* The magazine: Prestigious magazines like *Weird Tales* paid more than less-known publications.
* The writer's experience and reputation: Established authors could command higher prices than newcomers.
* The length and type of story: Longer stories and serialized novels generally fetched higher rates.
* The popularity of the genre: Some genres, like detective fiction or science fiction, might pay better than others.
General Ranges:
* Newcomers: Might earn $2-5 per published magazine page.
* Established writers: Could earn $10-20 per page, or even more for popular authors.
Additional Considerations:
* Word count: Payment was often based on word count rather than page length.
* Advance payments: Some magazines might offer an advance payment upon acceptance of a story.
* Re-publication rights: Writers could earn additional income if their stories were reprinted in anthologies or other publications.
* Royalty payments: Some magazines offered royalty payments based on the number of copies sold, though this was less common.
Example:
A popular pulp author like H.P. Lovecraft might earn $15-20 per published page for a story in *Weird Tales*. A new writer submitting a short story to a lesser-known magazine might only get $2-3 per page.
It's important to remember that these were very low rates compared to today's standards, and many pulp writers struggled financially. The industry was highly competitive, and there was constant pressure to produce fast and cheap.
Further Research:
For more specific information on individual magazines or writers, you can consult books and articles about the pulp fiction era, as well as online databases like the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFD).