70+ pitching guides for Vox, NatGeo, Wired, Vulture, Politico, WaPo, Wirecutter, Slate, and more
Go forth and pitch!
(Illustration by Matt Lubchansky)
Hello and welcome to Freelancing With Tim! This newsletter is a weekly resource for journalists full of tips, advice, and guidance about making it in the industry. It covers everything from writing the perfect pitch and building a freelance business to crafting a longform narrative feature and generating story ideas.
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Now let’s get to the goods: all those excellent pitching guides. Good luck!
(Updated 8/15/24)
The only pitch format you'll (mostly) ever need
Hello friends! We talk a lot about pitching around here, so today I want to share a tried-and-true structure for writing pitches that, from my experience getting, sending, and reviewing pitches, typically works for most stories.
The Guardian (Jessica Reed, Head of Narrative)
Want more freelance work? Just send an email
Hello hello! This week I have another installment in the series “8 Questions With ...” featuring one of my favorite — and one of the most helpful — freelancers around, Kat Boogaard.
The Washington Post: Inspired Life, Launcher, Travel, Retropolis, Home
The Atlantic (General advice)
Deadspin (R.I.P., but it’s an excellent guide)
The Outline (also R.I.P., but another useful guide)
Catapult (also R.I.P., but another useful guide, mainly focused on personal essays)
Okay bye ily!
-Tim ❤️
The exact text of a pitch I sold to The Atlantic
Hi friends! Let’s keep it nice and simple today: Here is the exact pitch I sent to The Atlantic, which resulted in a commission.