Wanna learn the ins and outs of writing pitches editors will actually read — and commission? Have I got a workshop for you! Join me on July 12 @ 3 p.m. Eastern for an in-depth examination of what goes into a fantastic story pitch. How do you structure it? What must be in it, and what should you leave out? How much pre-reporting should you do? How can you head off the follow-up questions an editor will inevitably ask? We’ll cover all that and much, much more in this session. (As always, paid subscribers get 50% off admission, and all registrants will get the full playback.) See you there!
In the five+ years I commissioned freelance stories at NYT, the best pitch I ever got had “fucking” in the subject line.
Really.
If you’ve ever taken one of my pitching workshop (like the one I mention above), you’ll certainly recognize this piece of advice I always give: “Pitch the editor, not the publication.” I swear by this advice, and it’s something that I recommend for every single freelancer for every single pitch.
But what does that really mean?
Sponsored: Jayde I. Powell, that purple-haired social media strategist from LinkedIn
For the people who make the internet worth scrolling
98% of freelance social media marketers say they've Googled “is burnout normal” at least three times this month. We made that up. But you didn't even question it, did you?
The Chronically Online Virtual Social Media Summit is June 30 — a full day of honest conversation about burnout, AI, career growth, and what the future of the social media profession actually looks like. Use code FREELANCING15 at checkout for 15% off your ticket.
Generally speaking, medium- to large-size publications have many editors commissioning many different stories. And at a lot of those publications — especially large ones — every section or desk has multiple editors commissioning stories around the same general line of coverage. So, for example, if you’re pitching the features desk at a national magazine, there are a few editors you could potentially pitch the same story to.
What this means is that even if you have the right publication for your story, and the right section for your story, you may not have the right editor for your story, meaning you could have done every part of the process correctly but fallen down on the last mile. It’s super common, but there are ways you can guard against this. It all comes back to pitching the editor and not the publication.
Narrowing your pitch to the editor level takes significant time, but in my experience, that time is very well spent. As editors, when we get pitches that are specifically written for us, as opposed to generic pitches that could go out to any editor who covers similar ground, we can tell — because the pitches crafted for the person are immeasurably better. I could tell within the first few sentences whether I was getting a pitch that was written for Tim Herrera, or a pitch that was written for Generic Service Editor.
To be more specific, you want to get familiar with that editor’s style as an editor. Are they super straightlaced? Within their broad area of coverage, are there specific topics they focus on? Do they like to take chances on ~weird~ stories? Are they interested in more people-focused stories than, say, data-driven stories? Do they have a history of publishing more tongue-in-cheek stories? Do their stories generally have a lot of voice from the writer? These are questions you should try to find answers to. (A scan of their Twitter or LinkedIn feed to see what stories they promote by writers they’ve edited should do the trick.)
Wanna learn the art of structuring a longform narrative feature?
July 23 @ 4:30 p.m. Eastern: Join me for an in-depth tutorial on how to build, organize, and write a longform narrative feature! This will be a deconstruction exercise of a published story. We’ll analyze it as a jumping-off point and go into detail about what it takes to write at that 3,000+ word count, then I’ll show you how to use those tools and techniques in your own writing. (Paid subscribers to the newsletter can take 50% off admission. All registrants will get a recording of the workshop.)
Which brings us back to the “fucking” pitch. It was from a writer I vaguely knew — we had tweeted back and forth a few times — but hadn’t ever worked with. Totally unprompted, a cold pitch from them landed in my inbox, and it’s something I’m still talking about years later. The subject line?
“Love yourself and just buy a fucking printer already.”
They knew that I was the type of editor who would respond positively to that; that I was the type of editor who loved stories with this playful, tongue-in-cheek sensibility; and that I was the type of editor who would commission a story that was ostensibly silly but that had genuine grounding and could offer a fresh perspective on a mundane topic. They built a helpful, solid, thorough pitch around an out-of-left-field topic, all anchored in a tone that was exactly what I was looking for.
In short, they did their research about who I was as an editor. I commissioned the story without asking a single follow-up question.
The acceptance rate for a pitch written for a specific editor can be dramatically higher than that of a generic pitch. The time you put into researching a specific editor’s style, tone, story interests, and story history is some of the most valuable time you can spend in terms of ROI. If you know your audience — the editor — and what they’re looking for, it exponentially increases your chances of selling that story. Part of what you’re trying to do with a pitch is to remove reasons for an editor to say no to it and give them reasons to say yes. If you know exactly what a specific editor is looking for, you’ll be that much closer to landing a commission from them.
And, because I know this is the question you’re probably thinking: Yes, it is perfectly okay just to ask them! A quick DM on Twitter or a casual email to say, “Hi, I’m a freelancer! I’m just wondering if you’re commissioning right now, and if so, is there anything specific you’re looking for?” is all it takes.
Good luck out there!
For the other side of this perspective, check out this post from a few weeks ago:
Oh, a few other things …
To mark my recent move to beehiiv, I’m offering 25% off a yearly subscription to FWT, which gets you even more insider tips and advice, discounts to Zoom workshops, invites to subscriber-only events, and more! Click here to claim yours!
Got a pitch that sold recently? I’d love to feature it in a future edition of our #pitchesthatsold series! Email me at [email protected] and put “#pitchesthatsold” in the subject line. Can’t wait to see ’em!
How much were you paid for your last assignment? Feel free to contribute to our ongoing freelance rate database here. I’ll be publishing updated results of this survey next month!
Got a question about freelancing or the wider world of journalism? Let’s hear it, and I may feature it in a future Q&A post! Fill out this form with your question(s).
Couldn’t make last week’s Travel writing workshop? I’ve got you covered! Pick up the full playback, links to resources, and contact info for Travel + Leisure editors pitch right here:
(Even more playbacks are available in the FWT Store here!)