company with your content. Unless you’re Logan Paul, it’s far better to think of them as distribution channels that you can use to connect with your ideal audience.

5. Create Digital Products

If you’ve written a non-fiction book or you write non-fiction regularly, chances are you can turn many ideas in your work into a digital course. This is because Digital products have a higher perceived value than books and retail for more. Plus, your audience consumes and learns information in different ways.

While some of your audience may enjoy written content, others may prefer taking a digital course whereby your thoughts and ideas are organized logically for them. Sure, this information is available on YouTube for free, but students often pay because of an affinity with the instructor.

If you sell 100 copies of a course for $47, that’s enough for many creators to live on in a given month. And many top-tier digital courses retail for one or two thousand dollars. Later, you can resell the same course to new audience members or create an upsell for existing students.

6. Write a Book

Podcasting, freelance writing, and blogging are fun opportunities for creators, but a good book reaches more people. They usually have a greater impact on readers and last longer than any viral article or video.

Thanks to the availability of affordable self-publishing tools, you can easily write and self-publishing a non-fiction book in a few months … without anyone’s permission. Although you’re unlikely to earn quit your job money by writing one book, many indie authors earn on the backend. Writing a book serves as a calling card introducing readers to your other digital products and services like a course, coaching, or a public speaking gig.

7. Speak in Public

A lucrative public speaking gig, particularly in the corporate sector, can generate several thousand dollars in income. That’s more than enough to cover living expenses for a month or two. However, factor in time spent preparing for a speech and traveling. It can also take many months to build up name recognition as a public speaker.

I interviewed one Australian public speaker who earned $500 for his first gig. He told me, “I wouldn’t get out of bed for that kind of money today.” Today, he earns several thousand dollars per gig.

8. Create Subscriptions

Many creators are a reasonably good living from their fan base via donations and monthly subscriptions. The singer  Amanda Palmer  reportedly earns over $34,000 on Patron everything she creates a new ‘thing’.

I’ve also interviewed several popular writers who’ve monetized their work successfully on Substack by creating paid newsletters.

If you have an audience and they enjoy your work, why not ask them to support it in some way? Explain how much time and work it takes to create your content, and you may be surprised by the results. Several dollars from one supporter won’t pay the bills, but if you have a bigger audience, it’ll quickly add up.

9. Buy an NFT

The art world usually reveals the path for creators. Over the coming years, anyone working in the creator economy will need to embrace non-fungible tokens or NFTs.

Artists and visual content creators are beginning to earn serious money from NFTS. The most high-profile example is the visual artist Beeple  who sold an NFT  for an astonishing $69 million.

Rather than shying away from this new content format, NFTs represent a great opportunity if you’re working in the creator economy. It’s relatively easy to create an NFT… although it’s harder to sell one, at least right now.

As a creator, you earn a percentage of any future sale too. In other words, create an NFT once and continue to earn years later.

10. Build an Ecosystem of Products

Successful content creators don’t rely on a single product or service to earn a good living. Instead, they build an ecosystem of complementary products and services. For example, an author sells books introducing readers to their courses and public speaking packages. Or a visual artist sells prints on ETSY but also explores using NFTs for their art.

Rather than relying on a single income stream, protect the health of your creative business by diversifying. As Gary Vaynerchuk  said , he wants to put himself out of business … and he does it by exploring future business models.

11. Outsource

It’s hard to manage all these monetization options for creators effectively. So, as soon as you can afford it, outsource parts of your business you either hate spending time on or which fall outside your area of expertise. That’ll free you to grow a creator economy business by working on higher-value tasks … or even taking time off.

For example, new content publishers can use earnings from advertising to hire freelance writers or an editor and publish more frequently. This approach should increase their website traffic, which in turn leads and further growth in display advertising. And repeat.

I hired an editor for my podcast and also used business profits to invest in hiring other creators like book cover designers and editors.

Executives in big corporate companies have defined benefits packages, share options, and fat pensions. If you’re working in the creator economy, take control over your financial security. Once your business begins earning a good income, invest a portion of monthly profits to generate passive income streams.

Index funds tracking the performance of the S&P500 are proven relatively stable and attractive options. These funds typically generate a return of 7% per annum, which can quickly add up over several years. For example, $1000 invested in an index fund back in 1987  would be worth  over $51,000 today.

The creator economy is increasingly powered by digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, the latter of which powers NFT sales.

A thousand dollars invested in Bitcoin in 2016 is worth approximately $5000 today. And if you invested the same amount in March 2020, it’d be worth over $10,0000. You can also stake digital currencies and return a 5% return each year.

I invest 30-35% of my business’s profits in commissioning new content for the various digital properties I own. However, I’m under no illusions. The value of one of these websites could be wiped out by a Google algorithm update or an affiliate program changing its terms. So, I also dollar-cost average a portion each month into index funds and digital currencies.

You might also take inspiration from our round-up of the 25 richest writers .

Make Money Being Creative: The Final Word

The creator economy offers many opportunities for earning a good living. Your biggest challenge isn’t earning; it’s picking one opportunity and focusing on it. With some hard work, you can easily turn one of these opportunities into a lucrative revenue stream for your creative or content business.

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

View all posts

50 Websites That Pay You To Write Fiction (2022)

How many times have you found yourself with a polished piece of writing that you’d like to submit for publication, only to find it infuriatingly difficult to find the right market or outlet, especially writing sites that pay ? Once you’ve done the hard work of planning, researching, drafting, redrafting, and editing your fiction, you want to find it the perfect ‘home’, where it will reach your intended audience – and where you will get paid to write!

The trouble is, many listicles of websites that pay you to write fiction have become outdated since their publication. They can lead to dead-ends, links to since-closed submission pages, or even to writing websites that have since gone out of business. Even worse, they sometimes lead you to extortionate scams framed as “writing courses”, which offer you the privilege of paying money for the potential of being published. 

That’s why we’ve compiled an up-to-date list of paying markets for 2021. We’ve checked each listing for legitimacy, and it’s constantly being updated. We’ve also deliberately avoided adding any soul-destroying “content mills”. At the end of this list, you’ll find a great opportunity to get paid to write fiction online . You can even earn $200 – without doing any of the writing (scroll down to see it now!).

Relay Publishing

Relay Publishing is a multi-genre fiction publishing company that’s been in business since 2013. They have a catalog of more than 1,000 books in English, German and French, with their focus on romance, young adult fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, and post-apocalyptic fiction. 

There are so many advantages to ghostwriting for an agency like Relay, including a steady stream of long-term projects (no more juggling multiple clients!); in-house resources, outline writers, and editors to guide and support you; competitive pay; and the ability to earn money writing fiction online – from the comfort of your own home! There are a variety of exciting jobs available . Here’s what one freelancer had to say… 

“It’s great that Relay has up-to-date manuals and instructions for so many stages of their process. I love that level of investment. It’s very good to be able to get feedback after a project. It’s great for a company to value freelancer input, and treat all those involved as bringing something valuable to the project.”

Get Paid to Write Contemporary and Literary Fiction

AGNI is a literary magazine run out of Boston University. They champion emerging authors, meaning you don’t need an extensive portfolio or social media presence behind you in order for your submission to be considered. In addition to short contemporary fiction, they also accept poetry and critical essays. Their submission period is between September and May every year, and if your piece is selected for publication, they pay $10 per printed page for fiction, and $20 per printed page for poetry. They also throw in a year’s subscription to the magazine, and several contributor copies of the issue!

• Apparition Lit

Apparition lit is a themed quarterly literary magazine that specialises in pieces with a speculative slant. They publish short stories, poetry, and artwork, and ask for your best “strange” and “misshapen” tales. Apparition is a semi-pro rate magazine, paying $0.03 per word, with a minimum payment of $30.00 dollars for short stories and a flat fee of $30 per poem.

• Black Warrior Review

The Graduate English Department at the University of Alabama produces Black Warrior Review twice a year, and they pay a one-year subscription and undisclosed “nominal lump sum fee” for risky and diverse fiction. The magazine particularly welcomes writers from diverse backgrounds, including women, LGBTQ+ identities, BIPOC, and disabled contributors.

• Boulevard  

Boulevard is an award-winning publisher of literary fiction, including contemporary short stories, essays, and poetry. They have been operating since 1985, and are welcoming to new and previously unpublished writers. Their submission period is between October and May each year. Their minimum payment for prose is $100, and their maximum payment for prose is $300.

Carve is a good publication for writers who prefer traditional ‘literary’ stories – they don’t tend to publish genre fiction like romance, horror, crime, fantasy, or sci-fi. Editors typically respond with personalized feedback instead of form rejections, and they pay $100 per accepted story. 

• Craft Literary

Craft Literary is an online writing community offering publication and feedback through their website. While successful submissions don’t appear to be paid, they do hold several writing competitions a year, including a First Chapters Contest, a Flash Fiction Contest, and a Short Fiction Prize. Their most recent Flash Fiction Contest, closed on October 31, 2021, offers a prize of £1,000 for stories of up to 1,000 words. (This does, however, come with a $20 reading fee). 

• Fabula Argentea

Fabula Argentea invites writers to submit pieces of up to 8,000 words for their quarterly magazine. They publish in January, April, July, and October. Their submission guidelines have specific “likes” and “dislikes”, so be sure to have a thorough read through the expectations to ensure your story is a good fit. They pay $5 for pieces up to 1000 words, $10 for 1000-5000 words, and $15 for 5000-8000 words.

One Story publishes literary fiction between 3,000 and 8,000 words. They pay $500, and also provide 25 contributor copies in exchange for First Serial North American rights. They have a separate Teen imprint, “One Teen Story”, for writers between 13 and 19 years old. One Story’s current submission period is open between October 4 – November 14, 2021. 

• Ploughshares

Ploughshares is an award-wining, paying literary journal that’s been publishing since 1971. They produce four quarterly issues a year, and their literary blog features new writing every day. Since 1989, they’ve been operating out of Emerson College, in Boston, and their current submission window is open between June 1, 2021 and January 15, 2022. You can submit to their journal, to Ploughshare Solo Stories, to their Look2Essay segment, or to their Emerging Writers Contest, for previously unpublished authors.

• The Iowa Review

The Iowa review has been publishing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for more than 50 years. Each issue is indexed in international online interdisciplinary databases like EBSCOhost, JSTOR, and ProQuest, making it easy for readers to find you. They pay $1.50 per line for poetry ($40 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose, with a $100 minimum payment. 

• The Missouri Review

The Missouri Review publishes quarterly, and they have an “open submission” policy, meaning that instead of holding specific reading periods, they welcome submissions all year-round. Each issue contains a mixture of poetry, short stories, and nonfiction, and they do not solicit specific writers or pieces. The website does not specify an amount, but “authors are paid per printed page.”

• The People’s Friend

The commissioning editors at The People’s Friend are up-front about the fact that they publish fiction espousing traditional, family-centric and marriage-positive values, and won’t accept work that doesn’t fit their distinctive style. They publish fiction, poetry, features, photography, and pocket novels. Their guidelines confirm that payment is upon acceptance.

• The Southern Review

The Southern Review’s current submission window is open: they are actively reading fiction between October 1, 2021, and January 1, 2022. Established at Louisiana State University in 1935, they publish fiction (up to 10,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, and translations, and pay $50 for the first printed page and $25 for each subsequent printed page with a maximum payment of $200, plus two copies of the issue in which the work appears, and a one-year subscription to the magazine. However, please note there is a $3 submission fee. 

• Threepenny Review

The threepenny review is open for submissions January through April each year. They publish literary and contemporary fiction, and pay $400 per story or article, and $200 per poem or Table Talk piece.

Upstreet publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, including an author interview each article. Their reading period is from September 1 to March 1. Fiction and nonfiction pieces must be 5,000 words or less in length, and the magazine will not accept any piece with partisan political themes or topics. Payment, upon publication, ranges between $50 and $250. 

Children’s Fiction and Flash Fiction

Zizzle Literary is an anthology book series with the aim of bringing children and parents together for a reading experience focusing on flash fiction. They pay a flat rate of US $100 for each accepted flash story, and a flat rate of US $250 for each accepted short story. Their separate annual flash competition has a first prize of $1,000, a second prize of $500, and an award of $150 each for the top three finalists. 

• SmokeLong Quarterly  

SmokeLong Quarterly pays $50 per published piece of flash narrative, and also offers editorial feedback in the form of general submission feedback, senior editor feedback, and an asynchronous 7-week course entitled The SmokeLong Quarterly Flash Workshop Online. 

• Vestal Review

The Vestal Review is the longest-running online publisher of flash fiction (up to 500 words), and they are currently open for submissions: their reading period is from August 1 to November 30, 2021. Their first 2022 reading period will be from February 1 – May 31. They charge a $3 reading fee, and pay successful contributors $50 upon acceptance. 

Make Money Writing Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Crime

• Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

HHMM is one of the foremost publishers of short-form crime, suspense, and mystery fiction. They’ve been operating since 1956 and have won a plethora of awards in that time. Their rates are from $0.05 to 0.08 per word, “sometimes higher for established authors”.

Since it was established in 1930, Analog has published more than 60 Hugo and Nebula award-winning stories from the most prominent writers of speculative fiction in the world. The magazine itself has won more than 75 awards. They pay $0.08 to 0.10 per word for short science fiction (up to approximately 20,000 words), $0.06 per word for serials (40,000-80,000 words), $0.09 per word for fact articles, and $1 per line for poetry.

Apex magazine publishes original short science fiction of up to 7,500 words. Payment is up to $0.08 per word, with a minimum payment of $50. If Apex turns your story into a podcast, they will pay an additional $0.01 per word. 

• Asimov’s Science Fiction

Founded in 1977, Asimov’s pays $0.08 to $0.10 per word for short stories of up to 7,500 words, and $0.08 for each word over 7,500. They don’t often accept stories shorter than 1,000 words or longer than 20,000 words, and don’t serialize novels. They also pay $1 per line for poetry, which they say should not exceed 40 lines in length. 

• Black Static

Black Static is one of the most well-known publishers of short-form horror fiction. They are always open to submissions of up to 10,000 words. As part of TTA Press, they are a sister publication to Interzone, which publishes sci-fi, and Crime Zone, which publishes crime fiction, mystery, and suspense. 

• Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld publishes speculative fiction of both science fiction and fantasy bent. They have been putting out monthly issues since October 2006 and pay $0.12 per word for SFF stories between 1,000-22,000 words in length – no exceptions. They specify that they don’t accept horror, but dark SFF is okay. 

Crimewave is a sister publication to Black Static and Interzone, all of which are subsidiaries of TTA Press. They buy crime fiction of up to 10,000 words in length. 

• Daily Science Fiction

Daily Science Fiction publishes, well, every day! Despite the title, they also accept and champion fantasy stories. Submissions should not exceed 1,500 words in length, and they pay $0.08 per word. 

• Dread Imaginings

Dread Imaginings is a new online fiction magazine. Their editor wants stories of up to 4,000 words “that present your protagonist’s encounter with the horrific, disturbing, uncanny, weird, macabre, and/or grotesque.” Original monsters and concepts (rather than the familiar and well-trodden paths of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts) will likely be an easier sell than tropes already-established. The magazine pays $0.01 per word.

Throughout September and October 2021, Escape Pod is only accepting themed submissions that have to do with “Joy.” After that, they are returning to their general submissions schedule, which reopens November 1, 2021. Their primary format is audio, and they prefer stories of high clarity and tight-pacing to suit this format. They pay $0.08 per word for original science fiction. 

• Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine was established in 1941, and since then has published some of the most innovative voices in crime fiction. They accept stories between 2,500 and 12,000 words, but in the past have published stories as short as 250 words, and short novels as long as 20,000 words. However, stories outside of the average length are less likely to get accepted. They pay $0.05 to -$0.08 per word. 

• Fantasy & Science Fiction

Fantasy & Science Fiction publishes a wide range of speculative stories up to 25,000 words in length. They pay $0.08 to $0.12 per word upon acceptance. Founded in 1949, the magazine has published illustrious stories such as Stephen King’s Dark Tower , Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon , and Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz .

• Fireside Magazine

Fireside operates on a guest editor model, and is open to submissions roughly once every three months. They accept stories of up to 3,000 words in length. Their guidelines state, “Our budget allows us to pay for up to 7,000 words per monthly issue of Fireside Magazine, which means we are always going to buy more shorter fiction than longer stories.” They pay $0.125 per word for accepted stories. 

• Giganotosaurus  

Giganotosaurus, named for what was “almost the largest carnivorous dinosaur”, publishes one mid-length speculative or SFF story a month. The rule of thumb is, longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel. Most acceptances range between 5,000 and 25,000 words. They pay $100 per story upon acceptance. 

• Interzone  

Founded in 1989, Interzone is the sci-fi wing of TTA Press, which also houses Crimewave and Black Static. They publish stories of up to 10,000 words that fall under the speculative or SFF umbrella. 

Nightmare publishes horror fiction and dark fantasy. They also publish horror-themed flash fiction, CNF, and poetry. While multiple submissions per category are not allowed, their submissions engine allows you to make one submission in every open category. They welcome stories of between 1,500 and 7,500 words, and stories of 5,000 words or less are preferred.

Founded in 2008, PodCastle is a weekly fantasy-themed podcast that produces audio performances of fantasy short fiction, including plenty of different subgenres of fantasy, such as magical realism, urban fantasy, slipstream, high fantasy, and dark fantasy. They open again for submissions on November 1, 2021, and generally accept stories of up to 6,000 words. You are able to submit one original story and one reprint at any one time. They pay $0.08 per word for original fiction, a $100 flat rate for reprints more than 1,500 words, and a $20 flat rate for flash fiction reprints (stories that are less than 1,500 words in length). 

Pseudopod champions genre fiction, primarily horror, in an audio format. Their guidelines say, “We’re looking for horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy… what matters most is that the stories are compelling.” They are a sister to PodCastle and pay the same rates as listed above. They have a schedule available online detailing their reading periods and auditions for narrators. 

• PULP Literature  

PULP Literature embraces genre fiction in all its forms, including crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense. This quarterly book-length magazine (produced in print and digital editions) features short stories, novellas, novel and graphic novel excerpts, and graphic shorts. They accept stories of up to 20,000 words, though stories less than 5000 words have a better chance of being accepted. They pay $0.05 to $0.08  per word for short stories (to 7000 words) with adjusted pay scales for longer works. 

The editors are currently reading for Reckoning Issue 6, the deadline for which was September 22, 2021. They publish creative writing and art about environmental justice up to 20,000 words and pay $0.08 a word. 

• Strange Horizons

Strange Horizons will be open to submissions the entire month of November 2021. They want speculative fiction of up to 10,000 words, but generally prefer pieces that come in at less than 5,000 words. They pay $0.10 a word, with a minimum payment of $60. Their guidelines include a “stories we see too often” page, to give you an idea of what they are and are not looking for.

Terraform pays $0.20 a word for pieces of science fiction, or what they call “near future” fiction, that are 2,000 words or less in length.

• Weird Tales

Established in 1923, Weird Tales buys “prophetic tales of dark fantasy, cosmic horror, supernatural revenge, and the sorcery of terror.”  After a several-years-long hiatus, it returned in 2019. 

Write Romance and Erotica & Get Paid

• Bella Books

Bella Books publishes novel-length fiction celebrating women and diverse communities. They are interested in romance, mystery, thriller, paranormal, erotic, and LGBTQ+ stories. Their guidelines detail what your submission package should include. 

• Black Velvet Seductions

Black Velvet Seductions acquires book-length romance and erotica, including the subgenres of contemporary, historical, thriller, supernatural, fantasy, and more. 

• Deep Desires Press

Founded in 2016, Deep Desires Press is currently looking to acquire romantic and erotic manuscripts. The founders say that, ““At the core of our company, we have two primary objectives. The first is to provide a superior erotic reading experience. The second is to create a community of happy and successful authors, and this includes recognizing and celebrating an author’s success outside of their work with Deep Desires Press.”

• East of the Web

East of the Web publishes a wide range of short stories across many different genres, including romance (crime, sci-fi, fantasy, and children’s stories are also welcome). They state that romance stories here should include a thriller or mystery element, and previously published stories will be considered. They pay $0.05 per word. 

• Heroes and Heartbreakers

Heroes and Heartbreakers is an imprint of Macmillan, specializing in short stories and novellas in the romance genre. They pay a $1,000 advance against 25% royalties.

Mslexia is a feminist and pleasure positive publication and there are 17 ways to submit your writing to them. The deadline for submission slots for Issue 93 is January 10, 2022. They also run writing competitions and have plenty of resources for writers. Pay varies. 

• Shades of Romance

This quarterly print and digital magazine emphasizes diversity, including stories by and about people of color. It publishes short romance stories as well as tips and tricks about writing and motivational or inspirational nonfiction. Any genre of romance is acceptable, though erotica is not. They ask that writers query before submitting, and they pay flat fee of $25. 

• Totally Bound Publishing

Totally Bound Publishing is currently accepting Romantica, Erotic Romance and Sweet Romance manuscripts between 10,000 and 100,000 words – please see their website for a long list of acceptable subgenres. They have a series of themed calls for submissions currently running, as well as their year-round open reading window. Pay varies. 

The Best Paid Opportunity To Write Fiction In 2021…

As you can see, there are many ways to write at home , and in doing so, make money writing. Writing for money is a challenging but rewarding career path, and one of the best ways to make money writing online is to work for an agency like Relay. Instead of relying on Wattpad paid stories, or trawling through the hundreds of sites that pay you to write in order to find the right one, why not earn money writing online with one of the best paid and most consistent fiction writing jobs there is? Many ghostwriters for Relay , like Paula Hawkins, have gone on to have illustrious careers publishing under their own name. Best of all, Relay even offers a $200 finder’s fee for sending suitable applicants their way!

Harry  Wallett  is the Founder and Managing Director of Relay Publishing. Combining his entrepreneurial background with a love of great stories,  Harry  founded Relay in 2013 as a fresh way to create books and for writers to earn a living from their work. Since then, Relay has sold 3+ million copies and worked with 100s of writers on bestselling titles such as  Defending Innocence ,  The Alveria Dragon Akademy Series  and  Rancher’s Family Christmas .

Harry oversees the creative direction of the company, and works to develop a supportive collaborative environment for the Relay team to thrive within in order to fulfill our mission to create unputdownable books.

5 Writing Platforms That Pay Beginners to Write

I’m writing this article about five writing platforms that pay beginners because I had no idea where to start when I started writing.

Back five years ago, I knew I wanted to make money writing, but the only way I knew how was vaguely through a personal blog and AdSense.

AdSense is complicated. I wish I had known then everything I know about how to join writing platforms that pay , even to those without experience.

Since I haven’t yet mastered time travel, I’ll do the next best thing and share my experiences with other people in my position. In this blog post, I’ll share five writing platforms that pay, and on which I have actually earned money.

Those are Simily, Vocal, Medium, Scripted, and Textbroker. Medium, Simily, and Vocal are reader-funded platforms, while Scripted and Textbroker are job boards.

Here’s the video if you prefer watching:

Click here to watch the video!

Medium is my favorite of the five writing platforms that pay because it gives you the most freedom.

It’s a blogging platform mixed with a social media platform. There are two sides to Medium: the reader's side and the writer's side.

As a reader , you can read two free articles per month. If you want unlimited access to articles, you have to pay $5/month to be a Medium member. 

As a writer , every time one of your articles gets read by a paying Medium member, you earn a small portion of their membership fee. The more reads you get, the more money.

For reference, you get paid around $20 per 1,000 views, which is high!

You can write about whatever you want – poetry, fiction, cats.

It’s easy to get started. 

Even with 0 followers, you can get reads and views using mechanisms like publications and tags, which I explain in these videos .

Not sure where to get started? I recommend downloading my MEdium Starter Kit here. It’s free, you get a downloadable PDF guide and a daily email course walking you through your first week of Medium.

Get your Medium Starter Kit

Everything you need to start writing on Medium, the easiest blogging platform in the world.

You need 100 followers to get paid. (I think this is good actually – it may take a while to get there, but this weeds out the people who are only there to get rich quick.)

While you can write about anything, the typical topics tend to do best: health, wealth, and love. There are exceptions!

Medium pays you through Stripe. If you’re not in one of the countries that Stripe pays, you can’t get paid through the Medium Partner Program.

To date, I have earned a whopping $1.64, which is not even enough for a coffee refill in my local cafe. 😢 

But it IS money I earned by posting fiction online, so 😄.

Simily has some real benefits. Here’s how it works.

You upload a story, you get paid $0.02 per view. And unlike almost every single other platform out there, it’s for creative writers . Fiction and nonfiction. You get 1000 views, you get $20 bucks.

Let’s talk about the benefits of this writing platform that pays first. 

For creative writing! If you write poetry, horror, nonfic creative writing, fantasy, or anything else in that realm, this platform is for you.

A predictable amount of money. It’s $0.02 per view. 

Very, very easy to get started, with no bar. Write, publish, and earn. Cons:

Have no clue how stories are recommended or discovered. Is there an algorithm? I’m not sure. 

$10 minimum for payout, so you’ll need at least 500 views.

If you don’t like creative writing, this isn’t for you.

I don’t understand the business model yet. They say this $0.02 model is temporary until they get more readers. 

I interpret this to mean that at some point, this writing platform will switch over to a royalty-based model. But for now, it has some other source of funding, so writers are earning money no matter who views their stories. 

I applaud Simily for becoming a paid home for creative writers. They are few and far between.

Vocal is similar to Simily, but with more organization. Plus, they also have Challenges, which I’ll get into below. 

The way it works is, you upload a story. It gets approved (usually) or (rarely) not approved if it doesn’t meet specific guidelines (plagiarized, erotica, etc). Then you get paid per view.

Here’s the kicker: on Vocal, you only get paid $3.80 per 1000 views, or 0.0038 pennies per view. That’s less than a fifth of what you earn on Simily or Medium.

Now, if you upgrade to their paid Vocal+ program, you earn a higher rate — $6 per 1000 views. But because it costs $9.99 per month, you’d need to be getting thousands of views per month before it was financially worth it.

Vocal+ Challenges

They have another incentive for joining the Vocal+ program, though, and this is what makes Vocal unique: Challenges. They give you a prompt, you submit a story, and you have a chance to earn some real money if you’re a Vocal+ subscriber. 

Currently, all the Challenges on the website are for Vocal+ only subscribers.

Prizes have been up to $20,000 in the past which is pretty wild.

Super easy for beginners.

More creative-writing friendly than e.g. Medium.

Other options to earn money.

Get paid for non-member views, too, so if you know anything about SEO, that’s great.

Higher payout: you’ll need $35 to cash out, or $20 if you’re a Vocal+ member. 

Low pay rate compared to Simily and Medium.

Confusing rubric for getting views/winning the contest. Many people have said that the winners didn't follow the rubric or entered multiple times, or otherwise broke the rules. 

Vocal+ feels a little weird to me.

A brief interlude

The three platforms above are all audience-focused platforms. That means you get paid when a reader views your story . 

Now, we’re going to transition into client-focused writing platforms that pay. With these, you get paid when you complete a writing job that a client uploaded onto this site.

4. Scripted

This is a new one for me. It works like this: 

You fill out your portfolio.

You get writing jobs.

Let’s break down each of those steps.

To apply , you need to create an account and pass a test. The test is mostly focused on grammar and spelling. 

I did consider showing the answers here, but ultimately I decided against it. Honestly, if you can’t pass it without help, you should probably spend a little time working on improving your grammar and writing skills before trying to get a writing job. 

They say they only accept 5% of submissions, so take your time and don’t just breeze through it! I was also able to get some answers using Google as I took the test.

Once you’re in, you’ll be prompted to fill out your portfolio . Don’t skip this step! Do this properly, because this will impact the jobs you get offered.

If you don’t yet have a portfolio, I recommend posting a few blog posts on a website like Medium that can act as a free portfolio for you. Just two or three posts, written around industries you think you’d like to focus on. 

After you fill out your portfolio, you’ll get three ways to earn money. 

You’ll be sent SmartMatch Job invites . These are guaranteed work. The client sends out a work proposal, and based on your profile, Scripted will match it to writers. However, you have to act fast. Seriously, like within seconds of receiving the email. I tried to accept one two minutes after getting the invite and it was already gone!

Job invitations. This is a little less pressured. Clients send out job proposals and select a subgroup of writers to send them to, again based on your profile. They only look at the first five who draft a proposal. Within two to three weeks, they’ll let you know if you get accepted.

Regular writing jobs . Clients upload proposals onto Scripted, and you have the chance to draft writing proposals to send to them.

Let’s look at the pros and cons. 

Offer a minimum of 6.5c per word. That is HIGH for platforms like this!

Plenty of different work opportunities. I found jobs on aquaculture, sales and marketing, and lifestyle. 

Set your rates. Scripted set a floor of 6.5c per word, but you can go higher. 

Good clients. Many of these clients have worked with Scripted for 5–10 years, which seems like a good sign to me. 

It’s hard to get accepted.

The pace can be either too fast (Smartmatch requires an answer seemingly at lightspeed) or too slow (job invites can take two weeks to be accepted).

Requires upfront work before you’ll be accepted. You’ll have to create a proposal for some of these job opps.

You’ll need a few blog posts done already to use as a portfolio

5. Textbroker

Ah, Textbroker. This is not the first time I’ve reviewed Textbroker . In my last video, I kind of trashed it because of its complexity and low pay, which I stand by! However, in the meantime, I’ve received a lot of feedback from early writers who say that even earning $2.42 for an article is useful.

Look how janky this website is. The whole site is like this.

Textbroker acts like Scripted, except it’s more copywriting jobs and less blog-writing. The way it works is you apply, you get a star rating (one to five), and then you can accept jobs based on your star rating.

For context, I got a three-star rating when I applied. So that meant I was looking at jobs of around 1–3c per word. 

You can get paid in three different ways:

Accepting jobs on the job board that is available immediately based on your star rating.

Applying to join Teams , where you freelance more regularly for a company through Textbroker. It typically is better paid with more work available, but it’s not a guaranteed income.

DirectOrders. Clients can specifically request to work with you based on your profile. (This hasn’t happened to me yet.)

You can see I’m still waiting on a rating I did a year ago. Also, how low I was paid for these jobs lol.

No need to apply for a lot of jobs. You can just nab them and get paid.

Really good, short, entry-level jobs.

…I am genuinely struggling to think of a third pro.

VERY low-paying jobs. Less than 5c a word even for good jobs

Kind of a confusing, grammar-heavy application. I mean, I’m a pretty good writer and I started with a 3-star rating. (Yes, I’m still salty.)

Wacky website, awful orders, long time for review. I’ve been waiting around a year to get reviewed for a job.

Seriously, the very best that can be said for this website is that it IS a writing platform that pays beginners… even if not very much, or for fun work. I guess it’s all money in the bank.

Which writing platform that pays is best? 

Hopefully, these five options were a useful comparison of the various writing platforms that pay beginners.

If you want to get on a writing platform that pays beginners, I recommend a mix of places like Medium, where you’re writing for an audience, and places like Scripted, where you’ll have access to client-paid work. This makes sure you’ll always have something to write about, and you’ll always have an avenue to earn money by writing.

Want to join the best writing platform? Get started on Medium with my free 5-day starter kit . I’ll walk you through how to nail your first week, create a killer profile, and get set up for success. 

Can Beginners Make Money on Fiverr?

3 foolproof methods to trick ai content detectors .

The 25 Best Side Hustles For Creatives To Make Money On The Side

What are the best side hustles for creatives?

If you have a creative passion, you may feel like it’s not possible to make money from it. But that’s not true at all!

In this post, I’ll share my top side hustles for creatives based on:

• My 15+ years of side hustle experience
• Conversations with 100s of creative hustlers
• Schedule flexibility and earning power

Ready? Let’s do it!

1. Sell Printables on Etsy

2. print on demand products, 3. start a youtube channel, 4. freelance writing, 5. web design service, 6. build a helpful website, 7. product licensing, 8. find a virtual job, 9. teaching music, 10. music licensing, 11. voiceover acting, 12. start an email newsletter, 13. self-publish on amazon, 11. create an outschool class, 12. sell lesson plans and material, 13. create a local experience, 14. podcasting, 16. personal chef service, too many choices, sweet where should i send step 1, 17. photography service, 18. teach an online course, 19. event entertainment, 20. graphic design service, 21. furniture restoration, 22. interior design, 23. home organizing service, 24. social media marketing, 25. video editing, what’s the best creative side hustle for you, looking for more side hustle help.

Selling printables on Etsy is a great way to make extra money if you have an eye for design and love researching new niches.

For example, Rachel Jones reported earning up to $10,000 a month without any inventory .

Merch by Amazon is a fun way to make extra money. Upload your t-shirt (and other product) designs, set your price, and then let Amazon do all the work of printing and shipping your orders.

Elaine Heney made over $50,000 doing this part-time and shared some of her tips on The Side Hustle Show .

(My wife made over $2k in her first year doing this in her spare time too!)

Creating content on YouTube is a a great creative side hustle. In playing producer, you’ll be in charge of:

• script writing
• filming locations
• shooting or sourcing footage
• designing thumbnails

It’s a lot of work, but will definitely exercise your creative muscles. Once your channel reaches certain milestones , you can begin to monetize with YouTube’s built-in advertising options.

(You can also use YouTube in other creative ways, like to sell a digital product or service.)

In my case, YouTube is around a $400/mo income stream:

With millions of websites all competing for attention, freelance writing is a service that’s constantly in demand. Someone’s got to create all that content, right?

Georgia Austin even turned her writing side hustle into a full-blown agency !

Here’s a great free resource to get started: Your 9-Step Blueprint to Making Money as a Writer

If you have a way with words, make sure to check out this creative side hustle.

In an inspiring Side Hustle Show episode, Chris Misterek shared how he taught himself web design and began earning $3000 a month .

It requires both creativity and technical skills to bring a website to life for a client. But even with a wide variety of DIY options, professional designers are still in-demand .

Write content on a topic you care about and build an audience in your niche.

For example:

• Shelley earns $50k a month from her travel blogs
• Scott earns 6-figures a year from his bird-watching blog
• Katie earns $6k a month from her gray hair blog

Want to start a blog of your own? Check out my free 6-part video course on how to start your own site.

Low startup costs

Great long-term earning power

Can sell the business down the road

Slow to see results

Lots of skills to learn

If you’re always coming up with new ideas, product licensing is the creative side hustle for you. How it works is you sell the rights to your idea to large companies, who then pay you royalties for every sale they make from that idea.

For example, Nate Dallas earned $300,000 from Mattel after licensing them an idea  for a Pictionary spin-off.

The best place to find legit work from home jobs. Established in 2007, FlexJobs has 1000s of listings including part-time, full-time, and freelance options in tons of industries.

FlexJobs  is the leading work from home jobs site. With over 50 career categories, FlexJobs has jobs ranging from entry-level to executive and freelance to full-time.

When I searched for “creative” jobs, I found over 200 results!

There is a nominal monthly fee to access their listings, but you’ll earn that back (and then some!) with one job.

This is a great way to find a remote job in your niche.

With a love for music, teaching, and working with kids, you could start a part-time music teaching business. In our town, we see instructors setting up shop at children’s fairs and the weekly farmer’s markets to advertise.

Singer-songwriter Cathy Heller found a unique way to “reverse-engineer” her dream job by licensing her catchy tunes to big brands and TV shows.

Alternatively,  licensing stock music is a bit of a numbers game, but can be a cool way to earn passive income from your art.

I think we can all agree that getting paid to talk is a pretty sweet gig, and Voices.com is the #1 marketplace for voice over talent.

Companies are always on the look for professional voiceover talent. Once you start listening for it, you’ll hear voiceover work everywhere.

One Side Hustle Show guest reported turning her voiceover side hustle into a full-time gig in just 4 months, earning up to $3000 an hour in the process.

The newsletter business model is low overhead, simple to manage, and can scale to a significant income stream.

For example, the popular daily business newsletter Morning Brew sold for a reported $75 million !

Building a newsletter is a popular way to build community with others who are creative just like you.

If writing is your creative outlet, start publishing your work! Thanks to Amazon’s Kindle platform, you can publish your work and tap into a massive audience of book buyers. 

Self-publishing is one of my favorite and longest-running side hustles. I remember my first royalty payment from Amazon — it was something like $42 — and being thrilled, thinking “I did it! I’m a professional author!”

Since then I’ve earned over $75,000 in author royalties. Books are a pretty awesome way to build authority in your niche and earn passive income along the way.

Related: My Amazon author profile and book listings

Outschool is a marketplace for online small group classes for kids.

Inside you’ll find classes on:

• creative writing

For example, Jade Weatherington reported earning over $10,000 a month from her virtual writing classes.

What creative outlet could you teach?

Teachers Pay Teachers is a popular marketplace for lesson plans and other educational materials.

For example, Jodi Carlson began putting some of her content on the site and now earns $5,000 a month part-time .

This is a great way to get paid over and over for something you create once. If you enjoy sharing your passion, this can help both teachers and students.

Another fun creative side hustle is to create a local tour. 

For instance, Alex Kenin hosts hundreds of “urban hiking” tours a year on the side from her day job — at $49 apiece!

What unique experience can you offer travelers?

It doesn’t even have to be a tour. Michele Mattix makes money hosting guided meditations through Airbnb Experiences . You can create your own experience, set your price, and Airbnb markets it to travelers.

Podcasting is a creative outlet for me. I get to come up with the show structure, choose the topics, share my ideas, and highlight the most interesting clips.

Plus, a large podcast following can translate into serious sponsorship dollars. It costs less than you think to start and The Side Hustle Show has honestly been a life-changing project for me.

And I’m not the only one — my friend Steve Young turned his part-time podcast into a full-time business with multiple streams of income.

Do people love your desserts? Maybe you could provide cakes, cookies, or cupcakes to some corporate event in town.

Jenn Fei has built a pretty serious following for her custom cookies —and sometimes sells out in just minutes!

Could you picture yourself making meals in someone else’s kitchen? This could be a good way to monetize your cooking skills— without the risk of starting your own restaurant.

Some friends of ours pay $180-200 a week for meals delivered to their house.

HireaChef.com connects you with families and events looking for private chefs, or you might just post on Facebook or NextDoor .

With platforms like Eatwith , you could even begin charging to host meals.

Join the Free 5-Day $500 Challenge. I'll show you step-by-step how to add $500 to your bottom line.

You're in! Want to supercharge your challenge? Grab the companion workbook and earn $125 more (on average).

I'll also send you my best side hustle tips and weekly-ish newsletter. Opt-out anytime.

This is my wife’s favorite side hustle, and earns her an extra $10,000 a year.  Plus, it exercises a creative side of her brain that she doesn’t get from her engineering day job.

Another photographer, Vincent Pugliese, shared how “freelanced his way to freedom” and went from earning $30k a year to $30k in a day .

One way to monetize your creativity is to teach others what you do. For example, Jacques Hopkins earns $30,000+ teaching an online piano course. Phil Ebiner built a huge online business teaching people photography and how to use the Adobe suite of products.

One place to sell your course is Udemy , an online education platform with thousands of on-demand courses. You can create your own course around a topic you’re an expert in and set your own tuition rate.

I did this several years ago with a self-publishing course and have earned over $25,000 in (mostly) passive income from it!

If you have an existing audience, you might be able to sell the course directly (without giving Udemy a cut). In this episode with Nate Dodson , he shares the framework he used to earn $40,000 a month teaching people how to start a microgreens business.

Brian McGovern  is a  party entertainer  — he’s been practicing magic and performing since he was in high school. On The Side Hustle Show, he reported earning  up to $10,000 a month  doing something he loves.

Maybe you’re a photographer, comedian, DJ, celebrity lookalike, or musician.

Check out sites like GigSalad to set up your profile and get booked. 

Quality graphic design is always an in-demand side hustle, and there have never been so many outlets on which to sell your skills.

The most popular design-focused site is 99designs , but you can also check out Crowdspring , DesignCrowd , or other freelance marketplaces.

Side Hustle Nation member Ryan Cron earned extra money restoring and  flipping furniture  in his spare time.

His advice?

Start with dressers. “It’s basically a rectangle,” he explained.

That way, you can practice sanding and painting a relatively straightforward piece before tackling more challenging projects.

Look for inexpensive furniture at moving sales or on  Facebook marketplace  and clear out some space in your garage to do the work.

The other key is taking attractive pictures when you go to list the item for sale — make the piece look good!

Bringing a creative vision to life is super satisfying, and interior designers get to do it every day. With this creative side hustle, you’ll be in charge of selecting furniture, finishes, decor items, paint colors, and more.

If that sounds like fun, the prospect of earning $5,000-$10,000 per project may light you up even more! 

Most interior designers are using Instagram to showcase their portfolio and connect with potential clients.

The Marie Kondo craze is still alive and well, but helping people set up an organized home always involves a bit of creativity. 

It’s like a real-life game of Tetris in some cases! If you love creating order out of chaos, this could be a rewarding side hustle to start.

Home organizers charge an average of $55 an hour , which makes it a strong creative side hustle.

Social media marketing might include:

• Creating social media content/posts (text, images, videos)
• Increasing followers/growing a community
• Managing social media engagement and conversations
• Moderating online communities
• Commenting on social posts
• Curating relevant content
• Scheduling content in online tools like  Buffer  or  Hootsuite
• Running ads and campaigns
• Increasing brand awareness
• Generating leads

As you can see, there’s a lot of creativity required nearly every step of the way. 

For example, Pete Macleod ( @petecodes ) started a Twitter-writing service that now earns $10k/month . Creating Twitter and LinkedIn content was something he enjoyed doing anyway, so he began offering it as a service to other content creators .

Video editing is a great creative side hustle that you can do from home .

Typical rates may range from $50-250+ per video, depending on the industry and complexity. 

And it’s a business that can scale. For example, Justin Tan turned Video Husky , an unlimited video editing service, into a 7-figure business in just a few years.

It’s totally possible to make money with a creative side hustle.

The best one is the one you take action on. Take a look at the options and get started today!

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge . My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community . The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show . My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.

The award-winning Side Hustle Show is a Top 10 Entrepreneurship podcast with over 1,200 5-star ratings!

Listen in your favorite podcast app or directly in your browser.

Like That? There's More!

Join the 100,000 who get my best stuff via email.

I'll also send you my free guide: The 5 Fastest Ways to Make More Money .

You're in! Make sure to check your email (including spam/promotions) for your free welcome gift.

About the Author

Nick Loper is a side hustle expert who loves helping people earn more money and start businesses they care about. He hosts the award-winning Side Hustle Show, where he's interviewed over 500 successful entrepreneurs, and is the bestselling author of Buy Buttons , The Side Hustle , and $1,000 100 Ways .

His work has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Forbes, TIME, Newsweek, Business Insider, MSN, Yahoo Finance, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Financial Times, Bankrate, Hubspot, Ahrefs, Shopify, Investopedia, VICE, Vox, Mashable, ChooseFI, Bigger Pockets, The Penny Hoarder, GoBankingRates, and more.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social

The Company About Contact Books Advertise Media

Free Resources Blog Community $500 Challenge Personalized Playlists Side Hustle Quiz

The Fine Print Terms of Use Privacy How We Make Money CCPA Do Not Sell My Personal Information As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

• Writing Jobs Online Writing Jobs
• Short Tasks Online Short Task Jobs
• Academic Jobs
• Affiliate Marketing
• Online Selling
• News & Tips

Make Money Writing Short Stories: 9 Websites that Pay

• by Michelle
• July 4, 2020
• 28 Comments

Are you good at writing short stories, fiction stories and drama? You’re in luck because in this guide we are going to share some sources where you can make money with your story writing skills.

Writing a novel isn’t the only way of using your hobby to earn cash. There are many opportunities on the web to earn money through writing without being a novelist. You could actually earn enough to have it as your primary source of income.

Previously we covered a list of creative writing websites where you can apply and work as a writer. But this list is going to be different because the main focus here is short stories. This guide is particularly for those who don’t have the time or stamina for writing very long novels and books.

How much do Story writers Make?

Actually it depends on the magazines and publishers you are writing for. Some fiction / drama writers earn as much as $15,000 per month. You can earn a decent amount from a single-story, provided that the publication you wrote for is a popular one. Most of the publications will offer you around $20 to $30 per page. So if you’re writing a story that consists of a number of pages then you can do the math.

Online Magazines that Pay for Short Stories

The websites listed below have opportunities for different genres for writing in English language; so pick a website that suits your style and start earning money doing what you love.

Here are some of the most popular online magazines and publications that pay talented writers for their creative minds:

Agni is a literary magazine that publishes essays and poetry. The company allows any aspiring writer or literary enthusiast to publish their writing in the magazine get paid for the articles accordingly. Agni generally accepts manuscripts between September 1 st and May 31 st .

You can send your manuscript by post or electronically. There is no word limit for your essays but the length of the essay does determine the decision of publishing an essay.

Your short story or essay cannot be of a romance, mystery, horror or science fiction genre as the magazine is interested in personal essays, memoirs, think pieces, short stories and poems.

If these genres sound like you, you can submit your work but you can only submit one story at a time and five poems at a time. Your writing should not have been published previously or featured anywhere. The document must be double spaced and page numbered.

PAYMENT DETAILS

Are you a science enthusiast and love the compelling imagination of science fiction stories? If yes then you have a chance to publish your own imaginative science world. Analog is a leading science fiction magazine that publishes some of the best science fiction work that has an accurate scientific base. It also publishes fact articles in leading research in science.

Analog publishes articles on the basis of merit. It seeks professional and realistic scientific stories. You can also submit an illustration with your work as most writers do, but the illustration should be visually appealing and related to your story.

Fact articles and stories are also an option for this magazine. They only allow up to 6 poem submissions and 4 stories or articles. Remember to include a cover letter with your manuscript that includes your name, publishing history and do check the manuscript format on the website before publishing.

You can submit your work through their online portal.

A world-famous magazine that has published so many stories and articles on different world issues and reached the right audience. Luckily it is open for writers at the moment.

The sun publishes personal essays, stories and poetry and especially those writings that have a flair for political and cultural issues. Although there is no word limit for writings, the magazine hasn’t published anything longer than 7000 words.

You can submit your work online as well as by post. To submit online you can create your ID on the website and use the online portal for work submission.

Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine that publishes stories and articles on a monthly basis. The magazine seeks science fiction stories that have a good writing language and that are written in a way that makes it easy to read on-screen. Therefore,  it’s best to avoid long paragraphs. The story should also be suitable for audio. Submissions are only in the English language.

When writing a story for submission, do avoid some of the clichés mentioned on the Clarkesworld website and follow the manuscript guidelines. Your story should be between 1000 to 22000 words and it should be submitted online.

You can also submit non-fiction articles but again, you have to follow the guidelines on the website and avoid topics that will simply do no good for your article. Non-fiction articles should be of 2500 words, maximum. Additionally, you can also submit your artwork if you are a talented artist or illustrator.

One story is a nonprofit literary magazine that allows readers of different ages and backgrounds to publish their stories. The submission period is between 1 5 th January to 31 st May and 3 rd September to 14 th November . The optimum word length for stories is 3000 to 8000 words. You can submit your work online through their portal. The submission format for files is PDF, RTF, TXT, and should be under 500KB. You can write a short story on any theme or subject that you wish.

One story also has a category for teenagers: One teen story , where you can publish your work if you’re aged 13-19. You can opt for either one story or one teen story but not both. Simultaneous submissions are not allowed, and your work should not have been published earlier.

You are required to provide your story name, your own name, and details on the cover letter for your manuscript.

Daily Science Fiction

Daily science fiction is a publication platform that publishes science fiction stories on a daily basis. The platform seeks brilliant and original science fiction short stories.

Yes, the length is a priority for daily science fiction and your story is likely to be published if it’s short compared to another good long story. You can submit stories ranging from 100 to 1500 words.

Your story should be science fiction, but it should not be horror so do follow the guidelines given on the website before submitting it. Stories are submitted through an online form for which the guidelines are provided on the website. You can also send in your artwork on this platform.

Carve magazine accepts short stories, non-fiction, and poetry throughout the year and publishes them on their online platform or their print and digital issue. The magazine looks for writing and poetry that is original and has an emotional depth to it.

There is no specific time for submission, so you can easily submit your work online or by post. The word limit for fiction and non-fiction is 10000 maximum, no minimum, and for poetry, it is 2000 maximum.

Carve seeks literary writing only, therefore it does not publish genres such as horror, mystery, fantasy, etc. Before submitting your work, do include a cover letter. If your writing doesn’t get accepted at Carve but gets published elsewhere, the magazine will publish your writing in their magazine as well and you will get paid.

Penpee is an online reading platform that allows writers to post stories and then earn through their story views. To submit a story, you have to sign up and opt for a membership plan, which consists of a free membership plan and a premium membership.

Writers with free membership can write up to 3000 words per story, with each page of 400 to 600 words. With a paid membership, you can write up to 12000 words. Once your story is posted, you will get credits for the number of reads for a story. Credits are one per page.

You will get 70% credits in a paid membership and 45% in a free membership and then you will earn according to a rate of 2 pence per credit.

The largest readers and writer’s platform is not only for fulfilling your hobby of writing, in fact, you can also earn through it now. Wattpad invites some of its writers for their paid program. The stories are selected based on their originality, creativity, and of course the market value. This opportunity is only available to some of the Wattpad writers.

Related Guides

• How to Sell your TV show idea and script – A List of 14 companies

LIKED IT? Subscribe and Get instant Email updates about our new Guides

Email Address

28 thoughts on “Make Money Writing Short Stories: 9 Websites that Pay”

I liked the website ‘One Teen Story’ as I’m a teenager. Can you provide me with some technical information about it or about the portal? Maybe even some related information.

Hi. You can follow the link to their website and you will find all the necessary information there.

Is their every country member can join this

Yes, all countries are eligible for most websites.

i wish to joint writing short stories, but i am from Cameroon my country is eligible for this services

While most of the companies allow only the US citizens to apply there are selected companies such as Penpee and Wattpad where you can apply from anywhere in the world.

You mentioned Clarkesworld accepting a word range of 1000 to 2200, but on their website it states 1000 to 22000, not 2200.

Oh thanks a lot for the correction.

Can I write from India.

And if yes than how can I upload my short stories.

Yes, you can write from anywhere in the world. You can visit the websites and apply from there.

Probably I was waiting for such kind of an article. Thank You.

Does Wattpad and Penpee allows children to write?

Penpee and Wattpad both allows children aged 16 and above to join. However if your child is younger I’d suggest make a parent child team, and publish the child’s content (with their consent) with your own account.

Its really informative article, thank so much for sharing 🙂

Information is real worthy.

I really want to upload novels and sell them chapter by chapter, I first started out on Wattpad and have been trying to find ways to get involved with the earning through them but after researching quite a bit, I’ve came across those who write a lot, have tons of views and still not get paid. This is a a bit complicating.

I really want to upload a short regarding social. Which gives adult nd people of india give some lesson ,how to live life with full curiosity. Which help them to improve their lives nd respects other,with helpful nature.

I really want to earn money online through sharing my stories, I write such great stories I hope you can help me in any way

Hello ,I have short stories that I want to sell your them and earn,but also boost my writing skills and creativity,can you recommend a legit app for me,thank you

Hi. Check our upcoming guide about SubStack.

Can I write from Nigeria and get paid?

Can I write From Nigeria?

Yes, some platforms accept writers from all over the world. Please check the platform’s FAQs page before applying.

Can I write from Nigeria

Yes, you can since each website has a payment system of its own choice. It’s recommended to first check if the payment gateway is available in your country.

can I write from Pakistan but I try it and it is not working

Hi, I’d recommend checking if the websites hire in your country. Also please make sure you have an account on the said payment gateway.

Look reliable and can put or hard effort to mass. good wishes to all of my writer friends

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• BUSINESS IDEAS FOR WOMEN
• PROOFREADING JOBS
• NON-PHONE JOBS
• START A BLOG
• Student Jobs
• Side Hustles

Select Page

20 Websites to Write and get Paid Instantly (upto $200 each)

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the full disclosure here . 

Get Paid to Write

Table of Contents

If you are looking for ways to get paid to write articles from home, you will love this list!

You can get paid to write about anything, from food, faith, health, money and more.

This is the perfect way to make money instantly and will also give you the confidence to begin a freelance writing career online.

You can get paid for writing articles that will benefit readers of the websites listed in this post.

Get Paid for Writing

For example, say you are looking to write on “Earn money as a stay-at-home mom” – make it informative, rather than a personal story. So instead of only talking about your experience finding a work from home mom job, get into details – write about income potential, job description, and advance career options.

This way they are getting the full package and your article are more likely to be accepted for publication.

Remember, it’s not about how long your posts are, but about how beneficial they are to their readers.

Research articles on the topics before you submit your first draft for approval.

Also, make sure you go through their website and read previous articles that have been submitted by other writers. This way you know the type of articles that click with their audience.

They could be looking for humour, tutorials, list-based posts, or just simple and easy to follow tips. Keep these in mind before applying and you can nail these gigs easily.

You can either be a blogger, a freelance writer or just someone who writes as a hobby.

Get Paid to be a Writer

If you are looking to make a full-time career as a freelance writer, here is a mom blogger who teacher beginners how to do just that.

As a blogger, I have followed Elna Cain for years and can tell you from experience that she always has some solid advice to share.

Elna runs multiple blogs, one of which teaches you how to make money as a writer. She has also created this online course that will show you how to make your first $1,000 freelance writing.

I had purchased her blogging course in the past and it was plain simple and easy to follow. I would recommend her online training for beginners who need help breaking into this career.

Related post:  Legit list of phone apps that will pay you up to $10,000!

Let us now take a look at this list of paid articles and writing websites to apply.

Paid Articles

Clubhouse Magazine is a Christian magazine that helps teach faith to children by providing stories and educational material.

Fiction stories are $200 and up, while non- fiction is $150 and up.

Eureka Street accepts submissions of up to 800 words, on topics surrounding politics, religion and culture in Australia and around the world.

They pay $200 per article and also accept poetry and short fiction.

Visit their website for more information and submission guidelines.

Cooking detective  – If you are a food or a recipe blogger you will love this! Get paid for writing review articles on kitchen gadgets and appliances.

Up to $160 for posts and payment made through PayPal. Review articles need to be written keeping food, recipe, and nutrition in mind. There is an email address to send in your pitch on their website.

Related post:  Incredibly easy ways to get free money right now

Health & Wellness

Eating well  – You can earn up to $1/word for an article you write for them.

Its a magazine about recipes, educative nutrition and science-based approach to healthy living.

If this is something that suits you, go ahead and apply as they have a reach of over 850k readership!

The editors’ email address is provided for you to apply to on their site.

Listverse  –  You know I was going to mention this, didn’t you?

Listverse is a list based website that will pay your $100 for a post even if you are not an experienced writer.

You just need to include a bit of humour into your post and have a passion to write on things unusual and interesting.

A perfect way to start your writing gig as a newbie!

Wonders list – Similar to listverse, they are looking for list-based articles with a unique content that is factual and will pay you via Paypal for a 1500 worded post. They have included an email address for you to send in your pitch.

Money/Finance

Money pantry  – Get paid to write with MoneyPantry and earn between $30- $150 a post.

They welcome writers at any level – even if you are just a beginner.

They are looking for unique money-making or money-saving articles, that would be of benefit to their audience.

The post needs to be at least 700 words and emailed to the editor.

Penny Hoarder   – If you blog about personal finance, money-making or money-saving you are bound to know this website.

With a huge readership, you will be gaining a lot of visibility as a writer and will get paid for doing it.

They haven’t mentioned the payment figures on their website, however, the editor will discuss this based on your post.

They have an online contribution form for you to submit your article.

Income Diary – If you are well versed with SEO this website pays $200-$500 per blog post.

Other topics accepted are social media marketing and making money online.

You can also choose to write about increasing blog traffic, web design or affiliate marketing.

Money Crashers – They are a personal finance site looking for 3,000+ words on investing, money management, retirement planning, credit and debt, real estate, mortgages, frugal living, and lifestyle.

Their payout is monthly by PayPal or direct deposit.

Make a Living Writing – Pay between $75-$150 for writing guest posts on the following topics:

• Copywriting
• Ghostwriting
• productivity
• Social media marketing success stories and more

Freelance mom  – well researched, informative articles that will benefit the readers.

The post is meant to be 900-1800 words long and you get  $75  – $100  paid through PayPal

Her view from home  – this is a family oriented site that is looking for writers on topics like parenting, kids, faith.

Articles are to be between 600-800 and you get paid through PayPal based on the number of views tour post received.

Wow! Women on Writing – they are looking for an article worded between 1000- 3000 which relates to how- to’s, interviews or roundups that will be of benefit to fellow writers.

Paid via PayPal either  $50  Or  $75  based on the article

A fine parent – An online community for parents that publish in-depth articles each week. Articles must be original and within the range of 1,500 and 3,000 words.

Paying  $75  for a post, you just don’t want to miss out!

Parent.com  – They require articles on a wide range of well researched and thought out topics.

They have listed a variety of previously published posts that have fared well, to give you a sense of what they are looking for in your submission. A well paying $50- $150  for a post.

Just parents  – They are a parenting site based in the UK.

They accept submissions through their contact form and you will be paid through PayPal in 24hrs of your article being approved

Green parent  – If you live in the UK, this UK based publication accepting guest post between 1,500 to 2,000.

They have a readership of over 100,000 and they pay £75 for every 1000 words!

Metro- parent  – Pay varies depending on the type of article, length of it and experience of the writer. But you have a lot of options to choose from.

Focus on the family – They are looking for hands-on practical ideas for parents to try. Word count is between 50-300, with a payment of $50 on acceptance. Visit their website for more information on how to submit your work.

Great Escape Publishing  – Is about articles on getting paid to travel whether its to do with writing or photography.

Their payment is up to $200 depending on the content you create, and how much readers can profit from it.

Transitions Abroad – They are looking for planning guides for travel, work, study and living abroad. Details about how to submit are on their website. Once accepted, writers can earn between $75 to $150 per article.

Writing Jobs:

If you are an experienced freelance writer or blogger, you can try applying to websites that offer regular writing jobs like Online Writing Jobs .

Once you apply with them they offer you writing gigs on a regular basis. They only accept those living in the United States.

The application involves, submitting an online application form, writing sample, proof of residency and tax form.

Another online platform hiring writers is GrammarGang . They have full-time, part-time and freelance writing jobs available.

Topics include freelancing, writing, grammar, SaaS, B2B, eCommerce, and affiliate content.

According to their website, you can earn between $75 – $500 per article, and they have an online application form that you can use to apply.

FlexJobs is another choice for freelance writing jobs.

You have regular jobs posted on their website and you can apply to the ones that suit you best. FlexJobs is an online job board, but they do require you to pay a monthly fee to view their listings.

Writing Websites

While the list above offers a quick one-time writing opportunities, let’s take a look at some sites that offer regular freelance writing gigs.

• Click Worker
• Virtual Vocations
• We Work Remotely

In conclusion to this post on paid articles

First thing is to make sure you sign up for a PayPal account. It’s free to sign up and a fairly simple verification process.

Make sure your content is – unique. Something that will be of benefit to the reader, and something that leaves the reader with an action plan

If allowed, try an aim for a personal experience in your post so the audience can relate to it. This makes your post more relatable and sets a realistic goal for the readers.

Be sure it’s100% your original content.

Be confident, keep trying and don’t give up.

Start getting paid for writing on topics you love!

41 Comments

This is such an incredible resource. I had no idea there were this many sites out there willing to pay for posts. Right now I’m focusing mostly on writing for our site, but will be saving this for the near future. I would love love love to make a little extra money doing what I’m passionate about. Keep up the good work. You’ve provided so many valuable resources and this post is yet another one!

Thank you so much, Jenny!! Yes, there are numerous websites that pay writers, and these are some that are currently accepting.

Thank you for the article. I applied to Penny Hoarder =). Hopefully they will be in touch.

Hi Karen, that’s great! Let us know how you get along:)

Thank you so much for this list. How in the world do you find all this information? This is great. I am working on the courage to start pitching and freelancing. I will check some of these out. I love it!

Thanks Jane! I hope you find some of these resources useful to find freelance work. I had to research and filter out the most legit sites in the market to narrow down this list:) Let me know how you go!

Awesome resource- thanking for writing and sharing this information 😊

Thanks Samantha!

Reading this post was so engaging. I ended up on 4 more of your post. It gave me a sense of a better understanding to improve my blog moving forward. So greatful for these helpful post… You are awesome ..

Aww thank you Davianna! And you just made my day:)

Hello, I’m really interested but PayPal isn’t available in my country. Do you have any other recommendations?

hello, i m interested to write something about health and fitness ,but PayPal isn’t available in my region . what can i do ?

This is a great resource, thanks!

Another great article Saranya. I’ve found this to be a great way for new bloggers to cover some monthly costs while honing their writing craft. I’ve also made some extra money re-writing short 500 word articles into longer 1000+ word posts with my own affiliate links and ads.

Hi Craig! Thank you for commenting. This is indeed motivating for new bloggers looking to make some extra money online. And thank you for sharing your tips on whats worked for you:)

Could you tell me about it, please?

Thank you, this is a great resource

I think I will try “Litverse” and “Wow! Women on Writing”. I love to write and I was wondering what is the next step. It would be nice to make a bit of money from my writing; doing something that I love.

Absolutely Ingrid! Writing for magazines are a great way to earn extra money, if you enjoy writing. Thanks for stopping by!

Have you tried Listverse? Do they actually pay you? Also how often because I’ve heard things.

I haven’t personally used Listverse, but have heard some good reviews about it and hence included it in this list:)

Great article. I really appreciate it. But I have just one question. Do the post have to be written in English or do the sites accept posts in Spanish too?

Hi Elena, This post particularly deals with English content, unfortunately.

Is this available in Nigeria

Thank you dear for sharing such info. Be blessed

I think I will try “Litverse” and “Wow! Women on Writing”. I love to write and I was wondering what is the next step. It would be nice to make a bit of money from my writing; doing something that I love.

Thank you so much for this list. How in the world do you find all this information? This is great. I am working in High School. I also work on a website; Thank again.

Thank you Surendra!

great post, I will try to sign up for some of these when I have a moment. Thanks for sharing the list

This is an amazing article full of website links. I will definitely share this to my friends who really wanted to earn money by writing.

Nice Article. Thanks for sharing.

What an excellent post here,writing is one of my passion, I could write as long as i can

I am very sure that with this wonderful guide I would be able to make money writing article

Hi, the great article you have written here, I love this blog I already bookmarked it and I am a regular visitor to this site, it’s very helpful for me. thanks

Are there any websites that you could suggest for blogs or articles about dealing with addiction?

very interresting thank you. is there any sites for cleaning or sales? thats my background. thanks again.

Hi there. It’s my first time trying this out. Ive been out of work for a few months and wanted to give writing ago as it was something I really loved doing sometime back. As I’m not working, I’ve enough time to write and was hoping to slowly earn some money writing. Would anyone know of any sites that accept writing but do not require that I put money in first to begin and that would work for Asia? I am currently in Sri Lanka and so would need something that works in this part of the world. Could anyone please advise me. Thanks so much

Great Article thanks for sharing this.

Really awesome piece of content. I really don’t know about these websites that you’ve mentioned in your post. Very thorough research and You’ve put everything in such a way that even a newbie can understand this and can start earning money using their writing skills.

thanks for the website list where we write and pay …

Great information about digital marketing websites to grow your business.

That’s a great job. It gives full description about the topic.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Recent Posts

• How to Make Money Fast as a Woman (From Home!)
• Beermoney Apps to Earn a Quick $100 in 2023
• Apps for Cash: 32 Legit Apps that Pay You Real Money
• 50 Money Manifestation Affirmations that Work Fast!
• How to Make Money Online for Beginners (For Free!)
• Is Canva Free to Use in 2023?
• 24 Hour Pharmacy Near Me (Open Now) + Store Locator

Any information in onefinewallet.com is for general information only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact your own financial advisor regarding your specific situation. Any references to third party products, prices, or career opportunities are subject to change without notice. While we do our best to maintain up-to-date information, some information may have changed since being published. Please do relevant research before participating in any third party offers. Thank you.

FinanceBuzz

17 Most Useless College Degrees Employers Don't Want Today

Posted: June 19, 2023 | Last updated: June 19, 2023

College can be expensive, so you want to make sure you’re getting a useful education for the money you’re putting down or borrowing.

However, some degrees are better than others when it comes to landing a job when you get out of school. After all, you don’t want to be looking for ways to pay off debt on a degree that doesn’t pan out.

Here are some degrees that might not give you the best bang for your buck as you consider a particular career after graduation.

12 legit ways to earn extra cash

Creative writing

Pursuing a creative degree may not make you much money after college, and that’s particularly true of creative writing.

The publishing field isn’t lucrative for many writers (unless you’re a big name), so you may be stuck with a degree that won’t help you get a sustainable job after graduation.

Get expert advice on making more money - sent straight to your inbox.

Communications

One issue with a communications degree is that it could be too broad depending on the program and the classes required for the degree. Instead, focus on a specific type of communication like journalism, marketing, or public relations.

Fashion design

Fashion design has become more popular, and more competitive, with social media and reality competition shows looking for new designers. The market may be oversaturated and it could be difficult to stand out.

If you enjoy fashion, consider other positions in the industry, including writing for fashion publications or working as a buyer or stylist, which may help you earn more money.

9 Things You Must Do Before The Next Recession

Hospitality

Travel habits have changed in recent years due to the pandemic, and have affected places like hotels. Events planners and hospitality management have also taken a hit. But you may still have options if you want to pursue a career in hospitality.

For example, consider getting a business degree that may be more useful when finding a job after college. You could still use it to get a job in hospitality or have the flexibility to find a position outside of hospitality that would require a business degree.

7 Nearly Secret Things to Do If You Fly Southwest

Teachers are amazing resources for students across the country. Despite a nationwide teacher shortage, salaries often do not reflect their importance in society. Plus, nearly 50% of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years.

If you feel the strong desire to be a teacher, it would be wise to have a backup plan in case you need to leave the profession.

9 things you need to know before retiring with $500,000

Computer science

There’s been an emphasis in recent years on computer science careers, but that focus has led to an oversaturation of computer science graduates compared to the number of jobs available.

If you still want to get a computer science degree, find ways to make yourself stand out among other applicants such as internships and training or certification in specialized skills.

Culinary arts

If you want to work in a restaurant or get a job as a personal chef, a culinary arts degree might not give you the experience and education you need to cook or bake for a living.

Instead, ask around to local restaurants you like or talk to chefs in your area to see if it's possible to get a job working with food without a degree.

6 Genius Hacks All Costco Shoppers Should Know

Music may be a wonderful thing to participate in, but it could be difficult to make enough money with a music career to cover the cost of getting a music degree. Instead, get a degree in a field that may be more lucrative and use your free time to practice music.

You may even be able to use your music to make money with a side hustle while earning a salary that can pay your bills another way. Many people nowadays take on a side hustle to reach financial independence and  stop living paycheck to paycheck .

Film, video, and photographic arts

This is another degree that can be tempting if you have a passion for the arts. However, the result of success in the fields of videography and photography often comes without a college degree.

You may be able to just use your natural talent to become a filmmaker and develop your skills by using online resources. You could get a job as a photographer or videographer in fields such as marketing or the service industry, serve as an independent contractor, and even open your own business, all the while without needing a student loan.

Get paid up to $225 a month while watching viral videos

Performing arts

If you want to be an actor, it may be better to act than to go to school for it. You don’t need to enroll in a college or university to take acting classes.

Practice, auditions, and real-world experience can also be more helpful than sitting in a classroom or lecture hall. Try landing your next best role instead of spending cash on a degree.

Criminal justice

If you’re interested in a job in law enforcement, a criminal justice degree may not be as helpful as other options. You might want to apply for a job directly and go through training that may be paid for by a police department or sheriff’s department.

See how much you could save on auto insurance

There may be few opportunities for foreign-language majors once they leave college or a university, which may make it a less-than-desirable degree.

Instead, consider getting a minor in a language you’re interested in and major in something else you’re interested in. For example, you could get a business degree and work internationally.

Anthropology and Archeology

You may be someone who loves history and dreams of excavation sites, but be ready to spend years as an underpaid intern or research assistant. The truth is unless you go for the fancy Ph.D., which will take a lot of time and money, most degrees in this career path don't offer much. 

Religious studies

You may be interested in studying the spiritual side of life, but it might not help you financially. A religious studies degree could lead to a low-paying job in exchange for a high debt load from your degree.

Instead, consider training that may be paid for by a local religious organization, or major in something else and minor in religious studies.

7 savvy moves when you have $1,000 in the bank

Exercise science

Exercise is a good component of a healthy life, and you may want to help others follow a plan for a healthy life as an exercise science major. But majors in this field may not make enough to cover college debt or everyday expenses when they graduate.

Instead, look into certification programs that may be more affordable or find out how you can become a trainer or instructor without a college degree.

The pandemic proved that the tourism industry can change dramatically at any time, for better or for worst. COVID-19 kept tourists at home for so long, which resulted in high prices post-pandemic. Now many people are choosing staycations to avoid the high costs driven by the current market. 

If you want to stay in the tourism industry, it may be a good idea to save extra cash in an emergency fund to weather the ups and downs of the industry.

5 Signs You’re Doing Better Financially Than the Average American

Advertising

Working for an ad agency today could be difficult if you’re trying to create interesting ads that pull in a viewer. Instead, ads are usually targeted based on the interest of particular internet users who may not interact with ads the way they once did.

If you still want to pursue an advertising degree, consider taking classes about social media or online advertising. That may make you stand out more as a job candidate and help you earn some extra cash.

Bottom line

Before you commit to a degree, sit down and find out what kind of careers that degree could be useful for. You also may want to find more affordable options to take some general classes or summer classes to get the degree you want at a lower cost so you won't find yourself  barely scraping by financially . 

And remember that in the end, it’s important to be happy with whatever major you pursue. You may be able to find a way to make any degree work for you.

More from FinanceBuzz:

• 6 genius hacks Costco shoppers should know
• 9 things you must do before the next recession.
• Can you retire early? Take this quiz and find out.
• 9 simple ways to make up to an extra $200/day

More for You

23 of Our Readers’ Favorite Recipes

Realistic prospect projections for Ravens at positions of need

‘Tulsa King' Background Actor Responds To Insults Allegedly Made On Set Of Sylvester Stallone Series: "I Do Feel Like I Was Singled Out"

Sega Announces the Year of Shadow

Uber boosts safety features for passengers

What to Know About Cervical Vertigo (Cervicogenic Dizziness)

17 Recipes with Out-of-This-World Flavors!

Yes, these images of lightning striking the Statue of Liberty are real

Everything You Need To Know About V8

The Sims 5 Needs to Capitalize On the Upcoming Sims Movie in a Big Way

Marcos Says He’s ‘Horrified’ by Duterte Sea Deal With China

Youngkin amends skill games bill, would ban skill games in major cities like Richmond, Roanoke and Portsmouth

‘Fallout': How to Succeed in the Postapocalypse Without Really Trying

Is it Wise to Convert 10% of My 401(k) into a Roth IRA Each Year to Avoid Taxes and RMDs?

His 'funk is contagious.' This L.A. glassblower breaks the rules with his stunning vessels

23 Broccoli Casseroles We Can’t Get Enough Of

Mel Kiper mock draft: Giants swing a Round 2 deal for Bo Nix

5 Surprising Stats About Car Insurance Requirements in the U.S.

Physical Copies Of Star Wars Outlaws Require An Internet Connection To Install

Conan O'Brien's Return to ‘The Tonight Show' Was Melancholy, Powerful TV

How to start making money on TikTok from user-generated content, according to creators

• Last May, TikTok introduced the Creative Challenge program focused on user-generated content. 
• Creators can make money when their videos are posted by brands, as well as from bonuses.
• Two creators explain exactly how to get started and why gaming content is so popular.

Some TikTok creators are earning thousands of dollars from user-generated videos.

The platform introduced early last year the TikTok Creative Challenge, a program for creators to submit UGC-style ads for brands.

Although it was initially invite-only, the program became available in May to eligible creators. Users need to be at least 18 years old, based in the US, and have at least 50,000 followers.

However, many creators are still learning about the program. Several who Business Insider spoke with said a TikTok mentor or other creator told them about the TikTok Creative Challenge; they didn't find it on their own.

"It's not very discoverable yet. Even now, I have trouble pulling up the dashboard on TikTok," said 23-year-old UGC coach Caitlin Jenco, who earned $2,309 within her first three months with the TikTok Creative Challenge. "I think that's why not many people know about it yet."

She heard about the program from another creator, Sydney McDonald, an official TikTok mentor who sent her a referral link (open on a mobile device) to the dashboard, where users can join, manage their submissions, and track their earnings.

Once users join the TikTok Creative Challenge, they're initially given 10 "slots,'' which they can use to submit videos to brands looking for UGC ads. Jenco said users can see how many submissions a particular brand has already gotten, and decide if they want to participate.

If the brand accepts a creator's submission, the video will go through a few rounds of revisions before being posted on the brand's account. The back-and-forth is handled through TikTok, so the brand and the creator never communicate directly.

Related stories

The creator earns a share of the revenue generated from the video, which the brand determines.

The TikTok Creative Challenge also offers bonuses, ranging from $300 to $1,000, to motivate users to continue creating UGC content. Jenco said she received them when she hit a particular milestone on the app, as shown in screenshots below of her October earnings, or whenever she referred another creator to the program. Another creator, Muaaz Shakeel, said he noticed bonuses pop up whenever he didn't submit a video for a few days, so it could be a way to persuade creators to use the program more regularly.

Gaming creators are thriving in the program

Jenco, who now helps many other creators get started on the TikTok Creative Challenge, said the most in-demand content by brands on the platform is currently gaming.

"It's an industry where ads thrive because whenever you play a game, you're used to watching ads," she said."Some of the [UGC] ads that come up on my page are very entertaining and interactive, so because of that, I think brands are willing to put more budget behind it."

Gaming creators Cristina Johnson and Joey Barton have earned thousands of dollars a month from the TikTok Creative Challenge.

Within one month, Johnson earned $4,500, which persuaded Barton, her partner, to start the program too. Today, it's one of their main income streams. In January 2024, Johnson earned $20,529, while Barton earned $17,533. BI verified their earnings with documentation they provided.

"Gaming is just what we're used to, so it didn't take us long to figure out the UGC side," 34-year-old Johnson said. "You just need to think like a brand." 

Read more about how much creators have made through the TikTok Creative Challenge. 

Watch: tiktok could be banned in us after house vote.

• Main content

Creative Australia's report into the music festival sector shows how many of the country's big events are struggling

More than one-third of Australian music festivals are losing money as they face skyrocketing operational costs and dwindling younger audiences, according to a new report from Creative Australia.

Billed as the first widespread report of its kind, Soundcheck: Insights into Australia's music festival sector  delves into the cultural, social and economic impacts of Australian music festivals, and paints a clear picture of the landscape as it stood in the 2022-23 financial year.

Spanning the 535 music festivals held nationwide in that time — that's almost 1.5 festivals per day — the 116-page report reflects the scope, scale and diversity of the Australian music festival landscape.

Given the highly publicised recent struggles festivals have faced, it's timely research that looks to help Australian audiences and funding bodies understand the challenges these events face.

How much money do music festivals make?

Just 56 per cent of music festivals reported a profit in the 2022-23 financial year, with more than one third of festivals reporting a deficit and eight per cent breaking even.

The median average cost to stage a music festival is $3.3 million, and those events that do make a profit pull in a median average of $731,569 per event.

When looking at the mean average of the same data, though, that figure skyrockets to $2.6 million — confirming that some festivals are in a much better financial position and stand to gain far more than some of their contemporaries.

For instance, the highest profit for a festival surveyed for this data was $47.4 million, while the smallest profit was just $20,000.

What are the biggest challenges festivals face?

Rising operational costs had the most severe impact on almost half of festival organisers (47 per cent) — overheads like artist fees, production, suppliers, freight, transportation and insurance.

Other major barriers included a lack of funding and grants, as well as extreme weather events. Almost one third of festivals said skyrocketing insurance costs were a major challenge.

Australian live music venues' public liability insurance policies increased 10-fold in the past financial year, climbing from $20,000 per year to as much as $120,000.

One festival organiser noted that necessary event cancellation insurance costs had "pretty much doubled" since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The excess used to be like a standard commercial policy, which is like $4,000 or $5,000. Our excess for this year is $250,000."

Another organiser said navigating insurance paperwork had become an "absolute minefield" after making the tough call to cancel their festival.

"We had to wait until the morning of the show to make the final determination to cancel, otherwise there's the possibility that the insurance company could have said we could have worked out other alternatives.

"You're left with this real balancing act of, do you let your patrons know … who may have been booking accommodation, may have been getting drivers, getting babysitters, outlaying some money to attend the festival?"

The rising costs of securing police and security was another sore point. More than a quarter of festivals noted the challenges of navigating police and security requirements, and the difficulties of dealing with different government and council regulations across different states and jurisdictions.

"There's not enough consistency," said one logistics/operations worker from New South Wales.

"Whether you do an event in the metro area, or you do an event in Newcastle, or you do an event down the South Coast, or whatever the case may be, all these authorities have different expectations in regards to what they want from security and from the event. That makes it hard because some of the implications are more costs for the event promoter."

By contrast, most festivals found health, medical and liquor licensing requirements were the least challenging regulatory challenge, with around seven per cent reporting these elements had an impact.

Ongoing festival cancellations have created a vicious cycle where the more events pull the plug or lose headliners last-minute, the more hesitation it creates in the wider market — from both the industry and from punters holding off on purchasing tickets.

Who's buying festival tickets?

While music festival revenue comes from various avenues — from corporate sponsorship to hospitality services to merchandise and more — it's ticket sales that determine the ultimate feasibility of a music festival.

There is some good news on that front, with average ticket sales in 2022-23 higher than pre-COVID levels.

The average festival sold 8,116 tickets in 2018-19, which ballooned to 9,506 for 2022-23, indicating that the industry is slowly recovering from the decimating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research suggests that young people are no longer the main consumer of music festivals, nor are they attending as much as they have in the past.

The 18-24-year-old group is no longer the biggest ticket-buying demographic, with people in their mid-to-late twenties overtaking them. The younger crowd slumped from 41 per cent of all ticket buyers in 2018/19 to 27 per cent in 2022/23. 

Genre specific events faring better

The report arrives amid a feast or famine crisis for the Australian music festival scene.

There's been a growing list of festival cancellations, from major events like Splendour In The Grass , Groovin The Moo and Mona Foma , to newer players like This That, Summerground ,  Vintage Vibes , Tent Pole , Valleyways, Costal Jam and more.

Amid those reports, however, genre-focused events — such as Good Things, Knotfest, Listen Out, CMC Rocks — are still proving popular, and summer staples — like Laneway Festival, Beyond The Valley and Field Day — are adapting to current challenges with great success.

The vast majority of Australian festivals predominantly feature homegrown line-ups, with four out of five acts being Australian. The most popular genre offering was electronic music, accounting for almost a quarter of Australian festivals. Other popular genres included rock (21 per cent) country (19 per cent) and indie (17 per cent).

Georgie McClean of Creative Australia says she hopes this research will serve as both a tool for those in the industry, as well as a way to exhibit the contributions music festivals make to Australia's creative sector.

"We hope this report will help us to better understand the role and contribution of festivals within the broader creative industries as they face multiple challenges.

"To inform the future work of Music Australia, we will be undertaking further research into how Australians discover, engage with and consume music, in order to better understand the broader ecosystem that underpins live music including festivals."

• X (formerly Twitter)
• Arts, Culture and Entertainment
• Carnivals and Festivals
• Music (Arts and Entertainment)
• Music Industry