It felt a little strange to put together this list because we generally focus on opportunities for creative writers, and most of these places only publish nonfiction, and not the creative kind. But they are still a great opportunity for creative writers in terms of promoting their work and their name.
There are also lots of regional organizations of writers that publish articles about writing. If you have a publication you want to add to this list, send us an email at support@authorspublish.com.
Many of them pay, but not all of them. If they pay I make it clear in my review. Most are open to submissions now, but not all of them.
The SFWA Blog
The official blog for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. They want nonfiction articles of interest to sci-fi/fantasy writers. They pay $0.10 a word on final draft word count. The articles they publish are usually between 800 and 1000 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
Author
An online magazine dedicated to writing, publishing and the creative process in general. They are teamed with the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association and they publish feature articles by new and established writers. They publish two types of articles. The first type is practical “How To” focused articles and the second type focuses on the more emotional, inspirational side of writing. To learn more, go here.
Funds for Writers
They pay $75 for articles about making a living as a writer. They are open to reprints, although they do pay less for them. Learn more here.
Writer’s Digest
This well-respected publication publishes a wide variety of articles that you can learn more about by going here, and scrolling down. They pay varying amounts depending on the content, and prefer pitches to articles written on spec.
Poets & Writers Magazine
The most established magazine for writers accepts a wide variety of articles. You can read their complete submission guidelines here. They are a paying market.
CRAFT
This respected literary journal also publishes essays on writing craft, critical essays, and book annotations. They pay between $50 and $100 for accepted pieces. Learn more here.
Electric Lit
Electric Lit publishes a wide variety of personal essays including essays focused on books, writing, storytelling, as well as interviews with writers and editors. They encourage authors submitting creative work to become a paying member to be able submit more often, which is not ideal, but this is not the case with submitters focused on interviews or cultural criticism. Learn more here. They are a paying market.
Lit Hub
A great website with a lot of readers, Lit Hub is open to a wide variety of pitches. Learn more here. It was created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature. Reports indicate that they pay, but it’s not clear how much, on their website.
Chill Subs
They publish articles and essays about “the windy, wonky, fun, weird, hair-pulling, frustrating, tricky, super-spectacular process of hunting down different journals, lit mags, zines, reviews, and so on to ask them to hang your poem, story, odd or end up on their internet fridge”. They pay $40 per piece, and accept 3 per month. You can learn more here.
Brevity Blog
Brevity is an established literary journal devoted to flash nonfiction, the Brevity Blog is focused on publishing articles related to writing of creative nonfiction. Their submission guidelines are here and this post contains additional tips for interested writers. Recently, Brevity Craft merged with Brevity Blog, you can read more about that here. And Brevity Magazine charges for creative nonfiction submissions, but not for the blog.
Submittable Content for Creatives
Submittable is the largest submission platform out there, and their discover blog, which helps writers find places to submit publishes “blog content for creatives! We’re interested in sharing your work about the publishing industry, creativity, digital media, literature, film, photography, and the arts.” They are not currently open to submissions but you can learn more here. They pay $50 per post.
The Artisanal Writer
This non-profit run online magazine publishes essays on the craft of writing as well as occasional book reviews. They now require everyone to make a free account to access their content. You can learn more about submitting here.
Freelance
They are the quarterly publication for members of The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild. They publish articles on the business and craft of writing. Pay is 20 cents per word. To learn more, go here.
The Hot Sheet
I’m a long-time subscriber to this publication by Jane Friedman. They cover the publishing industry in an interesting and engaging way. They pay very well, but you really need to be familiar with the newsletter before pitching them. They ask you to write them for links before pitching if you aren’t already familiar with what they publish. You can learn more here.
Lit Mag News
Another publication I’m a long time subscriber of, Lit Mag News is open to submissions from writers and editors about literary journals. They pay 50 for original pieces and 25 for reprints. Read all of the details here.
Authors Publish
We pay for articles about creative writing and publishing. We pay $50 for most feature articles and up to $150 for articles like this one (please pitch special issue articles first). To learn more, go here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2023 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
