Covered ad nauseam by seemingly every major publication, the editorial shakeup at The New Republic in late 2014 resulted in the disappearance of two-thirds of publication’s masthead. The upside of that massive editorial and managerial overhaul meant that an influx of talented writers and editors—from MSNBC, The Atlantic Wire, Harper’s, and more—joined the august publication, making its editorial masthead more diverse than ever.
Bijan Stephen was one such editor, though his route to TNR was circuitous. After college, he got a job in consulting but found himself pursuing freelance writing in the downtime he had at his desk. (An idle, unproductive existence seems to be a hallmark of the consulting industry.) He left that job to become an editorial assistant at Vanity Fair, and shortly after was approached by Gabriel Snyder, TNR‘s editor-in-chief, a few months before the magazine’s shakeup.
We spoke with Stephen, who has been an associate editor at TNR since January, about the magazine’s pitching process, the importance of Twitter, and how all editors really do want to publish your writing—if your idea is good enough.
Is there an ideal length or format for a pitch?
Basically, be interesting. I don’t think there’s a specific format or length, although shorter is always better. It should be long enough that an editor gets a sense of what they’re reading, of what the piece could be.
You should write a pitch you’d like to receive. Every editor gets a bunch of PR pitches—try to do the opposite of that.
What information is necessary to include in a pitch, and, conversely, is there anything that should be left out?
The idea, obviously, is the main thing. You should also list where you’ve been published before, with some recent clips, because it helps us get a sense of what kind of work we’re going to have to do. It gives us a sense of what you’re interested in and what you can do—your writing chops.
Definitely don’t include anything irrelevant to the publication. That’s the main thing. It’s a big reason I turn down pitches—you’ve pitched an idea that’s good and fine, sure, but not relevant to the publication.
The other thing is: Don’t overthink it. Obviously, where you’ve been published before, your idea, and perhaps your experience in the field—those things help. A pitch lets us assess, in 30 seconds flat, what kind of person you are, what kind of writer you are, what kind of thinker you are. Pitching is very difficult, and reading them is something that’s not easy either.
Do you have any advice for a freelancer who hasn’t gotten published in a big-name publication like TNR before? Someone who may be a good writer but for whom this is their first shot at a freelance pitch?
It sort of matters where the clips are, but not really. When I’m reading pitches, I want to see how you write, and therefore how you think. Link to your best work, even if that’s just a post on your blog.
It’s easier to publish things after you’ve published for a while. I don’t remember it ever being harder than getting my first two or three published stories. That’s just the nature of the game. But somebody will give you a chance. If you’re just starting out, try to build your clips in smaller places. Find a place that suits your sensibilities. People want to publish you.
How long should a writer wait if they don’t hear back from an editor after pitching?
A week. Unless it’s time-sensitive, in which case a day or two. We all get a bunch of pitches every day, so all editors have a backlog of pitches. It’s a volume thing.
Is email the ideal medium for writers to get in touch with you? What about Twitter or even, uh, LinkedIn?
LinkedIn, never. I can say that for sure. Twitter is fine, though I don’t have open DMs, so… I mean, I list my email on my Twitter profile for a reason—I’m very easily findable. I want people to pitch me. I’d say email is definitely the best.
What percentage of articles that you publish are from freelancers? Do you generally try to work with freelancers consistently or are there a lot of one-off pieces from freelancers you don’t work with again?
I’m not sure I can estimate the percentage, but a lot of stuff on our site is from freelancers, especially our more ambitious stuff. As far as relationships go, if the piece turns out well—which it usually does—and the person is polite and cool and not terrible… I want to develop relationships with writers and generally try to get more than one piece out of people.
Are there certain types of stories you’re more likely to accept from freelancers you’ve never worked with before?
No, actually. I’m pretty open to whatever. Again, if your idea’s good, I’d love to hear it.
How much do you pay freelancers? Is there a baseline number, or does it vary based on the story?
I think everyone who publishes freelancers on the web wants to pay them more. But we at TNR, like everyone, have a very strict budget. The rate does vary some, depending on how intensive the reporting is, if they’re doing their own photos and videos, that sort of thing. That’s all I’ll say about that.
You know as well as I do that the economics of publishing are totally unsustainable and totally backwards. It’s very difficult to cobble together an existence. I always want to pay people more, but there’s a budget. That’s difficult.
Is Twitter the best medium for maintaining a public persona? What about a personal blog? A portfolio site?
Every writer should have a Twitter page, since that’s where all the other writers and editors are. That’s very important. I’ve largely been able to build the relationships I have through Twitter. Gabriel [Snyder], for example, first followed me on Twitter [before approaching me for a position at TNR].
A personal site, a repository of all your work, is also important and helpful for an editor. I always go check those pages as a way of evaluating how people think and write.
What’s an example of a recent story from a freelancer that worked out well or that you’re particularly proud of?
There was a piece on Renata Adler a couple months ago that was just a wonderful experience to work through. It was a really nice editing process because the writer pushed back on things, told me where I was wrong—it was a real collaboration. That piece ended up in our print magazine.
Do you have any final advice for freelancers generally or, more specifically, for anyone looking to get a byline in TNR?
I think I and all the other editors here want to publish work that’s good and to put good ideas into the world. Make sure to think all the way through the idea. Don’t just come with a topic you want to discuss. There should be an angle or thrust to the piece.
So have a story to begin with—not just “I want to write about drug trafficking.”
Exactly. The main thing is to have good ideas. I mean, editors will turn you down—that’s just what we do. But somebody will publish the idea if it’s there. It’s a learning process. This is a cliché, obviously, but don’t get discouraged. We editors are people, too, on the other side of the curtain.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified publications TNR editors were hired from in late 2014 and early 2015. It has been updated to reflect the correct information.