Freelance writing - just been offered some work and need to know how to reply

[joshandjamie]

Quite out of the blue I have been asked by a magazine if I would like to do some freelance writing for them as they have discovered a blog post I wrote a while ago and liked it. I would love to start taking on freelance writing work (I am currently trying to write a novel but it doesn't pay the bills).

I need to reply to their email but want to ask a) if they pay and b) how much they pay without sounding money grabbing but equally I don't want to not raise it so that there is an assumption I'll work for free.

Their wording was: we were wondering if you may be interested in doing some freelance work for our publication?

Does that sound like they are willing to pay? Any suggestions as to how I reply? Any freelance writers know what the going rate for magazine articles is (I am pretty sure it's not much but it would be useful to know)?

thanks

Yes, I'd say the word freelance indicates paid work. Free I would expect to be called "guest" or something like that.

I wouldn't ask the rate, I'd say "my rate is x per 300 words" or whatever.

Hi there you've probably already got this sorted but I would reply saying yes I would definitely be interested and could you let me know what you need. If its a particular story they should send you a brief with word count, deadline, fee and telling you exactly what they want. Everyone briefs very differently. If someone sends me all info and doesn't mention money I reply and say that all sounds good but could you also let me know the fee. Any proper editor is used to this. I'm quite brazen about it but I'm very established plus I like to have all details up front.
Fees vary hugely. The least I'd get is 30p a word and the most is £1 per word. Most people pay 40/50p per word. Having said that if you're starting out you might be very happy working for less. Good luck!