Adding Little Extras
The more that magazine writers become content providers for various forms of media, the more editors need things that they didn't used to. For instance, many magazines now have companion Web sites with “teaser” pages that refer to articles coming out in a soon-to-be-printed issue, or “exclusive” pages where the magazine posts information online that got cut out of the printed issue or that is simply too newsworthy to hold back until the issue hits newsstands.
Where does that online content come from? Often, your editor has to produce it herself. This adds to her workload (probably not to her liking) and leaves her searching for ways to get her own job done easier and faster.
Offering to help your editors with little extras that add to their daily workloads is a great way not just to earn a bit of extra money, but also to show your loyalty and commitment to being part of the magazine's team effort. Keep that attitude in mind when you're pitching add-ons to your feature article assignments.
Offer to Help Out
Just as you want to be every editor's go-to person when it comes to landing article assignments, you also want to be your editors' go-to person when it comes to helping solve these kinds of problems. Remember, you want your editors to think of you first — always — and there's no better way to cement that kind of relationship than by offering to help out with Web extras and other little items that will make your editor's life easier without making your own that much harder.
Many editors now require photographs to run on their Web sites alongside teasers for upcoming articles. If you own a high-quality digital camera, you can take photos during your interviews and offer them to your editor for an extra $25, $50, or $100 on top of your regular story fee. It's an easy way to add a little to your bottom line.
Perhaps your editor is offering you $2,000 for a 2,000-word article that will require a 500-word teaser item on the magazine's companion Web site. You could offer to write that teaser item for an extra $100. That's less than the per-word price for your article, but the job really won't take you much time to do since you'll likely be summarizing part of your article for the teaser item anyway. You gain an extra $100 pay for what probably will amount to less than an hour's worth of work, and you ease your editor's workload in the process. It's a win-win for both you and the magazine.
Think Long-Term
Now, it's true that little extras like these aren't going to add massive sums to your annual income right away, but over time, they do add up. An extra $200 or $300 a month from various magazines equals an extra $2,400 or $3,600 a year. That's not exactly chump change to most working magazine writers today. Also keep in mind that offering to help out on these kinds of little extras for a reasonable fee will help to cement your relationships with your editors over the long term. Anything you can do to enhance those relationships will lead to more work over time, which means more income overall. Be nice, offer reasonable options, and good things usually will come your way.
