Calling all freelance journalists: could you please tell me

[bakedpotato]

what you get paid per 1,000 words?
It would also be helpful to know whether this is for national newspapers, national magazines, regionals, trade pubs etc.
Sorry to be nosy, but this would be waaay useful.

It really, really varies! There is no 'standard' rate, it differs between publications and between journalists - Julie Burchill gets paid way more than I do, for example.
For 'normal' journalists it is usually in the range of 200pounds to about 700pounds, I'd say. Big tabloids like the Mail pay at the high end and trade publications (and some broadsheets) pay at the low end. Women's mags are somewhere in the middle.
Does that help?

Thanks, Aloha. Do you know whether there is (for instance) a Guardian/Express house rate for 'normal' journalists? Or does it just vary each and every time, depending on commissioning editors/which section you're writing for/wind direction, etc?

Bit of both BP! As a new contributor you might get paid less than a valued and trusted one - and - sshhh! - you can often negotiate up as comm eds will often offer a slightly lower rate than necessary to save on their budget. I only write for the ST health section (which pays about 300pounds per thousand-ish) and not for the Express at all (I work for their deadliest rival!). I think if it is a southerly wind, you can normally add 10%

My friend wrote a few articles for Guardian and got £200 each. Another friend wrote for womens mags and got about £1000 per article (2 pg article - don't know the wordage).

HTH??!

Yup, that's about right. The Guardian is notorious for the pay. It's all about their budgets really. The more profitable the venture the more they can pay.

Thought that's just a guideline, not a rule.

Do you know anything about being a contracted writer? I'd assume the pay is much better then, or am I wrong?

Nah, not really. Waste of time, mostly IMO. And they often try to stop you wriing for other people, whch can be a pain.

Useful stuff, thanks.

How did you get into freelance journalism. This is a career I have always been interested in but never really tried. I would really like to work in fianncial journalism.

Guardian mean as wossname, BP, think it's still around 200/thousand. Most trades are up to around 220 (NUJ rate, I think).

Don't know anything about financial journalism, I'm afraid--but you could look for journalism courses run by accredited training colleges near you.
Hello fellow freelancers!