Photo by Vlada Karpovich via pexels.
Before I begin talking about AHCJ’s latest market guides, I would like to remind members who are freelancers that I will be moderating a webinar on Thursday, Oct. 6 at noon CT about navigating freelance contracts. It will feature attorney Charles Glasser, former global media counsel for Bloomberg News who has worked on several freelance contract guides for Freelance Investigative Reporters and Editors (FIRE). Bring your contract questions.
Now to the subject at hand. Everyone benefits if pitching guidelines for publications are easily accessible. Freelancers know what editors want, and editors, hopefully, receive pitches that hit the mark.
However, not all media outlets publish pitching guides on their websites. Editors, we know you are overworked — but freelancers would love to be able to click on those! ACHJ interviews editors and publishes its own market guides. Freelancers can now find five additional guides on the AHCJ website at The Freelance Center. They are:
IEEE SPECTRUM: Fees at this digital and print publication range from $1 to $2 per word for articles geared toward engineers. When searching for story ideas to pitch, writers should “find the moving electrons,” advised News Manager Margo Anderson. For instance, health care stories could involve some aspect of robotics, artificial intelligence or consumer electronics. New writers should introduce themselves rather than pitch a detailed story idea.
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange / Youth Today: These sister publications produce articles about issues that affect children, youth and young adults, including health care. Under a grant, Youth Today pays freelancers $800 for 800-to-1,200-word stories about disabilities. All other work for both of these nonprofit digital outlets pays $1 per word for articles that typically run a maximum of 1,400 words.
MIT Technology Review: Freelancers write short front-of-the-book articles, news stories, analysis pieces and features for $1 to $2 per word, depending on the story and the writer’s experience. The website is updated daily, and the print magazine is published every other month. Editors are receptive to receiving pre-pitch emails, along the lines of, “Can I send you a more detailed pitch about xyz story?”
National Geographic: The standard digital contract is $1 per word for up to 2,000 words. Stories are capped at $2,000 unless the editor has asked for more reporting and a longer length. Fees for the monthly print magazine can be substantially higher. The science desk is interested in health stories about new medical technologies or concepts, human biology, disease susceptibility, infectious diseases, new treatment areas, nutrition, health and exercise.
Rural Health Quarterly: This quarterly digital publication is accepting pitches from freelancers for articles about how rural communities are successfully dealing with health care challenges. Stories can be based locally but should be of national significance. Pay ranges from $700 to $1,000 for articles that run from 700 to 1,500 words. Readers are primarily health care providers in rural communities.
