How to Get Paid for Editorials

Editorials can be solicited and nonsolicited works.

An editorial is an article in any publication --- often, but not always, written by an editor of the publication --- that expresses an opinion. For example, whereas a newspaper article reporting on a bill currently up for debate in the Senate is an objective article, an editorial on that bill will state the writer's opinion as why the bill should or should not be passed.



One general path towards receiving compensation to write editorials is this scenario: A publication can solicit you to write an editorial for a fee. That is a straightforward process: You are asked to write something for a fee, you negotiate the fee when possible and you choose either to accept or not to accept the assignment.

Instructions

1. Propose a sample topic in which you have extensive knowledge. Demonstrate explicitly how your specific editorial will be pertinent and of interest to the publication's readership.

2. Take a firm stand in the editorial; write your opinion in a persuasive way but provide evidence to support your position. For example, do not merely state that it would be a good idea for American troops to withdraw from all wars abroad, but state definitely that it is in the best interest for our country that our troops withdraw from all wars abroad because of specific evidence.

3. Proofread the editorial carefully.

4. Present the editorial to a publication's editorial board. The editorial board is the managing body of a publication; it is responsible for the voice and direction of the publication. It is also responsible for penning editorials for the publication that represent the publication's position on topics relevant to its purview. The editorial board is involved in choosing which guest editorials should appear in the editorial section.

5. Negotiate compensation in exchange for granting your permission to the publisher to publish your work, if the editorial board accepts your editorial.

Tips & Warnings

• In some fields, companies will pay professionals to write favorably about their products; in this way, there is a method to get paid to write editorials by a party other than a publication's editorial board, but this method is controversial and, in some circles, unethical.

References

• Open Exchange: Editorial Guidelines
• "Some Authors in Medical Journals May Get Paid by 'Spin Doctors'"; Lawrence K. Altman; 1994