11 Pitch Calls Paying $50→$1,000
Where to Pitch This Week (5.16.25) | Pitches wanted on relationships, forests, sports, and more!
Welcome to Where to Pitch This Week!
Today, you’ll find another pitch that worked and some thoughts on making your emails personal and timely. Then you’ll find 11 pitch calls paying up to $1,000, from Aeon to Defector and more.
Peep This Pitch That Won a WSJ Assignment
Hey folks,
Last week’s column featuring a pitch that won a Slate assignment seemed to go over well, so here I am with another. This time: a pitch that got a yes from The Wall Street Journal in 2021. Here’s hoping the example helps speed you on your way into whichever prestige spot you’ve got your own gimlet eye on.
As you’ll see in the pitch itself, I did have a connection—but not a plan. Way back in the 2010s, I read a WSJ essay about a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. My own brother was stationed over there at the time, so the piece meant a lot to me. I reached out to the freelance writer to say thanks. We stayed in touch, chatting about our work. I never expected to ask for anything. But ten years later, when I had a story I thought might land, I did.
So is the lesson here that freelancing is a long game? Yeah, and friends help, the more genuine the better. Networking sucks, but most of us are readers first and writers second, and that’s a natural reason to approach people whose work you admire. Maybe down the line, that eventually turns into work. Maybe it doesn’t. In the meantime, you get a new writer friend to complain to, and who doesn’t need more of those?
Here’s the pitch:
Gary,
My name is Catherine Baab-Muguira, and I’m a writer who’s contributed to Crime Reads, Slate, and NBC News, among others. My first book, Poe for Your Problems, just came out from Hachette.
[Person’s name] passed on your contact. He and I became friends after I read his WSJ essay about his son, which I understand you edited. My own brother happened to be in Afghanistan at the time, so the piece spoke to me. Now I’ve got another idea that might be right up your alley. Here’s the gist.
How Reading Poe Can Improve Your Mental Health
Edgar Allan Poe is the literary prince of darkness, with his stories about premature burial, torture, and murdering one’s frenemies beloved the world over. Name the darkest act you can think of, and chances are he covered it.
But there’s an entirely different way to read Poe. It’s not some bit of academic, Foucault-esque deconstruction, either. It’s much simpler. When you read Poe in the context of his deeply disappointed, grotesquely sad life, then you see his body of work for what it really is: a triumph of the human spirit. A testament to resilience and the power of the imagination.
In this way, reading Poe can give you strength, improving your mental health, and at the same time, making you feel like a kid again. I know this firsthand, and I’m convinced that, this year of all years, we all ought to spend some time in bed with Poe and a flashlight to read by. Who better to help us cope with all this horror?
October could be a great time to run such a piece, with the anniversary of Poe’s death on the 7th and, of course, Poe always top of mind at Halloween. In any case, thanks for your time and consideration.
Cat
This pitch isn’t a masterpiece (like if I ever use “resilience” unironically again, please smother me). Still, there are some takeaways.
Reframing still works. Yes, AI tools have made “It’s not X, it’s Y” formulations feel like the literary equivalent of clip art. Against that, well, it works. Nonfiction needs tension. A strawman can be useful! The X-Y format creates those things. Use it when you need to move a familiar subject into new terrain.
It’s good to sound human. I hate that this even needs to be said, but given the rise of AI-written pitches, letting yourself come through matters more than ever. Some warmth, some weirdness, and some small stake in the subject can go a long way. Also, if you can subtly signal that you’re a reader of the publication, do that. Editors can smell real attention. They can also smell the opposite.
Timeliness matters. Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Tax Day, Arbor Day, they’re all valid pegs. If your subject spikes in search, conversation, or even just vibes during a particular month, say so. Evergreen stories are great, but evergreen-with-a-calendar-hook helps get pieces greenlit.
Pitches often change in scope. The final piece I wrote for the WSJ was very different from the pitch above. That’s fine. That’s normal. If you’re new to this, it’s helpful to know that yes, you can pitch one thing and end up writing something else entirely. The original pitch just has to crack the door.
Below, you’ll find a fresh batch of pitch calls, from highbrow travel and culture mags to beginner-friendly outlets for anyone who’s just looking to get on the scoreboard for a start. As always, take what you like, and feel free to ignore everything else, including me.
Happy pitching!
Where to Pitch This Week: 11 Paid Writing Opportunities
This part of the column is for paid subscribers only. Paid subscriptions are the only way we fund this newsletter. We are 100% human-made and paid. So if you have the means, please consider signing up for more content like today’s column.