I've been throwing out my query nets left and right, and I've been making some catches as of late. A problem I'm still consistently finding however is that there are a lot of sites out there that look really professional and don't explicitly say they're looking for volunteers only.

I don't know about you guys but I just hate getting an interested email back from an editor and then only after having them offer you a position have them say, "Oh, we don't pay though."

As such, I propose we create a list of sites that we know pay. Even if it's barely anything, it might be nice to have a compilation of the venues that we know will give you something more tangible then "valuable experience." :)

I'll start:

TheGameReviews.com- Pay depends on the kind of article you're writing. I do mostly features and get 7 bucks a piece. Reviews pay 10. You also get bonuses depending on how many views your articles get, which can be nice if you manage to strike a popular topic. One article of mine last year raked in 40,000 views and I was subsequently paid about a 100 dollars for it.

StrategyInformer.com- I did hold a paid, non-writing, staff position with them at one point but unfortunately recession forced them to let me go. That said, they still pay me as a freelancer to write. They started me off writing editorials at about 20 dollars a piece, though after some time I was able to negotiate that up a bit. I would suggest submitting here. The owner and editor are really nice guys, the site is very nice and they could really use some good editorials. I am basically responsible for a good half of the opinion pieces they've published since that section opened up and as of late, I've been lacking any sort of opinions to write about.

GamesRadar- We all know this site and if you are able to come up with funny, succinct features they'll buy them off of you. Similarly, if you have a knack for reviewing games in under 600 words they'd like you. I was told they pay between 100-150 for reviews depending on the prominence of the game, and recently I sold them a feature for 250 dollars.

The Escapist pays 25 cents a word for features and is very freelancer friendly. Their flat-fee review and column rates aren't as high, but they're quite reasonable. You'll have to break in with a good pitch/idea.

Cheat Code Central pays based on a writer's experience, ability, and time with the site, but I believe they're pretty full up on writers at the moment.

ProjectLore.com (World of Warcraft site) pays per post, 250 word minimum. Not handsome by any means though. You'd have to apply to be a staff writer for most gigs, but they do allow freelancing on spec for guides and such.