"Pitching magazines is kinda like dating"
And more takeaways from The Art of Magazine Pitching panel this weekend
I meant to send you this letter last night but got carried away with sewing and reading instead. Oops. But here I am! And this week’s freelance digest is packed with goodies! I’ve decided to open it up to all subscribers this week. This is just a sample of what paid subscribers get in my freelance digest that goes out on Mondays, where I write candidly about life as a freelancer. Let’s get on with it.
I want to tell you about the panel I was on, organized around the topic of pitching and writing for magazines. On Sunday afternoon, we gathered at my new favorite shop in Portland, Chess Club, a print lover and magazine collector’s haven. I was among the talented writers and creatives
(who is featured in the most recent STUDIO VISIT), , Saeed Rahbaran, and Anja Charbonneau of Broccoli Magazine, who moderated the discussion. As it sprinkled quietly outside, we sat in blue chairs in front of an audience perched on blue stools, surrounded by walls and stacks of gorgeous print magazines, and we shared about our experiences sending ideas into the email abyss with the hope of bringing those ideas to life as stories. We could’ve gone on for hours.The event came to fruition when I stopped in the shop for the first time a few weeks ago and met one of the owners, Andrew. He opened it in October with his friend Christy because they both love niche, weird magazines. Andrew told me something like, I was buying all these magazines for myself anyway. We got to chatting about how the shop will be a place I visit to discover new places to pitch and then I was like, what if you had a panel about magazine pitching? And then he pulled us all together and put it on the calendar. It came together really fast.
As expected, I learned so much from the other panelists. And so many cool people came, including other writers and creatives who I’m sure could’ve spoken just as intelligently and insightfully about the topic. So much wisdom in the room. I know that some of you in Portland wanted to go but couldn’t make it—and I know that most of you don’t live in the city so couldn’t have made it anyway. But don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I recorded the conversation and then compiled all the meatiest takeaways below. I hope you find it useful!
XO
On how pitching is like dating: Stories come together a few different ways. If a magazine is on one side and the contributors are on the other, sometimes it’s the magazine reaching out to contributor with an assignment. Other times it’s the contributor pitching, and that’s what we focused on. Anja said, “Real cool collaborative magic can happen, regardless of which way it goes…it is kinda corny but it’s a little like dating where you have to both be in the same place at the same time, you have to want the same things, you have to align on so many different factors in order to work together.” You might work together once or many times, but, she said, neither party is fully in control. The cosmic alignment and mystery is the beauty of it.
On developing your voice even without an assignment: Andy talked about how before she started her newsletter
, she would pitch to any publication that would accept her and didn’t pick a niche. She said it felt like “begging for people to pay me for my art.” But committing to the newsletter “has allowed me to write about the things I do want to write about and then be approached by people who appreciate the things that I am naturally inclined to write about.”On making your pitch email simple: As a photographer, Saeed will simply send a quick intro with a link to his portfolio rather than a PDF or tear sheet of his work. The visuals tend to speak for themselves. “I always think that less is so much more. I think people get caught up in wanting to send paragraphs about who they are and what they do. These people at the other end are working a job and sometimes it’s easy for them to miss that email.” Oh, and he recommended not tracking email opens with a tracker like Streak since it’ll just drive you mad. You have to draw your boundaries somewhere. “I don’t even want that in my life. You need to delete that right away…Just keep it going and it’ll work out.”
On what to put in an email to an editor you haven’t worked with yet: This question came to me, and it’s especially timely since I’ve been pitching so many new pubs this year. Usually I start with who I am, what kind of writing I do, where I live, and whether I’m responding to a call for pitches or pitching a specific section. Then I write a succinct paragraph about my idea. “Hopefully it follows the way I would structure the written piece, too. It’s kind of like a mini snapshot of what the story will be.” I do some research ahead of time to find the right editor, the appropriate section, and any specific requirements for pitching. Usually it’s on their website as “contributor page” or something like that. And then at the end of my email I thank them for their time and consideration, and let them know that if I don’t hear from them by X date, I’ll move on.
On acting like you belong in the room: Early in her career, Erica reached out to big publications including the New Yorker with pitches—pitches she admits weren’t very good. But the outreach and confidence eventually led to opportunities. “I think you have to tune your ego. You have to believe you have enough ego that you belong in their inbox…The other side of that is having enough ego knowledge to be like, I still have so much to learn, and I do not belong in your publication. I’m hoping to get a chance.” The people she sees struggling are too far to one side.
On supplementing editorial work with other work: Anja talked about how budgets vary widely among publishers, from $0 to thousands of dollars. “You never really know which one it’s gonna be until someone says a number,” she said. A lot of independent publications are passion projects and barely breaking even, while others are funded by brands. “It’s really rare for anyone to do editorial work and make a living…I don’t know if everyone here does commercial work or copywriting or brand stuff on the side but it’s a pretty important part of supplementing income when editorial can only do so much.”
A few more tidbits
Regarding following up with editors on pitches, we all agreed that after a week or two, a little poke is appropriate. And then we said that two follow ups is the max we send before moving on to pitch someone else.
Our favorite resources: Study Hall’s newsletter for pitch opportunities. Plus, there’s lots of Substacks that publish opp newsletters. Having freelancer friends you can check in with helps you feel less alone. Writing someone to genuinely thank them for their essay can lead to a connection. Social media is a great place to curate a portfolio. And for photographers, assist other photographers to learn. Also word of mouth in your local publishing community!
On that note, if you happen to be in Portland, Andy and her wife Gem are kicking off their magazine club WAU this week. It’s at 6 p.m. Thursday at Chess Club! I wish I could go because it’s going to be so lovely.
If you have any questions, any at all, about pitching magazines, please reach out. I’d love to share more about what I’ve learned and am continually learning. That’s also what this space is for, so feel free to leave a comment below so others can chime in!
