A magazine likes my pitch. How to handle the next stage, the money question, etc?

[TurkeyMartini]

I'm very very VERY happy and excited because my first effort at pitching to a monthly magazine has been met with a positive response (I was a book editor before being made redundant, and am now starting over with hopefully a slightly new direction after being on maternity leave).

It's a genealogy title, so maybe not massively exciting to most people on here, but it's something I love and can't wait to do.

The editor has said he will be commissioning in Jan for the issue he'd like to place my ideas in, and I'm to ring him back in mid Jan to discuss how we can fit them into the cover feature he's planning. So it sounds like I will be doing some small bits, like little side panels perhaps? I'm not sure.

My questions for anyone who knows: what is the usual payment structure for magazine journalism of this type? Paymasters are Future PLC, if that helps. Will it be by hour, or by number of words, or what? How is that part of the conversation likely to go, and how can I avoid sounding clueless? I used to manage freelancers all the time but that was in trade reference and academic books, so I think it's probably a bit different.

Oh, and: I used to be an NUJ member, but have suspended that while on mat leave. Is it worth keeping that membership, if I'm likely to be doing occasional jobs like this? The bulk of my work is likely to be more bog-standard book editorial stuff, but I'll keep on with pitching to magazines at the same time.

Hoping someone can help, thanks!

Bumping ...

Sorry, not much time, but wanted to answer..

I do small columns for a specialist website and get paid about 30p/word which I'm pretty sure must be the low end of the scale...

Have you googled for Freelance Writer dayrates etc - I know there are some guidelines on the NUJ site for example?

Well done! What sort of article are you writing for the magazine - a case study, a general article or the Skeleton in the Cupboard section? When I wrote for them, they paid for the feature, rather than the number of words, and the commission included how many words they expected. Also, they took the copyright.

The mag has a different editor now from when I wrote for it some time ago, so I'm not sure how much help I am. However, I'd clarify pretty early on that you are a professional and expect professional fees. (You may have done this already.) These genealogy titles have so many people who just want the glory of their name in print, rather than the dosh .

Re NUJ membership - you can apply to have a reduced rate if your income falls below a certain level.

I subscribe to Mslexia and they frequently have articles on freelance writing, pay rates, protocol, markets etc.

Thanks for replying. Normasnorks -- I hadn't thought about the possibility of payment per word! Wow. That strikes me as odd for some reason, but then on reflection there's nothing at all wrong with it. I guess it's just hard to mentally equate it to a standard-ish rate per hour of your time, though maybe you get accustomed to thinking in those terms?

Cretaceous, it seems like a massive coincidence that someone who has also written for YFT has happened upon this thread. How nice. I think that what I'll be writing is just a general article, or part thereof -- it sounds as if I will be contributing some elements to a big cover feature that hasn't been completely thought out yet, but will be pieced together in Jan.

I hope I've made it clear enough to the ed that I'm a professional [worry]. I know what you mean about the sort of reader-slash-contribs whose work peppers genealogy mags. I haven't been thinking of myself as one of those, but I'm glad you mentioned it; I'll be on my guard against any sign that they see me that way. Will call the NUj as well to see about reduced rate.

Thanks, all.

www.londonfreelance.org/rates/

good indications here.

You're most likely to be paid a set fee for what you write - especially by a specialist magazine.

Invoice them - don't rely on them to put the payment through for you. I would send a hard copy and an email copy.

I'm sure you won't sound clueless - but just a simple 'what will the fee be for this' on your email is fine. Be prepared for it to be a pittance.