Tipping the Pitch: Advice from Today’s Top Newspaper and Magazine Editors

I have a pretty typical freelancer story: I came to New York City a dewy-eyed graduate who’d spent the past four years listening to professors tell me I was a good enough writer to get a good grade at a good university.

I’ll quite readily admit: I am not qualified to tell anyone a thing about pitching in this industry. But what I have done is ask some people who are.

Collected here are the words of editors at some of the most well-regarded publications around like The New York Times Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. I’ve asked them what freelancers can do when pitching to score a standout writing gig. Here’s what they had to say:

Alexandria Symonds, Online Editor, Interview

“We all love The New Yorker for all the obvious reasons, but you have a much better chance of getting your weird, exciting, thoughtful Talk-style piece placed somewhere else. And if you have a really good sense for the tones of different publications, then you can cater your pitches much more effectively.”

David Lidsky, Deputy Editor, Fast Company

“I do find it generally to be a faux-pas to send more than one editor the same pitch. If you have an idea, pick one avenue…Put in the two minutes of effort and figure it out. ‘Hey, this person, based on their Twitter feed or whatever, has edited stories about marketing. I have a marketing story, so I’m going to contact them.'”

Tessa Miller, Senior Health and Tech Editor, The Daily Beast

“Start connecting with editors on Twitter. Don’t stalk them, but retweet what interests you and reply to them with funny or interesting stuff. Build a relationship there and then pitch.”

Adam Sternbergh, Culture Editor, The New York Times Magazine

“A good subject line is like a good headline: It makes you want to read further. Usually this happens by presenting an idea that I naturally want to know more about. A simplistic (and made-up) example would be: ‘This 15-year-old cinematographer is Hollywood’s best kept secret.’ This may or may not be a good story, but at least there’s room for me to think, Hmmm. 15! Unusual! I wonder what the rest of the story is?”

Lauren Brown, Deputy Ideas Editor, Quartz

“It’s apparent very quickly, from the subject, tone, style, and scope of a pitch, whether the writer is familiar with Quartz and the types of stories we run. Pitches that cross that barrier are concise, well-reported, demonstrate some level of expertise, and situate themselves within an existing conversation we’re having on Quartz or the broader Internet. It’s also useful to identify why we would want you, in particular, to write this piece.”

Jim Chairusmi, Editor, The Wall Street Journal

“One of the things I handle for WSJ Sports is the Count column, which aims to take a stat and spin it in a way that is a bit outside the box and isn’t widely reported in the same manner in other publications. It helps if it makes a strong point and is a bit counter-intuitive, too.” [Note: For an example of a counter-intuitive article, Chairusmi recommends this.]

Barbara MacAdam, Deputy Editor, ARTnews

“If you’re a new writer, young, you don’t want to suggest a great big story. … It’s better to build up gradually. I try to get some young people to do reviews. Trying to do the smaller pieces in the magazine is the best way to get in.”

Caroline Howard, Senior Online Editor, Forbes

“As an editor, I’m looking for expertise and authority. But if you call yourself the leading educational expert on Common Core and I’ve never heard of you, I actually know who the experts in Common Core are. … The credentials matter to me, but I’m not gonna turn away a really great idea from somebody who’s two years out of college and isn’t published in TIME.”