Let me start this off by saying that--I get it. Finding writing jobs that pay is hard, especially as a student. But it's not impossible.

In many Filipino schools, writing and journalism are top priorities. Students are trained for hours to produce a stellar article in an hour or less for competitions--minimal revisions, no grammar mistakes, and sometimes without fact sheets. That is the training most young Filipino journalists have to go through.

That is also why most Filipino teen Journalists are often looking for opportunities to use this skill to earn money. However, branching out of something that was once merely extracurricular into the real world can be challenging.

Here are 4 tried and tested tips for young Filipino writers--that actually pay!

Submit to Literary Magazines

There are three ways to make money through writing. Firstly, through literary magazines. Secondly, through literary competitions, and thirdly, through academic or literary commissions. The latter two are usually present in Facebook groups, while the former is usually found through researching the internet. Here are some of my suggested magazines for young Filipino writers:

1. Transit Dialog

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Transit is a virtual space where conversations and evolving ideas meet through words, art, and design.

Transit Dialog is a Facebook-based literary magazine. It's open to contributors all year round and accepts creative nonfiction and short stories from writers all over the world. Most published pieces are written in English, but it doesn't shy away from using Tagalog words here and there. It's a great magazine to be published in, as it gets regular attention from its loyal readers--you can even get comments on your work!

Transit focuses more on personal insights, experiences, and ruminations about the environment that we thrive in. According to a Medium article by the editor-in-chief, Silvestre 'Yong' Afable, it welcomes opinions, feelings, and beliefs, and encourages writers to write as they are.

We have agreed to talk and write about emotions, feelings and beliefs. Call it the journey in flux or the ether that changes course every nanosecond. We are there, imperfect and in transit. We try to sing the beauty in that, and laugh and cry about it.

To submit, you must first email them through transitdialog@gmail.com for them to send you the specific instructions on how to become a contributor. They pay a small token of 1,000 pesos with every accepted piece.

2. Philippine Daily Inquirer - Young Blood

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Coverage of breaking news and current headlines from the Philippines and around the world.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer is one of the leading newspaper companies in the Philippines, which is why it is a great honor and a splendid start for any young writer to be published in it. On the other hand, Young Blood is a separate special opinion column dedicated to Filipino youth under 30 and published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

Young Blood is looking for pieces that express the voice of the Filipino youth. It's advisable that the pieces you submit tackle societal issues or problems you have firsthand experience with and want to advocate for.

When I first submitted to Young Blood, I only referred to this Medium blog, and it got me published on my first try. So let me briefly summarize the things you need to keep in mind before submitting your piece:

How to Submit

Firstly, your essay must be between 4,300 to 5,500 characters or roughly 800 - 1,000 words. 800 is usually the sweet spot.

Secondly, write your essay in the body of the email. Do not send in a Word or PDF file. Remember, these editors usually handle a significant number of essay submissions weekly all over the country; the more convenient your submission is, the more likely you are to get read and published.

Thirdly, write in the subject line: Contribution to Young Blood. Then, before your essay, include your name, age, title, word count, and a short author bio. Follow that up with a line break and the words 'Beginning of Essay.' End it with a simple 'End of Essay' and a line break (***).

This is the format I usually go by when submitting for Young Blood. For a more detailed and visualized format, check out this Medium blog.

After Submitting

They don't inform you when your piece has been published, so check the column every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Don't worry, most pieces are published after several months, sometimes even years. Don't immediately assume your submission has been rejected after not seeing your name in the column for only a couple of weeks.

Once you have been published, Young Blood pays 1,000 pesos per published piece. To claim it, email Young Blood with the subject line: Inquiry About Contributor Payment and ask for the steps to claim your payment. You will then be redirected to another person whom you will email one month after the publication. Please keep in mind that this information is as of the years 2024-2025.

3. Bagong Liwayway

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Nangungunang Magasing Pampanitikan Sa Bansa.

Bagong Liwayway is a reputable literary magazine available in both print and online. It releases issues monthly and focuses on the Filipino experience. If you look at their website, you can see that they value deep, eloquent Filipino writing. According to a Facebook Post on their page, they give out a 'modest contribution fee' for each published piece, which will then be sent to the writer's bank account.

Bagong Liwayway accepts short stories, novellas, children's stories, poems, essays, reviews, press releases, and photos. Remember that these are all in the Filipino language only; check their website and this post for more information. To submit, email them at bagongliwayway@gmail.com with a Microsoft Word file in the .docx format. In the body of the email, attach a 3-sentence bio-note and a profile picture in PNG or JPEG.

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Engage With Facebook Communities

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I also engaged with multiple Facebook writing groups as I submitted for the above magazines. Facebook writing groups such as Filipino Writers and Padayon Manunulat, have a lot of posts looking for submissions to their literary magazines. There are also instances where people look for Senior High School/High School writers as Apprentice Writers in remote work, offering to pay a decent amount--just enough for extra pocket money.

By engaging with multiple communities, you are broadening your scope and actively looking for more opportunities.

Competitions

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Sometimes people also post announcements to literary competitions. Some of these are outside the country, but there are also a lot from the Philippines. Make sure to watch out for these announcements, as they could offer you not just money and publication, but also exposure.

There are a ton of Philippine-based writing competitions that you can join. Some recently concluded ones are the F. Sionil Literary Awards and Leoncio P. Deriada Awards.

As of June 2025, the 73rd Carlos Memorial Palanca Awards for literature is open for submission until June 30th. It opened on May 20th. Under the Kabataan Essay/Sanaysay category, Filipino youths under 18 have a chance to participate in the competition and win. The third-place prize goes up to 4,000 pesos; second place gets 7,000 pesos; first place gets 11,000 pesos.

Commissions

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There are a bunch of ways you can make money through literary commissions without even making a blog. For most of us youth, buying a website domain just to "build your name" and find writing commissions through cold email pitches and such is old news and out of the picture. Aside from the fact that we don't have the money for it, there isn't even a guarantee that the opportunity is available for us just because we are young.

That said, here are some more ways I made money through literary commissions without a blog:

1.) Wattpad

Okay, now this is unheard of. It is definitely playing the long game with Wattpad, but if you are lucky and motivated enough, you might be able to strike some gold. I recommend using this when you are young, around 11 or 15, so that you have enough time to do what you want without the stakes that come with being an older teen.

I know this because I am nearing 17, and aside from worrying about my passion projects for writing and ways to make money through writing, I also have to worry about entrance exams, graduation, and college. So while you have more free time, it's best to start with something like Wattpad.

When you make it big on Wattpad, you can be published. During my time there, I remember following the Community Happenings book and just keeping in touch with competitions. But making it big on Wattpad is hard, especially with the tight competition.

If you'd like, you can start by posting your stories and gaining as many likes, comments, and reads as you can get. If it's eligible enough for some of Wattpad's competitions and events, you are faced with publication opportunities that come with royalties and money.

But how did I make money on Wattpad without being a "big" writer?

It's easy: Make a community. During my time, I wasn't entirely known for my posted stories. Instead, people knew me for my critiques and active engagement with book clubs.

I had posted a "Critique Shop" where writers can submit their stories for me to read and review. This is a good thing for me since I liked reviewing books for fun--or even just reading book reviews of books I've never even heard of. It's a nice way to burn time, but it doesn't really make money.

But because I had made connections through that small community, eventually, some of my most loyal "customers" offered to give me small donations for every review I had given them. This is how I started earning money on Wattpad--through donations in exchange for my quality book reviews. Being a Filipino writer was especially helpful for me during this time, as it allowed me to target the Filipino community on Wattpad as well as make more meaningful connections.

Eventually, I moved out of Wattpad and left a simple website link to Fiverr, where I earned more.

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Remember: "Walang Mawawala"

The best advice I could ever give to any writer who wants to publish their work "out there" is to remember that it will cost you literally nothing.

Sure, some competitions and magazines require you to pay before submitting, but thousands more don't do that.

I have seen so many writers who could be literary legends if they wanted to. They are miles better than I or anyone else. But because they fear rejection, their works seldom get published and read by people.

Remember this: The only thing setting a writer apart from a published writer is that the published one had more courage.

It isn't really a problem of skill, just a question of "would you do it?" There are no risks, so what's stopping you? Go and find the success you want!