Writing for Magazines Aimed at Students

The fact that you're a student writer can work for you. Magazines and web sites aimed at college students are desperate for writers who are still "on the scene," so if you've got the talent, your lack of experience won't hold you back.

How much does it pay?

About $10 to $50 per article. That's not much, but many positions are recurring, so you could sell an article every week or month. If you're good, you can negotiate for a raise once you've proven yourself.

Where do I find writing gigs?

On any writing job board, or in the classified section of your school paper. Look for ads that call for student writers, college writers, or entry-level writers.

You can also find writing jobs by looking in the writers' guidelines section of any magazine or web site aimed at students. If there are no guidelines online, email the editor asking for a copy of their writers' guidelines.

What should I be careful of?

• Magazines that are advertised as startups. New magazines have a phenomenal failure rate and are likely to take your paycheck with them when they go.
  
  
• Magazines that say, "We can't pay you yet, but when we make money, you will, too!" Submit to them if you want clips, but don't expect them to ever turn enough of a profit to pay you.
  
  
• "Content writer internships." If the employer wants someone to turn out large amounts of web content (or to "write websites") for low (or no) pay, then what you're looking at is someone who's too much of a cheap bastard to hire a keyword article writer.