How To Pitch a Magazine: 
MOMeo’s Managing Editor Weighs In

So you want to be a magazine contributor – good for you! As far as I’m concerned, there is no more noble enterprise.

(Admittedly I am somewhat biased, but still.)

As you might expect, it’s not just as easy as sending in your article.  There’s no guidebook, no code, no secret handshake – and every magazine is different.

That said, there are some general tips that apply across the board.

#1. Refine your idea.

True story: when I was a columnist for the Calgary Herald, a woman I won’t name asked if I would put in a good word.  She wanted to write a column about “possibility.”

Seriously.

I did everything I could not to burst out laughing.  No way would I embarrass myself with the Editor in Chief, asking about a column on “possibility.”  I would have been wasting both my time and his, at the cost of my credibility.

The worst part?  This woman should have known better.  She owned and published (and I believe, still does) her own magazine, distributed in three countries.

You’d be amazed how many pitches I see that basically say “I want to write an article about being a single mom.”  Great.  What about being a single mom?  That’s an impossibly broad topic.

The more focused your idea is, the better your article will be.  It also gives the editor a better picture of the direction you want to go.

As a general guideline, try to refine your idea twice before sending it.  Here’s a completely hypothetical example:

First: Mayor Jane Brown

Better: Mayor Jane Brown is in danger of losing the next election

Best: Losing the suburban vote may cost Mayor Jane Brown the next election

#2.  Is your idea a good fit?

Say you’ve got a great idea for an article on baseball.  A magazine dedicated to mom entrepreneurs may not be a great fit.  You can try and tweak your idea to fit a magazine’s target audience, or you can just submit your idea to the editors of Sports Illustrated instead.

Can you do both?  Absolutely.  But if you don’t see any similar stories in the magazine, you should explain why you think your story idea is a good fit.

#3. Think Ahead

Most magazines plan and work at least two months in advance.  This creates the illusion that we’re always prepared.  Online magazines have shorter timeframes, but we still work ahead.

What does that mean for you, the prospective contributor?  You have to think ahead, too.  If you’ve got an amazing Christmas recipe you want published, December 15 is far too late.  The early bird gets published.

#4.  Don’t go into too much detail

Here’s another ultra-top secret: editors are lazy.

Well, not so much lazy as busy.  Consider: how do you deal with four-page emails from strangers?  With skepticism and an eye roll, right?  Or maybe you just delete them right away?

Your initial query letter shouldn’t exceed one page – for any reason.

#5.  Include some samples

There’s no nice way to put this, so brace yourself.

Ready?

There’s an excellent chance you’re a horrible writer.

Okay, I said it.  Don’t be shocked, and more importantly, don’t be offended.  Not everyone can or should write.  But if you’re asking and intending to be published, you should be at least competent.

But Maclean, you ask, what if I don’t have any samples?  To get published, you need to be published already?  Isn’t that a catch-22?

This used to be a big problem, admittedly.  Not anymore.  Virtually everyone has their own website, or at least a blog.  It’s perfectly okay to include that.  Contrary to what you might think, I’m less interested in where you were published than the quality.  If that means self-published material, fine.

You probably want to know the magic number of samples to include, don’t you?  Well, there isn’t one.  Three is a reasonable number, but that doesn’t mean you should panic if you only include two.

#6. Before sending, double-check your pitch.  Then triple-check it.

If you’re asking to be published as a writer, it’s not unfair to expect a grasp of language.  That means no spelling mistakes, no typos, no bad grammar.

Also, double-check your editor’s name.  As you can imagine, I’ve seen every conceivable variation on “Maclean Kay.”  I try not to be offended when I get mail addressed to Miss Kaye McLean, I really do.  But it’s usually a quick way to tell whether someone doesn’t pay too much attention to detail.