How to Pitch and Sell a Freelance Feature Article

When I started pitching freelance gaming articles a few years ago, I was surprised and dismayed by how few resources existed to help new writers understand the intricacies of pitching and breaking into pro markets.

I was fortunate to have a good friend who was also an established freelancer—Ty Schalter, who has an amazing newsletter called Gimme Schalter that you should also be reading—to mentor me through the process, give me feedback on my pitches, and help me learn the craft. But not everyone’s so fortunate.

So, now I want to pay it forward by providing a peek behind the curtain with (hopefully) actionable advice that will make pitching feel like less of a black box—complete with examples of real pitches I’ve sold. A pitch can be daunting, but once you figure out the basics of what works for your stories, you’ll have a convenient template that makes the process easier and quicker.

(If you’re looking for a roadmap for writing the feature itself, I’ve got you covered there, too: How I write and revise non-fiction)

Over time, I’ve developed a consistent pitch template that’s landed pieces at major outlets like Wired, Kotaku, and VentureBeat. It’s meant to be clear and concise, present a story that needs telling, and an argument about why I’m the one to do so.

That all being said, some editors/venues have specific things they want to see in a pitch, so always be sure to read their pitch guidelines and adjust accordingly.

Here’s how my pitch template breaks down:

This first pitch found a home at by far the largest outlet to feature my work. Inspired by Kayleigh Donaldson, I decided to make a conscious effort to expand the markets I pitched to this year. I always considered Wired a dream market, so was surprised when they wanted my piece on a pretty niche topic, and I’ve now established a good working relationship with my editor that has led to follow-up work. Never self reject!

This was a tricky pitch because a) it was about a niche topic that I believed had crossover appeal with a mainstream audience just due to novelty factor (which is why I felt Wired was a good fit), b) it was something I was personally interested and invested in, but not expert level knowledgeable, and c) increasingly popular among the enthusiast crowd, which meant higher stakes to get it right.

So, I needed something that reflected my personal interest, pleased the enthusiast crowd, but also remained accessible to a more mainstream audience. My editors at Wired worked with me to find that sweet spot, and the end result was a piece that proved popular with their readers, and remains my favourite pro piece I’ve published.

Fanbyte is a venue I’ve been wanting to break into for a while, but it was actually the sixth place I pitched with this story specifically because their guidelines include:

But after a few unsuccessful pitches, and a very close call at another great venue (who wanted to see if we could adjust the story’s scope, but ultimately couldn’t find a comfortable consensus), I decided to give it a shot anyway. This is a piece about books, so my pitch had to make sure to be clear and convincing about why I was pitching them on something explicitly excluded by their pitch guidelines.

The major thing here was showing my past work connecting literature and video gaming by linking to my Kotaku piece. My background as a writer is in book blogging and games writing, so this piece was a natural fit for me. That much was obvious just from my background. So, instead, I focused the pitch here on the shared experience of maturing alongside the games writing industry, and bringing on board some vital voices connected to the subject matter to help me tell the story. I also specifically made this pitch a bit looser and more voice-y than usual—to give the editor a taste of how my style would contribute to the story, considering it’s framed as a personal (rather than researched) exploration of the topic.

We went through a lot of editorial on this piece, and the editors at Fanbyte were amazing, but the end product still hewed very close to the original pitch. Some stories tell themselves, some stories require a close personal connection between the writer and subject, and others, like this one, required hours of interviews to bring the best version possible forward. What’s not encompassed by this pitch or the final article are the dozens of quotes left on the cutting room floor that were just as good as what I published.

With the majority of my writing experience being in books and games, I struck out several times pitching this piece of Hayao Miyazaki’s films to mainstream culture and film-focused outlets. More likely than not, those types of outlets would’ve preferred a piece like this to be tied to a news beat—like Ghibli movies coming to Netflix, or Miyazaki announcing a new film, etc.—anything to carry over the momentum of an excited audience. Once I shifted my approach from mainstream to enthusiast venues, it quickly ended up at Uncanny Magazine.

Unlike the Fanbyte pitch, this one is short and tight—but also full of voice. It’s basically the essay itself condensed down into a setup paragraph and a breakdown of the themes and films that provide the answers. Though I did a lot of reporting and sourcing quotes for this piece, it was ultimately a personal essay on the films, and I wanted that to come out in the pitch. (This honestly probably hurt its chances at the mainstream venues I first approached.)

I like this pitch because it literally begins with a question from Miyazaki, and concludes with his answer. Cheeky, but effective.

The biggest challenge with the features I pitch is that they’re rarely tied to news beats, so they’ve got to stand alone and tell a compelling story to a more general audience. Miyazaki’s films are canonical for many people, but this piece had to dig a bit deeper to find the shared connection between parents to really sell itself as a relevant essay and not just another review of the classic movies.

You’ll notice the fee is lower than the other pieces. This is the result of pitching to a semi-pro market with a limited budget. I prefer to get paid more for these features (and, honestly, considering the length of most of my work, I’m probably regularly underpaid even at the larger sites), but I’ve worked with Uncanny for a long time and with a background in fan writing, I’ll make exceptions sometimes. Familiarity with the outlet and the editor is also why I didn’t include writing samples in this pitch.

Be Polite!—Honestly, you probably won’t get a response to most of your pitches. If you do get a rejection, keep your cool. You don’t even need to respond to the editor, but if you do, keep it to a quick, “Thanks for taking the time to read my pitch!” Don’t snark, don’t worry. Just move on.

How Long Should I Wait?—I have a background in the torturous world of genre short fiction submissions, where you’re often expected to wait weeks or months (or years…) to get a response. Pitching freelance isn’t like that, and you can turn things around much quicker. I still stick to a single submission at a time, but nudge an editor after three or four days if I haven’t heard anything. In my experience, interested editors will often respond to a nudge very quickly, so if you don’t hear anything within a day or two after that, it’s generally safe to pitch elsewhere. My nudge email is usually something like: “Hey! Just wanted to check in on this before I pitch elsewhere.” Pithy and concise.

They’re Gonna Say No—Most of your pitches will either get a) no response, or b) a no. Even if your pitch includes your Hugo Award and a bunch of top-tier bylines. Even if you’ve landed a piece at that outlet with that editor before. That’s just the reality of pitching stories. Move on! But, also, don’t give up. You’ll notice all of my examples were rejected before finding the right home—some were rejected multiple times. That’s normal. I’ve got a few dream venues (Hi, Waypoint!) I’m still trying to crack, and they’re the first ones I pitch (unless I think my story fits best at a particular venue).

Freelance is Tough—Most venues have staff writers who handle their shorter, opinion-based content. It’s just cheaper and easier to get a staff writer to create a post on why Sylvain is the juiciest himbo in Three Houses than it is to hire and onboard a freelancer. Take a look at the type of content the venue is publishing by freelancers and pitch the right stories to the right editors.

Keep Tabs on Editors—On any given day, you can find editors on Twitter gabbing about the types of stories they want to see in their inboxes. It’s fun (and important!) to work on your darling stories, but chasing those pitches that overlap your interests and an editor’s can be a good way to get your foot in the door.

Editors Will Make Your Work Better—Trust me: Trust them. I’ve levelled up big time by bringing a collaborative and open attitude as a freelance writer. Some editors work with a light touch, others do major structural and developmental passes before they even think about a line edit. Go along with it, ask questions if you don’t agree with a change, and use it as an opportunity to learn from a pro. Chances are, their heart is in the right place.

Where do I send my pitch?—As I suggested earlier, google the outlet plus “pitch guidelines,” and that’ll give you all the information you need. If the outlet doesn’t have clear pitch guidelines, check their masthead (again, by googling the outlet’s name plus “masthead”), which should point you toward the right editor.

Hopefully this is helpful! If you’ve got any more questions about pitching or freelancing, I can’t promise I have all the answers, but am happy to provide insight into my personal experiences. You can find me on Twitter.

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