How to Pitch a Magazine Story

Video Transcript

"Hi everybody I'm John Graden, I'm a professional speaker, trainer, and the author of seven books including the Impostor Syndrome. A great way to get started as a writer is to write articles for magazines. So how do you pitch a magazine story? How do you convince an editor to allow you to write your story? Here are some steps that have worked for me in the past. I've been a writer for magazines, and I've published my own magazine. First we want to make sure I'm matching the story to the magazine. I want to make sure, it's not just you know if it's a landscaping magazine it's got to be on landscaping, I realize that, I'm sure you do too. But there's, most magazines have a certain theme, a certain angle, a certain way of doing things. You want to make sure you find their submission guidelines and follow them very closely. For instance, I wanted to write a story for a martial arts magazine. I write in a very conversational, kind of fun way. This was a very scholastic magazine, they said, hey we love your writing, but it's not right for us. We have more of a scholastic writing style. So I had to completely rework it. So make sure your matching the magazine to the article that you are pitching and make sure that you look at those submission guidelines as well. Let the editor know whether or not you are going to providing the illustrations or they are going to need to be shot by the staff. Because that will effect the either the amount of pay towards you, or what the expense on the magazine's side is going to be. Also make sure that you're clear on how you are going to get paid. Is it fifty percent up front, fifty percent on completion, is it all on completion, is it within thirty days, do you have to submit an invoice. Don't be afraid to ask for the check, don't be afraid to ask how do I get paid. Do I get paid by the word, just for the article. It shows the editor that you are a professional. Doesn't mean you are greedy, it just means that this is an important area that we don't want any misunderstandings on. Usually there will be a little agreement that you typically have to sign, particularly if it's going to be, if it's nonfiction and it's going to be referencing various facts, you'll be responsible possibly for checking the facts with smaller publications. If there are people in the photographs that you are using you are going to need releases, so make sure that you can find out exactly what that editor needs to be comfortable writing or running your story. Interesting enough one of the things that a lot of magazine writers don't do is they have an idea but when they explain the idea but they never ask for the job. You got to point blank ask for the check, ask for the job and then give the editor a deadline as to when you might take it to another magazine if you don't hear from him. So you know within thirty days I've got to shop this around so if you could let me know in that period of time, that lets the editor know that you are serious, you are going to write the story. He's either going to run it or someone else is going to run it. And also that prevents you from sitting on a good story that somebody else maybe doing. So this gives you a chance to offer it, and then go to the next guy and offer it in an ethical professional manner. I'm John Graden, I hope that helps you to pitch your next magazine story with a bang."