2022 Freelance Income Report: Q4

Recurring Stomach Pain? It Could Be Abdominal Migraines

For Discover, I wrote about abdominal migraines. Initially, this was pitched to one of the science editors face-to-face during a pitch session. It was my first time doing it for the American Society of Journalists and Authors, or ASJA. One of the perks of being an ASJA member is twice a year they get a bunch of top editors and you can sign up for an appointment slot with them and meet them over Zoom. I was terrified to do it and almost backed out (I didn’t even have a pitch ready until that day). It was initially pitched as a feature exploring the path it took to get Olivia a migraine diagnosis. He said it was a fascinating topic and something that could wind up in their print magazine, but in the end, it became a shorter explainer for their digital site. A bit disappointing, but it was still amazing to be able to write for them. I was paid $300 for this article.

How to prepare for a CLIA certification inspection

This was my third project for McKesson Med-Surg, working with the prestigious content agency, Contently. In fact, my “in” with Contently was doing a series of articles on different dog breeds for Chewy (I’m a health writer, but I still stand confident that they were my favorite pieces to write. Anyway, this CLIA article was definitely not my favorite to write. Don’t even read it. It’s written for laboratory professionals. But what stood out to me with this piece, was it was the most technical, most complicated piece I’ve ever written and I survived it. I was paid $1,000 for this article.

Summer Yeast Infections

I’ve appeared in print magazines technically three other times, once for Military Families Magazine, and twice for the Hemophilia Federation of America’s Dateline magazine. But this was the first time I held a print magazine with my name on it. And the subject matter could not be sexier. Turns out, I’m not a “fluff” writer. I had a lot of trouble finding “hard evidence” for the tips in this article. Basically, nothing I wrote was backed by science and the editing process was a bit rough. The editor never asked me to do another assignment (oops), and I didn’t think it was worth it for the money. Still, it was pretty cool getting featured in Women’s World. I was paid $450 for this piece.

Photojournalist-Turned-Nurse Documents Realities of COVID

After a few emails back and forth, with the Medscape editor, I landed the opportunity to write a short profile for the site. I got to interview a fellow nurse and had so much content I wanted to include for this piece. The article was edited down even further after I submitted it, but it was definitely fun to write and share this nurse’s story. I also chose the photos for the slideshow linked in the article. I was paid $525 for this profile.

2022 Slumber Cloud Review: Bedding and Mattress Pads

For Healthline, I was given the opportunity to do a review piece on actual items sent to me. I’ve done a ton of reviews for Healthline, but never on a specific product to try out. The company sent me a cooling pillow and pillow case, a cooling mattress pad, cooling sheets, AND a cooling bedspread. All of it retailed for over $600 and I got to keep everything. In fact, I’ve been looking at buying a second sheet set since these sheets are all we’ve been using for the last nine months. The editor offered me $350 and I countered with $450, and she said she could do $400.

Pregnancy Prep

For the Hemophilia Federation of America’s quarterly member association magazine, I wrote my second feature, which was also the cover feature (my article is page 23). Just as it was last time, it was what I called a passion project. My favorite pieces involve interviewing non-expert sources, just people who have a story to share. It was still a lot of work. Four interviews, plus interviewing two medical experts, and then I needed to take all that information and put it into some sort of engaging article. They’re one of my favorite clients to work with. I was paid $1,000 for this article.

Here’s how simple mindfulness can be

This was my second article for Boston Globe’s content arm, Studio/B. This was client #2 I picked up by doing a face-to-face session with the editor for the ASJA pitch session. They’ve been wonderful to work with, and this was definitely an involved project. It involved reviewing the research of a neuroscientist and interviewing her and then spending 20 days listening to a ten-minute mindfulness video and writing about my experience. I also worked with the design team on creating an infographic to go with the article. As a freelancer, I’m not usually involved much with a team, so it was fun getting to be a part of that. I was paid $2,300 for the article and infographic copy.

How to Manage Psychosocial Challenges of Pediatric Narcolepsy

I haven’t written a ton of B2B content or content geared toward medical professionals. Usually, I focus on writing pieces for a consumer audience. But when an editor with Sleep Review, a journal for sleep experts, put out a call in one of my writing groups, I decided to email her to take one of the articles up for grabs. I interviewed a bunch of sleep professionals and thought the article turned out pretty well. She offered $425 and I countered for $500 and it was accepted.

Can You Take Melatonin During Pregnancy?

When my Sleep Review article was published in September, I posted it on LinkedIn. A few days later, I sent a follow-up email to an editor for Saatva, a mattress company, to write for their blog. I had been following up with her for several months, checking in if there were articles I could help with. This time, she wrote back quickly and said she just came across my Sleep Review article and had two articles she wanted to assign me. She offered $450 and I countered with $550 and she accepted. I’ve since written four more articles for her and she’s been one of my best clients.

The NP Will See You Now: Clinic Staffed by Nurses Provides Primary Care

My second article with Medscape was more involved than the nurse profile, with more interviews, geared toward healthcare professionals. The nurse practitioner-run clinic is actually based in Minnesota, so it was pretty cool doing the interviews and research for this. And then I found out later while on the phone with the editor discussing another story that this one was one of her best stories, with the most engagement. So… go me. I was paid $1,050 for this article.