The Working Writer: Sources for Paying Markets

Photo: Jennifer Leo

by Jennifer Lamont Leo


Few writers get into the writing game to get rich--few realistic writers, anyway. That said, the worker is worth his wages, and there's nothing icky or impure about wanting your hard work to be rewarded in the coin of the realm.

For those interested in the monetary aspects of the writing life, here are three market resources that are currently earning good reputations in the writing community:

Scratch Magazine

I've been enjoying an online magazine called Scratch produced by Jane Friedman and Manjula Martin, described as "smart, useful stories about the intersection of writing and money, for writers of all genres and trades. Each quarterly issue features in-depth interviews, reportage, resources, and personal stories about the work of being a writer."

It's pretty new, just 3 or 4 issues so far, I think. Recent issues have featured interviews with Cheryl Strayed, Susan Orlean, and Jonathan Franzen, talking nuts and bolts of the writing life. Interesting.

Scratch is available only through paid subscription ($20), but I believe that their "Who Pays Writers" feature is free.

I've got no "scratch" in the game. Just thought I'd pass along the info in case someone's interested.

Funds for Writers 

Funds for Writers, compiled by author C. Hope Clark, offers two e-newsletter options: a weekly free newsletter that lists "semi-pro or higher paying markets and contests as well as grants, crowdfunding, contests, publishers, agents and employers," and a paid biweekly subscription ($15/year) that lists "grants, competitions, markets, jobs, publishers and agents seeking your work and all paying $200 or 10 cents/ word and up."

I recently began subscribing to the paid newsletter, and a recent issue listed 16 contests with cash prizes, 10 grant/crowdfunding opportunities, 21 editor/agent listings, 19 paying markets, and 3 writing jobs. Most of these are opportunities I probably would not have ferreted out on my own. To have them pre-researched and gathered in one spot is, to my mind, a useful service for a busy writer.

Hope also blogs at chopeclark.com

Rat Race Rebellion

While I've not yet used Rat Race Rebellion myself, it came highly recommended to me from a trusted colleague as a source of genuine, scam-free job leads, so I checked it out. The site, run by training and developing company Staffcentrix, is a clearinghouse for all sorts of pre-screened work-at-home jobs and job-referral services, not just writing. On a recent visit to the writing-and-editing section, I found 49 referral listings. A handful of these were already familiar to me; the rest were unfamiliar and seemed worth checking out. Of course, as for all referral sites, caveat emptor and YMMV apply. Still, this site looks to be intelligent, well-organized, and a potentially helpful tool in navigating the paying markets.

Have you had experiences with any of these resources that you'd care to share? Or are there other resources you'd recommend for fiscally-minded scribes? Let us know in the comments.