Thank you (and proud of you) for writing and publishing this. I know it wasn't easy, but you are saying and feeling what so many in this field think, feel, and say every damn day. The industry has been in a tailspin for years and it just continues to get harder to cobble together a decent living.
To be a journalist/writer is to love telling stories and you, my friend, are one of the best storytellers around. Thank you for your voice. Thank you for your perseverance. Thank you for speaking your truth. Thank you for being you.
(and I hope you get more paid subscribers out of this. you deserve it. 🤗)
Great piece. I’ll add to the transparency. I never made more than 40k in any given year as a full time food freelancer. I could have I suppose done corporate work etc to boost but wanted to focus only on food. If I’m gonna do corporate work I’ll do more lucrative corporate work with full benefits and make food my side gig as I do now.
One thing I do want to comment on tho is the assertion that publications don’t have sufficient funds. It’s true they don’t pay well but that’s because they took advantage of freelancers who didn’t understand or protect their value.
Trib is owned by a hedge fund
Time Out has the capital to invest millions in food halls
Condé Nast pays millions to executives and editors
Infatuation is owned by JP Morgan Chase
Vox had 600 million in revenue in 2022, tho reportedly down by 15% in 2023.
Etc etc
Yes the advertising models suck and revenue has declined no doubt. But the problem is all the overhead. That’s why agile orgs like say Block Club can succeed because they realize the investment is writers and reporters not in car service of huge salaries for their executives.
I do have empathy that if one is committed to do this thing it’s really hard not to accept the lower pay and just get on with it. I did it myself for a long time.
I hear that. Thanks for that clarification. I would argue editors are also carrying water for their publications. But also I have empathy for that as well because they’re in a tough spot too.
Great story Marge. Love this.. “there are just as many who do this work because they love and believe in it, full stop. So if you love to read, if you’ve ever felt changed—even a quarter of an inch—by a piece of written storytelling, if you care about truth-seeking, holding the powerful to account, and the survival of your city or town’s written histories, please support writers and journalists”
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
I love the realness here. Sadly, long gone are the days when we could afford a lavish apartment in NYC as a sex columnist (I blame Carrie for instilling this effortless image of the freelance writer). The reality is very different. Most of us scramble by, trying to make ends meet any way we can. I also get paid to write, but my writing is very unsexy. I ghostwrite for CEOs, spend a ridiculous amount of time on LinkedIn posts, and crank out landing page copy for real estate firms. Substack is my playground to create without attachments. One day, I hope I will make enough money from pure storytelling. That would be THE dream.
Carrie Bradshaw LIED! Thanks for this; I really, really understand how you feel. I hope you can get to that pure storytelling place one day (soon!) too. <3
Thank you for the transparency! It's so hard to be a journalist right now, especially with seemingly more and more companies wanting to "pay" with exposure.
Made me hungry reading this... Anyway, I moved away from per word rates when it became clear that I could earn more money riding a bike for Uber Eats or Deliveroo (article word rates have barely changed in 20 years, more than halving their value when accounting for inflation). Also, some words are worth more than others - the passcode for a vault containing $1m would sell for a few cents under the word rate system. However, the only way to move away from word count to a day rate was doing corporate work. :-/
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your experience. Ugh yes, I understand. It’s so broken. Somehow I keep scraping by enough to justify another year. I suppose there’s other fulfillment in it.
One of MANY reasons why AI is so dangerous. If companies barely pay hardworking writers, they can cut budget items by just using AI to write articles. And it's scary how good the writing from an AI app can be. I majored in English and later got a degree in Education. I couldn't be a writer for a living but I applaud those who are!
Thanks for this. I'm also a full-time food writer and because I need to make at least 50K in a bad year (I aim for 75), I do have to take corporate writing work and as a result I am well past the point of burnout. I really wish more editors would respect the value of true beat writers — people who are able to be absolute experts in food writing (or whatever) because they can live and breathe it as their full time job. But increasingly, that means paying more and more out of pocket in terms of both money and time, and that's even for those of us who do accept comped meals and media invites.
I know this indignation so well! And I’m sorry to hear it’s so exhausting. Having just had an exchange with an editor about conducting an extra interview in the edits round on a piece I only got $300 to begin with. Quality work should be valued and paid for. If it makes a difference, I’m grateful you work the way you do! 🫶🏻
i read these and think damn that’s so realistic but what about ppl like Rumi or poets on instagram or what about someone who writes for nail polish companies idk…it feels like the possible combinations are endless
They're better at it! I think if you are nimble and willing to think creatively and hustle and see all those possibilities, there are a million weird little ways to cobble together a living and hang onto integrity. Practice is sooo important as a writer.
Thank you (and proud of you) for writing and publishing this. I know it wasn't easy, but you are saying and feeling what so many in this field think, feel, and say every damn day. The industry has been in a tailspin for years and it just continues to get harder to cobble together a decent living.
To be a journalist/writer is to love telling stories and you, my friend, are one of the best storytellers around. Thank you for your voice. Thank you for your perseverance. Thank you for speaking your truth. Thank you for being you.
(and I hope you get more paid subscribers out of this. you deserve it. 🤗)
It's so true. But we storytellers just can't quit it! Thank you for the support and the LOVE and for doing what you do!
Great piece. I’ll add to the transparency. I never made more than 40k in any given year as a full time food freelancer. I could have I suppose done corporate work etc to boost but wanted to focus only on food. If I’m gonna do corporate work I’ll do more lucrative corporate work with full benefits and make food my side gig as I do now.
One thing I do want to comment on tho is the assertion that publications don’t have sufficient funds. It’s true they don’t pay well but that’s because they took advantage of freelancers who didn’t understand or protect their value.
Trib is owned by a hedge fund
Time Out has the capital to invest millions in food halls
Condé Nast pays millions to executives and editors
Infatuation is owned by JP Morgan Chase
Vox had 600 million in revenue in 2022, tho reportedly down by 15% in 2023.
Etc etc
Yes the advertising models suck and revenue has declined no doubt. But the problem is all the overhead. That’s why agile orgs like say Block Club can succeed because they realize the investment is writers and reporters not in car service of huge salaries for their executives.
I do have empathy that if one is committed to do this thing it’s really hard not to accept the lower pay and just get on with it. I did it myself for a long time.
Thanks for the support and for sharing your experience! To be clear, I said editors have insufficient funds, not publishers!
I hear that. Thanks for that clarification. I would argue editors are also carrying water for their publications. But also I have empathy for that as well because they’re in a tough spot too.
Tough spot--what a concept! 🫠
I miss your old food blog. I learned to love eggplant from your mother’s Eggplant Parmesan recipe.
That's a very good recipe! Do you have it still? I actually republished it here in 2021: https://www.salon.com/2021/06/12/my-favorite-simplest-eggplant-parm-yep-this-recipe-is-as-easy-as-it-gets/
I came for the freelancer rate transparency, but I'm staying for the eggplant parm recipe! Excited to try it out x
As dictated by my mother! It’s effing delicious and basically foolproof. Pls lemme know if you make it! <3
By the way, that will be a first when I return home.
It's the most comforting!
I’m in Prague at the moment, so at the moment mother’s Eggplant Parmesan sound's fabulous! 🤣
Thank you for sharing.
"[E]mpathy and critical thinking, self-love and self-loathing"—yes!
And curiosity, forever ♥️
Great story Marge. Love this.. “there are just as many who do this work because they love and believe in it, full stop. So if you love to read, if you’ve ever felt changed—even a quarter of an inch—by a piece of written storytelling, if you care about truth-seeking, holding the powerful to account, and the survival of your city or town’s written histories, please support writers and journalists”
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Reading this before bed tonight. :)
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
I love the realness here. Sadly, long gone are the days when we could afford a lavish apartment in NYC as a sex columnist (I blame Carrie for instilling this effortless image of the freelance writer). The reality is very different. Most of us scramble by, trying to make ends meet any way we can. I also get paid to write, but my writing is very unsexy. I ghostwrite for CEOs, spend a ridiculous amount of time on LinkedIn posts, and crank out landing page copy for real estate firms. Substack is my playground to create without attachments. One day, I hope I will make enough money from pure storytelling. That would be THE dream.
Carrie Bradshaw LIED! Thanks for this; I really, really understand how you feel. I hope you can get to that pure storytelling place one day (soon!) too. <3
Thank you for the transparency! It's so hard to be a journalist right now, especially with seemingly more and more companies wanting to "pay" with exposure.
Utter nonsense! And you’re so welcome! ❤️
This is amazing. And thank you for sharing everything you did. This is remarkably eye opening and insightful. ❤️
I'm so glad it was helpful! <3
Made me hungry reading this... Anyway, I moved away from per word rates when it became clear that I could earn more money riding a bike for Uber Eats or Deliveroo (article word rates have barely changed in 20 years, more than halving their value when accounting for inflation). Also, some words are worth more than others - the passcode for a vault containing $1m would sell for a few cents under the word rate system. However, the only way to move away from word count to a day rate was doing corporate work. :-/
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your experience. Ugh yes, I understand. It’s so broken. Somehow I keep scraping by enough to justify another year. I suppose there’s other fulfillment in it.
One of MANY reasons why AI is so dangerous. If companies barely pay hardworking writers, they can cut budget items by just using AI to write articles. And it's scary how good the writing from an AI app can be. I majored in English and later got a degree in Education. I couldn't be a writer for a living but I applaud those who are!
We need beings capable of original thought more than ever! 🙏🏻 for championing high-quality storytelling.
Thanks for this. I'm also a full-time food writer and because I need to make at least 50K in a bad year (I aim for 75), I do have to take corporate writing work and as a result I am well past the point of burnout. I really wish more editors would respect the value of true beat writers — people who are able to be absolute experts in food writing (or whatever) because they can live and breathe it as their full time job. But increasingly, that means paying more and more out of pocket in terms of both money and time, and that's even for those of us who do accept comped meals and media invites.
I know this indignation so well! And I’m sorry to hear it’s so exhausting. Having just had an exchange with an editor about conducting an extra interview in the edits round on a piece I only got $300 to begin with. Quality work should be valued and paid for. If it makes a difference, I’m grateful you work the way you do! 🫶🏻
i read these and think damn that’s so realistic but what about ppl like Rumi or poets on instagram or what about someone who writes for nail polish companies idk…it feels like the possible combinations are endless
They're better at it! I think if you are nimble and willing to think creatively and hustle and see all those possibilities, there are a million weird little ways to cobble together a living and hang onto integrity. Practice is sooo important as a writer.
1. why in your opinion is practice so important as a writer?
2. what counts as practice or writing ?
love to hear your thoughts! thank you
This is very insightful. Thank you for sharing these details.
My pleasure! I’m glad it’s helpful