How to Successfully Pitch a National Magazine Article Idea
You're a writer who wants to break into the lucrative national magazine market. First, you must know who to contact and how to best convey your sparkling talent to them. It's not that difficult, but be sure to cover all your bases before you submit an article pitch.
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Instructions
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Be sure your research and writing skills are up to par. First, get your work published by leading local magazines or newspapers. You don't want to pitch to the national magazines until you're ready.
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Familiarize yourself with the magazines in which you hope to be published. Study the regular sections, the editor's letter and the masthead for names of editors.
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Learn more about pitching for specific magazines by joining online networking organizations, such as Media Bistro. There, you'll find more about the many major publications, including who to pitch, whether they prefer email or snail mail and how much they pay.
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Research your topic. Most magazine editors want you to present specific information in your pitch. Instead of writing, "It seems like more and more people are choosing cats over dogs as pets," you should say, "A new study by the Brown Institute says 60 percent of Americans prefer cats over dogs."
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Write short and concise pitches that get to the point. Develop your idea in three to five paragraphs in the body of the email. Don't make an editor read through several paragraphs before getting to the heart of your pitch. State it up front.
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Be patient. Wait at least two weeks before following up with the editor. If submission guidelines tell you not to follow up, then don't follow up.
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Don't pitch the same story to multiple publications. Get a rejection from one magazine before pitching to another. If you write to ask if they are rejecting your idea, give them two weeks to respond before moving on. No response after two weeks to your second email usually constitutes a rejection.
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Tips & Warnings
Only pitch ideas that interest you.
Never call editors of national magazines. You probably won't get through and, if you do, you'll just annoy them.
