70+ pitching guides for Vox, NatGeo, Wired, Vulture, Politico, WaPo, Wirecutter, Slate, and more
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.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider subscribing to the free or paid version. Paid subs get access to all past and future paid-only posts, the full archive of recorded Zoom workshops and panels, a guide on how and when to follow up with editors, advice on how much pre-reporting you should do for a pitch, a step-by-step lesson on how to ask for more money, tips from editors on exactly what editors what, 50% off all Zoom workshops, and more.
Now let’s get to the goods: all those excellent pitching guides. Good luck!
(Updated 8/15/24)
The Guardian (Jessica Reed, Head of Narrative)
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 ❤️
Hi! Thanks for this information. I’m new to your Substack and publishing in general (outside of academia, that is). I have a question about pitching to editors directly versus submitting a website form. If a publication has a generic email or form for pitches, is it generally annoying to email an editor directly? I’m a rule follower by disposition but I’ve been advised that it can actually be more effective to pitch a person directly. Would love your opinion! Thanks!