When you work on staff for a magazine (or for most companies of any kind), you typically get some kind of annual performance review that includes the opportunity for a pay raise. A human-resources department keeps track of when you are “due” for a salary increase, and your performance since your last raise is taken into account as your boss decides whether, or how much, to add to your annual salary.

Magazine writers are not members of staffs, though, which means that nobody inside the magazine is keeping track of how long you've been writing for the title, how much you're earning, or when you might be entitled to start earning a bit more. It will be up to you, and you alone, to try to get raises from your longtime clients when you feel the time is right.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask

For a lot of writers, it's difficult to ask a longtime editor for a pay raise. Most writers are creative types at heart, and dealing with business matters can be off-putting. A lot of writers would simply continue accepting the same per-article fee for ten or fifteen years rather than have to have a dreaded conversation about money matters.

The thing is, that's no way to run your writing business — and it's just plain unfair to you as a member of the working class. The cost of living goes up every year, and you shouldn't have to work three, five, or ten times harder than you used to just to make ends meet.

When dealing with your longtime clients, you should think of yourself as a productive worker who deserves a raise just as much as anybody else on the magazine's team. After all, if an editor from a magazine continues to hire you for years on end, then you most likely are a productive worker who deserves a raise just as much as anybody else. Asking for a raise in this situation is not like asking for something that you don't deserve. It's simply asking for a financial acknowledgment of your continued commitment to the magazine's readers and editorial goals.

Make Your Case — Nicely

So how do you do pop that uncomfortable question? If you have a relationship with an editor that includes face-to-face meetings from time to time, then that's the best venue for a discussion about a raise. Always try to talk business in person when you can. Doing so will help your editor see the sincerity on your face as you outline the reasons you feel you deserve a pay increase.

Sometimes, a face-to-face meeting will be impossible, and in those cases there's nothing wrong with asking for a raise over the telephone. The principle discussion will be the same, and the editor will at least be able to hear the sincerity in your voice. The trick to the discussion — no matter how you have it — is to make a case for your request. You don't want to approach an editor by saying, “I've been working for you for five years without asking for a single extra cent, and I want what I'm entitled to now.”

It's much, much more effective to outline your reasons nicely, perhaps saying something like, “I've been working for you for five years, always at the same pay rate, and I think I'm entitled to earn maybe a few cents more per word than your beginning writers. I know the magazine's tone, I know its needs, and I always bring my best material to you first. Do you think there's anything you can do to help me earn a bit more for my efforts?” Even if the editor doesn't have money in her budget to give you immediately, you're likely to win points for your attitude, which should translate into better pay when the new budget cycle comes around.