How to Make Money Writing Nonfiction: 20 Job Opportunities for Freelance Writers

If you love writing and creating fabulous content, you might be missing out on dozens of opportunities to turn your passion into a steady side hustle or even a full-time income.

In most cases, you don’t even need a journalism or English degree—all it really takes to become a successful freelance writer is determination and a little marketing know-how.

While you might have to send out a few cold pitches to get started, there are also dozens of job sites that cater specifically to freelancers. So, whether you’re interested in writing articles, blogging, or publishing your own nonfiction books, there are plenty of opportunities to go around—you just have to know where to look!

Freelance Article Writing

The following publications accept submissions on an ongoing basis. If they like what you do, it’s likely that they’ll also keep you in mind for future collaborations and assignments, which can help you to really bulk up your portfolio and contacts.

But opportunities are not limited to this list alone—even if your favorite publication doesn’t advertise its submissions process, don’t be afraid to send out a few samples and ask about future opportunities.

And remember: before you submit an article or proposal to any publication, do your research. Look at their website and a few of their latest issues (if it’s a print magazine or newspaper). Does your article or idea match the style and tone of the publication? Have they already published something very similar to what you’re proposing?

Make sure you’re pitching something that will be valuable to the individual publication. Personalize each email; briefly explain why you think your article would be a good fit for them so the editor knows that you’ve done your homework. It will take more time than sending out a mass email to a bunch of editors at once, but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

1. Cosmopolitan

About: Cosmopolitan regularly publishes articles from freelance writers. While you can try cold pitching other ideas via e-mail, they are currently searching for personal essays about funny or memorable college experiences.

If they publish your essay online, you’ll be paid $100 and they’ll also contact you for future assignments.

Pay: $100

2. Eating Well Magazine

About: Eating Well is a national food magazine that focuses specifically on healthy eating. Their columns include healthy food trends, travel, and current events/issues related to food.

Eating Well accepts e-mail pitches and pays up to $1/word for accepted articles. Plus, they’ll keep you in mind for future assignments and contributions.

Pay: Up to $1/word

3. The Sun

About: The Sun publishes nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. While they tend to seek out personal writing, they also regularly publish provocative pieces related to politics and cultural issues.

Pieces can easily be submitted online or mailed in to their North Carolina office.

Pay: $300-$2,000/piece for nonfiction essays

4. Delta Sky

About: Delta Sky accepts freelance submissions about travel, lifestyle, and business for the airline’s magazine.

They prefer pieces related to trends or topics that are relevant now (for example, a hip new restaurant opening in London instead of a piece about Big Ben’s history). The more in-depth, the better.

Features vary in length from 600-2,000 words.

Pay: $1/word

5. Marie Claire

About: This classic women’s magazine covers everything from fashion to career advice and politics. For freelance submissions, they prefer story proposals over completed work. An editor will decide if the subject is suitable and be in touch with more submission details.

Proposals must be mailed to their offices in New York. If they like your submission, they may also be in touch for future assignments.

Pay: $300 and up

6. Metro Parent Magazine

About: If you love parenting and think other parents could benefit from some of your knowledge and experiences, Metro Parent could be the publication for you! They’re always on the lookout for great features, opinions, and more.

Pay: $25-$200/piece

7. Vibrant Life

About: Vibrant Life is a bimonthly lifestyle magazine that publishes recipes, tips for green living, health-related articles, and self-help advice.

Submissions should be complete articles that are ready for publication. Payment is made upon acceptance of the article and is based on depth, relevance, and accurate use of up-to-date research.

Pay: $100-$300/article

8. The Dollar Stretcher

About: The Dollar Stretcher aims to help people save their money and find ways to make it last longer. They particularly love how-to articles, time and space saving techniques, and tips for dealing with non-frugal family members. Submit a query first and they’ll let you know if they think your idea would make a great article.

Pay: $0.10/word

Freelance Blogging

To get started as a freelance blogger, you’ll want to have a portfolio of your work to show clients. One great way to do this, especially if you’re low on experience, is to start your own blog.

Once that’s up and running, you’ll be able to showcase your work and land more gigs. As with most other freelance jobs, you can try cold pitching your work to blogs with a similar niche or any area that you’re somewhat experienced in.

Aspiring freelance bloggers should also consider submitting their work to the sites below.

1. The Hoth

About: The Hoth is an SEO service company that sells blog posts as part of their SEO packages. If you’ve got solid writing skills and enjoy researching niche topics, definitely check them out.

Pay: $16-$50/article (depending on word count)

2. Michelle Pippin

About: If you’re business savvy and love sharing profit or marketing hacks, Michelle Pippin is willing to pay you for your expertise. They’re currently looking for articles that offer advice to business owners, entrepreneurs, or anyone looking to start their own business.

Pay: $50-$150/article

3. Listverse

About: Do you love lists? Listverse is dedicated to lists of 10 or more things or ideas about pretty much any topic you can think of. If you submit a list they think their readers will love, they’ll publish it on their site and pay you for your efforts.

Pay: $100/list

4. FundsForWriters

About: FundsForWriters.com is willing to pay you if you can write about ways to make money as a writer, success stories, unique markets, and more.

Pay: $50/original article

5. SitePoint

If you know a thing or two about technology, SitePoint will pay you to use that knowledge to write informative articles. Each month, they pick a specific topic (from javascript to web design) and write exclusively about that topic for the month.

Pay: Unknown

Nonfiction Books

If you’re really passionate about writing nonfiction, why not go all the way and write your own book? It’s not easy, but with hard work and dedication, you can get your work published and start making money.

And you don’t have to do it alone—TCK Publishing can help you!

We publish both fiction and nonfiction books in all major genres and work hard to give our authors all of the support they need to produce exceptional books.

We won’t charge any fees to publish your book, and in addition, you’ll receive 50% of net royalties (and that’s about 3-6 times more than what most traditional publishers offer!)

We even help our authors with cover design, marketing campaigns, website design, and so much more. Be sure to check out our guidelines for nonfiction submissions!

Ghostwriting Nonfiction

If you’re okay with your name not being associated with your work, ghostwriting could be another option worth checking out.

Many writers, including some big names, work closely with anonymous ghostwriters to get their ideas to print. Depending on the gig, you can even bring home a pretty nice paycheck through ghostwriting.

The companies below are currently recruiting ghostwriters.

1. The Writers for Hire

About: The Writers for Hire provide ghostwriting, technical writing, copywriting, and editing services for their clients. To apply, all you have to do is send in your resume and 3-5 of your best writing samples.

Pay: Unknown, varies by project

2. Writezillas

About: Once you apply online to Writezillas, you’ll have access to over 100 new assignments each day, many of which are for ghostwriters. Most jobs involve writing copy for businesses and pay up to $15/page.

Pay: Varies by project

3. TCK Publishing

TCK works closely with some of the most talented ghost writers. If you’re interested in joining the team and working side-by-side with top nonfiction authors, fill out an application today!

Copywriting

If you want to try your hand at freelance copywriting (writing the text for advertisements or publicity material), there are plenty of companies in search of great freelancers or even full-time writers.

These positions can be found on traditional job-search sites such as LinkedIn or Indeed, but new positions are also listed everyday on freelance sites like Upwork and FlexJobs. Many of them are also remote jobs, so you won’t need to relocate or even commute for a full-time salary.

A few examples of companies frequently in search of copywriters include:

Smartbug Media (Freelance, remote, pay unknown)

UIH Solutions (Full-time, remote, pay unknown)

Change3 Enterprises (Part-time, $15/hour)

Aquent (Freelance, remote, pay unknown)

Cactus Communications (Full-time, remote, pay unknown)

Menu Writing

Yes, you can even make money writing menus for restaurants.

Why? Because before a customer can taste a dish, they have to rely on what they read to make a decision. Therefore, restaurants need someone with strong descriptive writing skills to entice diners.

If you’re interested in this kind of work, you can get started by studying the menus in the restaurants you visit. How would you make them better? Create samples and develop a portfolio that you can show to potential clients (knowing a thing or two about food wouldn’t hurt either).

Don’t be afraid to approach restaurant owners with your ideas and offer your services—you never know, if they want to improve their sales (and of course they do) they may just decide to enlist your help!

Once you get started, you’ll be able to build a network of return clients.

You can also try advertising your services on popular job-posting sites for freelancers, such as Upwork or Fiverr.

Upwork

Upwork allows users to create a profile and bid for freelance jobs. Common jobs include article writing, copywriting, proofreading, and editing.

Some are one-time tasks, while other projects can last months or develop into more consistent opportunities.

To sign up for Upwork, create a free profile and upload your resume. Then browse available gigs by category and send your resume and cover letter to the ones that interest you.

Many employers respond within hours. You’ll be able to negotiate your pay with clients through their internal messaging system, as well as deadlines and project duration.

Turn Your Talent Into Cash

There are plenty of ways to make money writing nonfiction. You may have to be a little creative with your approach, but there are countless people out there willing to pay for great content. Start turning your passion into profit!

What’s your dream writing job? Feel free to share in the comments below!

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