[ghaff]

As someone who does a fair bit of writing, I'd say a 1,000 word article is more like 1-2 days depending on research (including perhaps attending an event/interviews), administrivia, editing, procrastination, etc.--and can certainly take more than that. Not that I'm generally working freelance, but I'd certainly expect around $1K as the bare minimum. Which, if you do the calculation, probably only translates to about $100K/year best case before expenses, etc.

And, yes, a lot of publications pay less than that which is why you see a lot of writers with technical knowledge working for product companies doing content marketing and related.

[k__]

Yes.

It's also a question of expectations.

I have many clients who publish anything I write without any questions.