Where to pitch this week (09.20.24)
Editor requests from i-D, Radio Times, Stylist, and a chance to write about relationships for $1 a word for MIT Technology.
Hello!
Things are still a little slow in the pitching world, but plenty of editors are still taking stories.
If you pitched something in the last two weeks, this is a good time to follow up (since we’re firmly out of end of summer/Labor Day Weekend/how is it September mode).
Fun fact: Follow-ups can be very simple. You don’t need to re-pitch the story or add any new information. Your goal is to pop your message up to the top of their inbox so a simple, “Seeing if you’re interested in this story. Thanks!” will do just fine.
A good quarter of the stories I sold came from sending a follow-up, so give it a try if you haven’t already.
Life’s a Pitch
Life’s A Pitch! A column where I take reader stories and help form them into sellable story ideas.
To submit your idea for a future edition, click here and fill out the form.
Meghana’s Immigration Story
Meghana sent in this idea for a pitch:
It’s a story about immigration - how I left my country and my life to move to the USA, the culture shock, adjusting to a new way of living and then living with nostalgia and homesickness. Giving birth without my near and dear ones, raising kids and building a life here. Not sure how to pitch this or where??
Obviously, this could make a wonderful story. It would make many wonderful stories and that’s a good place to start.
An entire story about immigration could be a book (maybe two). For an essay, you’re likely going to have 1,200-1,500 words. Sure, some places take longer essays, but there’s a much larger market for shorter pieces.
That doesn’t mean Meghana needs to put all of her immigration story into 1,200 words. Instead, pick the micro-moments and start there.
Micro-moments are the small memories or tiny flashes that stand out to you when you think of the story you want to tell. For example, a client wanted to write a story about the death of her child. Instead of telling the whole story, she focused on a single Christmas present she got from her husband. By keeping the focus on a micro-moment, we get so much more detail and emotion. And it still speaks to the overall topic of grief that so many can relate to.
You can see the same technique in this story about losing a pregnancy (the focal point is her daughter openly talking about her loss, not the loss itself). Or this story about finding body confidence (that focuses on a story about swimming with manatees, all the more reason for me to find a way to swim with manatees).
Obviously, these stories are completely different than Meghana’s but the same idea applies.
So, Meghana, what are some of your favorite micro-moments that stand out in your overall story? By focusing on one of those—and there are probably many, many stories you could pitch from this—it’ll be easier to craft a shorter essay that places like Huffington Post or sections of the New York Times might be interested in.
If your essay ends up longer than 1,500 words, you could still submit that to Electric Lit, Longreads, Narratively, or a bunch of other places.
Also from Amber: All those Huffington Post essays above came from members of the Pitching Hour! If you want a place to write, get editor contact info, and grow your platform every week, Pitching Hour is the place to be. It’s like a writing gym, except there’s no sweating, odd dudes looking at you, and you can do it from your couch. Check it out.
Where to pitch this week!
Below, we’ve got editor requests from i-D, Radio Times, Stylist, and a chance to write about relationships for $1 a word for MIT Technology. Plus paid opportunities in lifestyle, politics, books, health, style, STEM, writing, video games, and more.