Can you make a living writing about health?

Can you make a living writing about health? That all depends. People who specialize in health writing make anywhere from very little to well over six figures. Why would someone write about health for low pay? People do it all the time to boost their income through other means, such as getting more clients, patients or customers for their primary business. Many of the health columnists and health bloggers you see aren’t getting paid much to write, but their writing builds buzz and boosts their credibility as an authority in their field. Increasingly, this is the way to go, now that everyone can be a writer with the help of self-correcting computer software and easy access to online research.

But that isn’t what you asked. So yes, you can make a good living just by writing about health, if you work at it hard enough. Here’s how it breaks down.

• If you want to write for national magazines, the pay averages about $1 per word to a little over $2 per word. Smaller publications pay less, but often require less work and fewer rewrites. How much that turns out to be depends on how fast you can crank out professional copy. You may spend all week working on a complicated 2,000 word story, or you could write six pieces in that time. I have done both. (If you’re wondering how to get started as a freelance health writer, read up on the 12 Basic Hints for Magazine Health Writers.)
• Collaborating with an expert on a health book typically pays anywhere from $10,000 to $70,000 or more. Some make less, of course, depending on how the book is marketed. The time frame can be anywhere from eight weeks to a year. If you have the qualificaitons, you can write your own book, but if not, working with an expert adds clount and helps sell books.
• A regular health column or blog may pay a flat fee that equals less than the per word rate for an article in a major magazine. But it could pay off indirectly by giving you a higher profile and building the all important platform to sell your book or consulting or speaking business.
• Websites and Internet publications tend to pay less per word than print publications, even when a related print pub exists. $.50 per word is the average, although some pay more. Many pay less, but they tend to attract nonprofessional writers who just want to see their byline out there.
• More than ever, nonprofit medical associations and for-profit companies that sell health products,an such as diabetes equipment, vitamins, and pharmaceuticals, buy health and medical copy from freelance health writers. If you go this route, you may not see your byline in print — and you may not want to — but the checks will come in quick and steady. My colleagues who do this work say they have more control over projects and paychecks. I know several health and medical writers who easily make a six figure income by this type of writing alone.
• Medical copywriters rake in an average of $50 an hour to $200 per hour and up to write advertising material and direct mail letters.
• SEO health writing is the new kid on the block. More and more Internet publishers are looking for cheap but original health content to boost their search engine rankings. If you can build quick short health articles around key words, you can make a tidy income. The trick is not to spend too much time on each piece. Keep in mind the quality and fact-checking that you can expect from national magazine publishers is unheard of with this type of writing.

In future posts, I’ll go into more detail on these, but this will give you an idea of what’s not only possible but probable.

Happy Health Writing,

Kathy Summers