Pitching Nonfiction Stories to Magazines by Christie Matherne

If you are an in-practice writer and have respect for nonfiction, I think you should consider pitching a story to a magazine. You do not have to be a trained journalist to do this well, and it’s some of the most fun you’ll ever have writing for money.

All you need is curiosity and good writing skills.

Print is not dead! It’s just quieter than the guy yelling on TV. If you can write well and you have good, smart ideas, you should write where more people can read it. People yearn for good stories. It’s in our nature to want to nibble on a good narrative thread and follow it to a satisfying end. You can weave just as good of a story from the truth as you can with fiction, and honestly, the journalism world needs all the good storytellers it can get.

Lend them your talents!

We’re all better off when we’re captivated by the truth. Plus, unless you’re James Van Pelt, it’s a lot easier to sell a piece of longform journalism to a magazine than it is to sell a short fiction piece to a literary outlet. Or at least it looks that way to me. Maybe I suck at it. Whatever.

 

Write About Your Niche

Magazines are everywhere and cover everything. There are glossy lifestyle ones that print stories about rich peoples’ home interiors, weekly rags with good photos on newsprint, sports-focused magazines with perfect binding, gay parenting magazines, cultural and social justice themed publications, online-only outfits centering on climate change adaptation tactics. There are magazines only about cats, for God’s sake. Whatever you’re into, I guarantee there is a market for it, and the market is probably a magazine that routinely begs for good writers on X/Twitter.

I have a degree in short fiction writing and – whoops! – I’ve been writing long nonfiction stories for magazines for 13 years. It’s a source of great joy in my life. I was the arts and entertainment editor for a magazine and fielded pitches from writers before I ever wrote a pitch, and I learned that it’s way more fun to write pitches than it is to be an editor.

 

How to Pitch a Story to a Magazine

     1. Find a good idea.

The idea can start small: a topic, a phrase, a strange historic event in your town, something odd you come across that excites you. It’s important to find something that excites you. I’ve found great story ideas by digging through a university library’s archived doctoral theses, looking at old maps, interviewing folks for other stories, and reading daily newspapers. (Daily papers often don’t have the space or time to write “deep dives,” so a publication with the luxury of more time – a magazine or weekly paper – can go deeper into the same subject.)

     2. Research your topic.

Become an expert on your idea. Read everything that’s ever been written about it, anywhere. (You know, within reason.)  If your topic is old, look at newspaper archives. What you’re doing here is gauging the depth of the topic, and seeing the areas other reporters have explored already. Find an angle on your topic that hasn’t been done before.

For example, if your topic is a world champion oyster shucker that lives in your area – how cool! – and another publication already ran a nice profile piece on the champion, pitch a story that involves the champion teaching you how to shuck an oyster like a champion, and the story can include step-by-step instructions from the champ.

     3. Find a magazine or two that might go for it – and read them.

The most common mistake beginner freelancers make is not reading the publication they are pitching to, and there are a lot of good reasons to do the homework. If you pitch a story on the same topic as a story the magazine printed last month, the editor reading your pitch will know you don’t read the magazine. Not only will they not accept your pitch, but they won’t be very excited to work with you. If you pitch a story about young parents to a magazine that writes mainly for retirees – well, you get the idea. Pay attention to the feel of the writing, how the stories are structured, and any thematic patterns.

• Pro-tip: Save receipts for any magazine subscriptions you buy; you can write them off on your taxes later.
• Another pro-tip: Do not start writing the story yet, unless you enjoy rewrites.

     4. Dig around on the magazine’s website for contact info and contributor guidelines.

If the magazine accepts pitches, chances are good that you’ll find the appropriate editor’s email address, or a pitch email address, on the publication’s website. Some magazines prefer to be pitched through a separate app, like Submittable. If the magazine is tired of getting bad pitches, they might publish a set of contributor guidelines, which tell you what the magazine is looking for and how they prefer receiving pitches. Some guidelines are extensive; others are simple. Some magazines don’t have any guidelines at all, and some magazines don’t accept pitches!

• Pro-tip: Some magazines don’t make the guidelines easy to find. Google “contributor writer guidelines site:magazinewebsiteurl.com” to search the entire website.

     5. Introduce yourself and give the editor reasons to trust you.

If you’ve never worked with the magazine or editor before, they do not trust you to turn in a decent story or hit a deadline yet. Unless the contributor guidelines say otherwise, at the top of your email, introduce yourself in a few lines – no more than that. Briefly explain your writing experience, link a few good clips if you have any, and include anything else that might assure them that you’re the person to write this story. They want to trust you, so make it easy for them. Don’t send the email just yet, though; your pitch needs to be in it.

     6. Write your pitch.

Ah, the hard part. Essentially, you want to boil your story idea down to the hook, in a few paragraphs. Try your best not to write a novel, or the actual story. Here’s a few things you could choose to include in your pitch.

• What made it interesting to you? Is it the same thing that would make it interesting to the magazine’s audience, specifically? That’s the hook.
• Reference articles or books that cover the topic you’re writing about, and explain why your angle is unique, or why it builds on the previously published material rather than repeating it.
• List the sources you plan to draw from, and any people you’d attempt to interview on the topic. Most magazines and stories want to hear from at least one actual person in your story, and the more people you talk to, the better. For each person listed, explain the perspective they might lend to the story.
• Suggest where it could fit in the magazine. Is it a long feature story? Is it a medium-sized profile piece on a specific person? Does it match any issue themes?
• Mention how long you think it would take you to write the story. Or, make a suggestion to print it in a specific issue in the future.
• Give a proposed word count range for the story. For most magazines I’ve written for, the freelancer range is between 700 and 2,500 words. If you’re new to freelancing, estimating a word count may not come naturally. But give your best estimate based on how much source material you have, how many people you’re talking to, and the nature of the story itself.

I once heard an editor say to give 500 words for every person you interview. This isn’t a hard rule by any means – it’s kind of a strange thing to say, even – but it can help if you don’t know where to start.

     7.  Edit and proofread your pitch before you send it.

If the editor doesn’t know who you are, the email you’re about to send them is the only thing they have to judge you on. And they will judge you. Make extra sure you’re addressing it to the right person, and that their name is spelled correctly. Cut out any unnecessary lines and words, and tighten the language wherever possible. Make your pitch a brief, good read.

     8.  Send the pitch and wait a few weeks before you follow up.

Magazine editors are busy, and they can’t always get back to every pitch, much less in a timely manner. It is not personal, and it doesn’t mean they didn’t like your pitch. Give them two weeks to respond to your email before you send a follow-up.

• Your follow-up can be simple: “Hello xx, I’m circling back to this pitch. Do you think it will work for the Cat Show issue of Cat Fancy Magazine? Thank you and have a nice day.”

Now that you know how to pitch, here’s what to do when the editor responds.

If they reject your pitch, it’s not the end.

Rejection is unfortunately part of freelance journalism. Editors reject pitches for all kinds of reasons, and it doesn’t necessarily mean your idea was bad. Editors have to adhere to their publication’s format and audience, which means not every story is a good fit. I’ve had pitches rejected because another writer was already working on something similar.

If they say anything specific about why they rejected your pitch, make a note of it for the future. But it’s also common to get one-line rejections, such as the typical, “This isn’t a good fit for us right now.” Just move on to the next publication in line.

If they accept your pitch, discuss pay and deadlines, and sign a contract.

Congratulations! Now, it’s time to agree on your pay and when the piece is due. Many editors will have some input on your story idea at this stage – this is why you don’t start writing the story until the pitch is accepted. Usually, an editor’s suggestions will make the story more appealing to their audience, or they’ll have a great source to recommend, etc.

 

Getting Paid

Half the time, editors give me a flat rate offer for the story. The other half ask me my rate. It’s always fun to navigate this and many people are shy about it, so here are some tips.

• Consider the flat rate offer, but give yourself a fair shake. Consider how long writing the story will take, including interviews. Don’t agree to a proposed flat rate if you don’t think it’s fair, and you can always ask for more. But keep in mind that magazines often work on strict budgets, and they may not be able to pay much more than what they offered. So, if you’d like significantly higher pay than their offer, pitching the story to another magazine may be the better idea. If you’d be okay with a little more pay than their offer, it’s probably worth negotiating.
  • Pro-tip: If you turn down their offer because it’s far too low for you to accept, be polite about it, but do tell them it’s because of their pay. They might come back with a better offer.
• Guidelines on setting your own rate. Common rates for magazines and even online outlets are anywhere from $0.25-$1.50 per word. Obviously, this varies widely, and can go higher or lower depending on the publication and your experience. It also changes all the time, so who knows!
• Ask what their payment schedule is. I’ve found that publications are happy to talk about how much they pay, but they often skip mentioning when they pay. Payment policies vary widely, but the most common ones I’ve seen are: at the time of publication (or within 30 days after); when the final round of edits is accepted; and half paid upon first draft, half upon publication. I have never experienced full payment upon submission of a first draft, so I don’t believe it happens.
  • Pro-tip: If you’re aiming to make freelancing part of your monthly income, understand that magazines usually take plenty of time to read and edit your story. Your deadline is not payday – rather, a month or two later is far more likely.

Fill out the paperwork and read the fine print.

Once you and the editor have agreed on a rate and a deadline, the next step is paperwork. This typically includes a freelance contract and a W-9 tax form. Read your contract thoroughly, because it will include information about publishing rights, any rights you’re giving up, and when rights revert back to you – if they do. Publishers can sneak in some awful things in this section, so don’t hesitate to have a lawyer look it over, or Google anything you don’t understand. There may also be information about “kill fees,” which is basically what you’ll get paid if they “kill” – or choose not to publish – your story. Personally, I’ve come across 25% and 50% kill fees, but publications aren’t required to have these.

 

Write the Story

It’s a long road to get to the actual writing part, but if you’ve made it this far, it’s time to deliver on your pitch. Since you know how to write already, I’ll just offer a list of tips.

Key Things to Know About Freelance Writing For Magazines

• Line up your interviews early. Trust me – if I have four months to write a story, sometimes it takes all four months to pin down one of the interviews. This will happen when you least expect it.
• Edit your story like fiction. Just because the story is true doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make it flow nicely, sound poetic, or climb a great narrative thread. You will need to edit, and your story may go through several versions of organization before it has the kind of impact you want. Outlines can help as soon as you know all the components of the story and have done all your interviews.
• Remember that this is not fiction. Counter to the point above, keep the standards of journalism in mind as you write, especially if you come from a fiction-writing background. Don’t assume anything, and prove everything. If one of your interviewees speculates on something, don’t write it as truth in your story. Quotes should be presented within the context they were said, and not chopped up to imply something the interviewee did not say.
• Leave time for a rewrite. The worst feeling in the world is turning something in knowing you could have written it better with another few days’ time.
• Touch base with your editor if something changes. If you know you’ll be late turning in your piece, or something happens that shifts the focus of the story, your editor would love to know as soon as possible. Don’t wait until deadline to shoot them an email. Despite their reputation, editors are really quite understanding, as long as you send that email well before deadline.

 

Questions? Comments? Pick my brain at my email.

Christie Matherne (Hall) is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and random pieces of content, such as this blog post. She is a former board member of the Western Colorado Writers’ Forum and co-hosted seasons one and two of their podcast. Right now, she’s enjoying writing nonfiction stories for various magazines about the complexities of agriculture, how natural and manmade disasters change the human landscape, historical epidemics, how mushrooms connect us all, and the culture and foodways of her motherland, Louisiana. She also is an editor and a media representative at WalletHub.com, and sometimes ghostwrites memoirs for people through the Story Terrace platform.