It seems to me that we are drifting away from the subject.
The key question is whether as a PPL you can contract with somebody to directly sell your few skills as a pilot. The answer is that you cannot enter into a commercal arrangement without a commercial license. That's it.
If you contract with somebody to write a magazine article that is different. You are selling your skills as a journalist not a pilot and you don't have to be a commercially licensed journalist to write commercially (more's the pity sometimes).
There are doubtlessly as many ways to try and twist the law so you get paid for piloting as there are are shades to the weather - the only reasonable certainty is that you'll get caught out in the end.