Improve Your Article Pitch With A One-two Punch

By Author: Susan M. Carter
Total Articles: 113
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A good pitch letter is gold for landing a lucrative, high paying writing assignment for a magazine. And as any good writer knows, reading and adhering to the publication's writers' guidelines is a big plus when targeting your pitch. But if you really want to capture the editor's attention, pitch a story on a topic that you KNOW will fit a future issue of the magazine.

No, you don't need a crystal ball. You need the publication's editorial calendar.

If you're not already aware of editorial calendars, read on. And if you are aware of them, start using them TODAY to attract plum assignments.

So what is the editorial calendar? An editorial calendar is an outline of a year's worth of topics to be addressed in each issue of the publication. The calendar is set months in advance to be included in advertiser media kits. Sales reps for each publication use media kits, containing editorial calendars, to entice advertisers to spend their advertising dollars for very specific focus issues. That same information is exactly what you can use to design pitch letters to their respective editors.

In ...
... other words, through the editorial calendar editors tell you exactly what stories they want - for each and every issue of the entire year.

So when crafting your pitch letter hit 'em with:

Punch Number 1: An understanding of guidelines

A publication's guidelines will give potential writers valuable details such as:

the length of articles the publication uses,

the target audience of the publication,

sample topics that the publication is likely to use,

regular columns that are staff-written and not open to freelance writers,

additional information that would help a would-be writer submit a story idea or proposal.

Followed by:

Punch Number 2: A pitch designed around a topic from the editorial calendar

* Search for content opportunities at least three issues ahead. Print publications go to production well in advance of the publication date. If you choose the next month's topic to pitch, you will be too late.

* Suggest tips as fillers. If your pitch DOES fit a topic that is likely nearing production, forget the time-consuming exchange for a pitch and response. Instead, prepare a tips sheet related to the topic and send it in its entirety. It may get used as filler to plug into unsold advertising space.

* Tie off-topic pitches to the

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About the Author:

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Susan Carter is a freelance writer and self-publishing
consultant. The above is a revised excerpt from her
chapter in Writer Profits: How I Got the Gig - 15
Writers Tell How They Get Paying Gigs and How You
Can, Too. Visit http://www.writerprofits.com for
information on how you can find writing assignments
or become a published chapter author in the next volume
of How I Got the Gig.