Many people enjoy writing poetry as a form of self-expression or a way to capture a moment in time.
But you may not know that you can actually get paid to write poetry!
Many websites pay you for published poems, and we found you can earn anywhere between $10 and $500 per submission piece.
Wouldn’t an extra $500 make a world of difference for your bills or your next vacation? You can get paid for writing and make extra thousands per year.
In this blog post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about getting paid to write poetry, including where to submit your work and how much you can expect to earn.
Quick Picks
Before we get into our full list, here’s a list of sites for poetry submissions and freelance poetry writing for you to consider at the top of your list:
- Highest Paying – VQR
- Quickest to Get Published – FlexJobs
- Accepts Mailed Submissions – Fun for Kidz
- Accepts Year-round Submissions – Rattle
Join the #1 job site to find vetted remote, work from home, and flexible job opportunities since 2007.
How to Get Started
Ready to get started making money writing poems? Here’s what you need to know to get paid to write poetry.
The first thing you need to do is start writing and refining your poems. Once you have a few poems ready, it’s time to start researching and submitting them to the best sites that pay for poetry.
If you’re looking for extra help with writing, you could read an eBook like Freelance Write For Home. This will teach you the basics of being a freelance writer, creating quality content, and helping you hone your craft.
The best part is that the possibilities are endless once you know how to write a poem. You can submit your poems to publications, enter poetry contests, or even start your own blog or podcast.
All it takes is a little bit of practice and perseverance.
Get Paid To Write Poems
So, where should you start?
There are many websites that accept submissions from poets, but not all of them are created equal. Some only accept submissions from certain countries, while others charge submission fees.
From poetry contests to literary journals, here are 25 of the best sites to write poetry online:
1. Steady
Pay: $10+
Timeline: Instant
Submission Period: Year-round
Steady is an app that has freelance writing jobs for poets. You can submit poetry and earn money!
Steady accepts both contemporary poetry as well as visual poems.
Companies post job requests, and you can apply for them. You set your own rate, and the app matches you with companies looking for poetry.
Plus, you’ll receive job notifications, so you’ll automatically be notified when new poetry gigs are posted!
Read our Steady App Review to learn about other freelance opportunities and making money through poetry submissions.
2. FlexJobs
Pay: $10+
Timeline: Instant
Submission Period: Year-round
FlexJobs is an excellent website for finding freelance creative jobs. It offers writing, editing, and publishing positions across many industries.
In the poetry section of FlexJobs, you can find opportunities to write poems for blog posts or websites. You’ll be able to set your own rate, and the platform provides a great way to connect with potential employers.
Unlike other websites, the jobs posted on FlexJobs are thoroughly vetted to make sure they’re legit opportunities, so you can be sure that you won’t be taken advantage of.
Read our FlexJobs Review to find out about poetry submissions and other freelance writing jobs that pay over $15 an hour.
3. Upwork
Pay: $10+
Timeline: Instant
Submission Period: Year-round
Upwork is a website where you can find freelance work as a writer. You can either post your own gigs or apply for already available ones.
The site is a great way to find employers who need help with their poetry projects. You can negotiate your rate and use the platform’s messaging system to communicate with potential clients.
4. Fiverr
Pay: $10+
Timeline: Instant
Submission Period: Year-round
Fiverr is an online marketplace where you can offer your services as a poet and more and get paid as a freelancer.
You can post your poetry offerings and be paid for each one you complete and contacted by potential clients looking for art pieces.
Many clients are looking for poets to provide contemporary poetry for greeting cards, to publish in a literary magazine, or on a poetry blog.
You set your own prices, and the platform makes it easy to manage projects. It’s also a great way to connect with potential clients worldwide, and build a portfolio to display your work!
5. Freelancer
Pay: $10+
Timeline: Instant
Submission Period: Year-round
Freelancer is a website where companies can post poetry and creative writing jobs, as well as you can offer services to write poems.
The best part is you can set your own rates and apply for as many gigs as you have time for.
6. AGNI
Pay: $40 per poem; maximum $300 per submission period
Timeline: 2 – 4 months
Submission Period: September – December; February – May
AGNI is a website that publishes creative literature. The site is open to submissions of previously unpublished poems, and you can get paid $40 for your work if it gets accepted.
AGNI will accept up to five poems to review at a time, and poems can be submitted either on their online portal or via mail.
If you submit poems through their online portal, there is a $3 submission fee for each poem.
7. Rattle
Pay: $200 per poem published in print, $100 per poem published online
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Submission Period: Year-round
Rattle is a website and printed magazine that publishes over 300 poems a year!
You can submit your work to the website, and if it gets accepted, you get paid $100 if it’s published on their website and $200 if it’s published in print.
Rattle also offers an annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor with a $2,000 prize. All submissions are automatically entered to win!
Submissions can take anywhere from 1 to 6 months to be reviewed and published; however, they do have a weekly poetry call for poems based on current events that have a quicker turnaround time and pay $100.
Rattle takes submissions both online and via mail, and all submissions are free. Poets can submit up to 4 previously unpublished poems at a time.
8. VQR
Pay: $200 per poem
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Submission Period: Year-round
VQR is a prestigious publication that publishes high-quality poetry and other creative works. They pay $200 per poem, and you can submit up to four poems can be submitted each time.
They accept unpublished submissions year-round; however, they receive up to 10,000 submissions a year, so it may take up to 6 months to get a response.
VQR only admits submissions online and charges a $3 submission fee through Submittable.
9. Poetry Magazine
Pay: $10 per line, up to $300 per poem
Timeline: 1 – 8 months
Submission Period: Year-round
Poetry Magazine is the oldest monthly magazine in the literary world, and it publishes some of the most beautiful poetry under the Poetry Foundation.
You can submit one poem at a time, and if you’ve been published in the magazine during the year, they ask that you wait for a year before submitting again.
Unlike other websites, Poetry Magazine does accept poems in languages other than English. They ask for translations, if possible, for the editorial staff to review.
Poetry Magazine accepts online submissions and charges a $3 fee through Submittable. Due to the high volume of submissions, it may take up to 8 months to get a response.
10. Subtropics
Pay: $100 per poem
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Submission Period: September
Subtropics is a literary journal of The University of Florida, which is published seasonally. They accept original poem submissions during select periods throughout the year.
If your poem is selected, they’ll pay you $100 per poem and accept up to 4 poems at a time for a max total of $400.
Poetry submissions are only accepted online through Submittable and require a $3 submission fee.
11. Black Warrior Review
Pay: $100 – $220 per poem, depending on the length
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Submission Period: December – March; June – September
Black Warrior Review is a literary magazine through the University of Alabama. They publish poems of sociopolitical and emotional immediacy.
You can submit up to 5 poems at a time, and they accept submissions twice a year: December 1 through March 1 and June 1 through September 1.
Submissions are sent through Submittable with a $3 fee; however, if you’re Black, Indigenous, or Incarcerated, they’ll waive the fee.
12. swamp pink (Formally CrazyHorse)
Pay: $40 per poem
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Open through January 1
swamp pink (a section of CrazyHorse) is a literary magazine in Charleston that publishes poetry semi-monthly.
In February 2022, they announced they were changing their name to be more reflective of the Carolinas and chose swamp pink, a perennial member of the lily family that’s indigenous to the Carolinas.
swamp pink pays $40 a poem, with a maximum payout of $200. They accept sets of 3-6 poems per submission.
Submissions can be sent through Submittable with a $3 reading fee.
13. Threepenny Review
Pay: $200 per poem, maximum of five poems submitted
Timeline: 2 days – 2 months
Submission Period: January – April
The Threepenny Review is a national literary magazine that’s published quarterly. They have an open submission policy and publish poetry from both emerging and established writers.
If your poem is accepted, you’ll receive $200 per poem, and they accept up to 5 poems during the submission period.
Unlike other literary magazines, Threepenny Review requests that submissions not be simultaneously submitted to other publications during the review period.
However, their review period can be significantly shorter than other publications, with some poems being reviewed as quickly as 2 days after being submitted!
Threepenny Review accepts submissions from January 1 through April 30th on their online submission site.
14. Alaska Quarterly Review
Pay: $10 – $50
Timeline: 4 – 12 weeks
Submission Period: September – October; March
The Alaska Quarterly Review is a literary journal published in the United States. They publish poems of all styles and lengths and pay $50 per poem.
You can submit up to 6 poems at a time during their submission period, which is open for a few weeks in September, October and March.
Submissions are only accepted online through Submittable and have a $3 fee per submission.
15. The Sun Magazine
Pay: $150+
Timeline: 1 – 3 months
Submission Period: Year-round
The Sun Magazine is a bimonthly print magazine published since 1974. They publish personal essays, short stories, and poems from both established and emerging writers.
You can submit up to 5 poems at a time, and if accepted, you receive a minimum of $150 per poem.
Submissions are sent through Submittable with a $2.50 fee and are reviewed between 1 and 3 months.
16. U.S. Kids Magazine
Pay: $25+ per poem
Timeline: within 90 days
Submission Period: Year-round
If you like writing poetry for kids, consider submitting your poetry to U.S. Kids Magazine!
U.S Kid’s Magazine Humpty Dumpty is looking for poems that appeal to readers 2 to 6 years old.
They pay $25 and up per poem. Submissions are continuously accepted and are to be sent through the mail
17. Ruminate
Pay: $20 per page
Timeline: 1 – 6 months
Submission Period: Varies
Ruminate Magazine is a print journal that publishes previously unpublished poetry.
You can submit an unlimited number of your own poetry, and if accepted, you’ll be paid $20 per page.
Ruminate has a small staff, so that that submission times will vary throughout the year, so the best way to know when to submit is by checking their submissions website for updates.
18. EPOCH Magazine
Pay: $100 – $500 per poem, depending on the length
Timeline: 3 months
Submission Period: Electronic: August – January; Mail: September – February
EPOCH is a magazine edited by students and faculty at Cornell University since 1947. EPOCH publishes fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and graphic art twice a year.
There are two different ways to submit your poetry to EPOCH:
One is online poetry submissions, which are accepted from August through January each year. The fee for submitting is $3, which is donated to the Cornell Prison Education Program.
EPOCH does have a free-submission weekend each submission period, which they’ll announce on their Instagram and Twitter with details.
The other way to submit your work is through the mail, which is accepted between September and February. There’s no fee for submitting poetry through the mail.
EPOCH usually reviews submissions for up to 3 months before publishing, and if your poem is selected, they pay up to $500 per poem!
19. The Iowa Review
Pay: $1.50 per line, $100 minimum per poem
Timeline: 1 year
Submission Period: August – October
The Iowa Review publishes poetry from emerging poets. They have two different ways to submit poetry: during their non-contest period or their annual poetry contest, The Iowa Review Awards.
For non-contest entries, The Iowa Review accepts submissions from August through October through Submittable. Each poet may submit up to 8 pages of poetry, and if accepted, The Iowa Review will pay up to $1.50 per line, with a $100 minimum per poem.
20. Blue Mountain Arts
Pay: $100 – $350
Timeline: Biannually
Submission Period: by December 31
Blue Mountain Arts host a biannual poetry contest that can pay up to $350 to the winner!
They are looking for poems that address a broad range of topics, such as love, friendship, inspiration, and positivity. They welcome both rhyming and non-rhyming poems but do recommend that non-rhyming poems usually read better.
The judges in Colorado review poems for their originality and uniqueness and award the top 3 poems with monetary awards!
21. Iron Horse Review
Pay: $50
Timeline: Varies
Submission Period: January – March
The Iron Horse Literary Review is a literary journal that publishes poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction.
They have both regular submissions and contests throughout the year, with each contest having a different theme.
When submitting to Iron Horse Literary Review, you can submit up to 5 poems, and if accepted, you’ll receive $50 per poem. Submissions are made through Submittable with a fee of $3 per poem.
Iron Horse only accepts previously unpublished poetry; however, they accept simultaneous submissions.
22. Fun for Kidz
Pay: $10+ per poem
Timeline: Varies
Submission Period: Year-round
Fun for Kidz is a magazine that publishes short poems, short stories, and puzzles for kids ages 6 to 12 years old. They publish 6 themed issues a year.
They accept poems year-round and publish them based on how they fit into the issue’s theme. Fun for Kidz pays a minimum of $10 per poem.
23. Arc Poetry Magazine
Pay: $50 per page
Timeline: 4 – 6 months
Submission Period: April – July; September – December
Arc Poetry Magazine is a Canadian-based magazine that publishes poems and runs poetry contests. They publish two issues of their magazine a year, a Summer and Winter version.
Arc takes submissions online through Submittable and limits the submissions to 3 poems (or 360) per person per year. In addition to poetry, Arc also accepts visual poetry and concrete poetry.
If your poetry is published, Arc pays $50 per published page and a free copy of the issue in which the poem was published.
24. The Cincinnati Review
Pay: $30 per page
Timeline: 6 months
Submission Period: September, December, and May
The Cincinnati Review is a literary journal by The University of Cincinnati that is published 2 times a year. The journal includes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and graphic art.
The Cincinnati Review accepts poetry submissions there times a year. Unlike other publications, The Cincinnati Review will close submissions as soon as they reach their limit, so it’s essential to submit early.
Poems should be submitted through their internal submissions website, and if your work is published, they will pay $30 per page of poetry.
25. Grain Magazine
Pay: $50+
Timeline: 6 months
Submission Period: September – June
Grain Magazine is a Canadian-based literary journal published four times a year. They publish engaging, surprising, challenging, and eclectic art by both Canadian and International Authors.
Grain Magazine will accept up to 6 pages of poetry per submission and will pay $50 per page, with a maximum of $250.
Things to Consider
While writing poetry is creative writing, there are some things to consider when submitting poetry online.
Submission Requirements
Many publications and sites will have specific requirements and deadlines for submitting poetry. From font size to requiring author bios, it is important to make sure you read and understand the guidelines.
Copyright
Many online poetry publications require authors to transfer their poems’ copyright when submitting them. Read the terms and conditions carefully to understand what rights you retain over your work.
Special Accommodations
Many poetry journals have special accommodations for those unable to submit via the online form. Check with the submission website on accommodations and alternative ways to submit your work, like through the mail.
One thing to keep in mind when sending submissions through the mail is that you will want to make a copy of the poem in case the original gets lost or damaged.
FAQs
How old do I need to be to get paid to write poetry online?
Most websites accept submissions from people of all ages, but some may require that you are at least 18 years old to submit. It’s always best to double-check each website’s submission guidelines before submitting.
Many publications are affiliated with Universities and require that submissions aren’t from students and alums, so it’s important to check if that’s the case.
Do I need to submit poems online?
No, you don’t necessarily need to submit poems online. Some publications allow you to submit via mail; however, they may take longer to receive and review your work.
It’s important to check the submission guidelines on each website before submitting.
What is an unpublished poem?
An unpublished poem is a poem that has not been published or released to the public. It can be any type of poem which you have written and has not been previously published in any way.
Sharing a poem on social media does count as a published poem.
Can I submit the same poem to multiple sites?
Yes, you can submit the same poem to multiple websites. However, some websites may ask for exclusive rights to your poem; if accepted, your poem cannot be submitted elsewhere.
If a poem you submitted to multiple publications is accepted, you can notify the editors of the other publications, and they will allow you to withdraw your poem. It’s best to check the terms and conditions of each website before submitting.
What are unsolicited submissions?
Unsolicited submissions are when you submit your work to a publication that has not asked for it. Many publications will state they don’t accept unsolicited submissions, and you should always check the submission guidelines before submitting.
Submitting unsolicited work could be seen as spam and damage your reputation as a writer, so it’s important to ensure you follow all the rules for each publication.
Who owns the rights to my poem?
Typically, when you submit your poem to a publication, they own the rights to your work.
However, some publications may agree to let you retain partial or full rights and will include this in their terms and conditions of the submission process.
Final Thoughts
Writing poems for money can be a great way to earn some extra income.
With the right preparation and research into which publication best suits your style, you can start submitting your work and getting paid for it.
Your writing is worth a lot, and if you’re lucky, you could earn extra money every month with your work.
Always read the submission guidelines carefully before submitting and ensure you are being compensated fairly for your work.
And if you’re joining FlexJobs to find poetry work, consider other freelancing jobs like blog writing, proofreading, and more!
Join the #1 job site to find vetted remote, work from home, and flexible job opportunities since 2007.