21 Pitch Calls from Paying Publications
Where to Pitch this Week (10.04.24) - Editor requests from Slate, NME, Men's Journal, CBC, TimeOut UK, The Globe, The Daily Mail, and a chance to write about lax grandparents.
Hello!
Ooh, things are picking up!
It’s a busy season for editors which is great and bad. Great in that they need a lot of stories. Bad in that they’re getting lots of emails.
So, if an editor doesn’t write back, it’s not you. Send a follow-up after a week and if you don’t hear anything a few days after that, let it go. They aren’t ghosting you to be jerks, they just have crazy inboxes.
Life’s a Pitch
Life’s A Pitch! A column where I take reader stories and help form them into sellable story ideas.
I’d love to get more ideas! If you have a nonfiction idea that you’d like to see in newspapers or magazines, send it in. Ideally, these would become 1000-1500 word essays, op-eds, or lightly reported stories, so keep that in mind when sharing. To submit your idea for a future edition, click here and fill out the form.
Wendy’s Ageism Story
Wendy sent in this idea for a pitch:
I think I’d like to write a story about ageism. I can’t imagine it would be popular. The only group who really like us, in the U.K. anyway are the politicians as we are a huge number so could be great to woo, at least at the next election. Otherwise we are a drain on society, bed blockers or just invisible.
Wendy, it’s true that less cultural attention is paid to people as they age. But there is absolutely an audience for a story on ageism.
Whenever you think, “no one will like this” or “it probably won’t be popular,” you don’t know that for sure. Two of the most popular pieces from my students were about turning 50 and the ageism associated with that. Millions of people read those stories, the writers got lots of lovely emails, and one was asked to be on a talk show in New York!
I absolutely want to hear your take on this, Wendy.
First, narrow down the story. Do you want to focus on how politicians spend so much time courting seniors during elections, then ignore them the rest of the term? Do you want to focus on the myth that elders are a drain on society? Do you want to dispel the idea of “bed blockers”?
Focus on one aspect of ageism and pick it apart.
This type of story would be really great as an op-ed. You could share elements of your own experience with ageism, plus your arguments on why the specific slice of ageism needs to be addressed/stopped/fixed.
The Op-Ed project has a huge list of places that take opinion pieces, so it’s an easier way to find where to pitch.
People will care about this story! I can’t promise who would publish it or that it would go viral overnight. But many people feel the same way you do and would love to be heard.
Also from Amber: Write Your Pitch in 30 Minutes - Free Workshop. Find out what editors want in a pitch, avoid common writer mistakes, and flesh out an idea in less time than an episode of The Perfect Couple. Former students sold pitches to Huffington Post, Insider, and The Guardian after watching this workshop. Watch it now - for free!
21 Pitch Calls From Paying Publications
Below, we’ve got editor requests from Slate, NME, Men's Journal, CBC, TimeOut UK, The Globe, The Daily Mail, and a chance to write about lax grandparents. Plus paid opportunities in lifestyle, politics, music, books, politics, news, technology, video games, and more.