Here are a few hints on pitching fresh, unexpected, interesting story ideas to magazines. 

“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” - John Steinbeck. 

To believe in your writing, you have to believe in yourself. Your belief in your skills and writing abilities will shine through in your pitch - and will make editors believe in you, too. To be a successful freelance writer, you must believe in yourself with all your heart…even when you don’t. 

Here’s how to successfully pitch your freelance article to magazines. Some information is from David Taylor’s Freelance Success Book: Insider Secrets to Selling Every Word You Write. For more info, click the book cover. 

Pitching Your Freelance Article to Magazines: How to Sell What You Write 

Don’t be afraid of email queries. I only pitch my queries to magazines via email. I use my subject line to clearly explain what the email is about. So, if I was pitching an article about being a successful freelance writer, I’d put “Query: How to be a Successful Freelance Writer” in the subject line. 

Be flexible in terms of length. A successful query letter can be a single paragraph, or a two-page letter. It depends on the nature and scope of the article. You need to convey just the right amount of information to the editor. To pitch your freelance article successfully, you need to find the balance between inciting the editor’s curiosity and writing too much. 

Keep your query short and sweet. Successful query letters are short yet well-rounded. Editors have advised me to shorten my query letters - I tend to be too detailed and long-winded. One editor said that long query letters are less likely to get passed from editor to editor. 

Show you have access to sources or experts. Give the names, locations, and credentials of the sources you’ll interview for your article. To pitch your freelance articles to magazines successfully, don’t promise experts or sources that you can’t deliver! 

Describe the scope and structure of your article. Is this a how-to article, a service piece, or a round-up of health tips? Will you include anecdotes or scientific research - or a mixture of both? If you want to sell what you write, you need to be clear about the article.

Explain why people would want to read your article. To pitch your freelance article to a magazine successfully, highlight the benefit to readers. Will they improve their lives, escape from reality, or learn how to build a deck? Make sure the reader benefit is clear. 

Include an eye-catching, descriptive title. Titles and subtitles can be time-consuming and difficult to write, but they can sell your article. To sell what you write, take the time to create a title that hooks the editor’s attention. 

Example of a professional query letter from Freelance Success Book by David Taylor: “Dear David: Several of your recent ‘Scuba Law’ columns have focused on the legal obligations of dive operators. As a divemaster and lawyer I see something just as bad every weekend: Divers who have no idea that agreeing to be a dive buddy implies serious legal risks. I want to write a 750-word article for your ‘Scuba Law’ department that details for divers what those risks are and how they can be managed.”