Magazine commissioning checklist for editors and contributors

What to take away

• Confirm the story and reporting path before negotiating page furniture.
• Match scope, time, specialist skill, and expenses to the fee.
• Put rights, payment, revisions, cancellation, and credit in writing.
• Define which changes require new approval or terms.
• Preserve the accepted agreement and all later amendments.

Pitch and editorial fit

• The pitch proposes a story rather than a broad subject.
• Reader value, focus, stakes, and timing are clear.
• Preliminary reporting shows a plausible evidence path.
• The contributor's experience, access, or perspective fits the work.
• Affiliations, conflicts, and prior involvement are disclosed.
• The idea is distinct from commissioned and recently published material.

Poynter's current freelance pitching guidance asks for a clear reason the story matters now, audience fit, reporting plan, likely length, sources, access to records or images, relevant expertise, and affiliations. A magazine should publish equally concrete guidance where possible so contributors can judge fit before investing time.

Scope and delivery

• Reader purpose and expected format are written.
• Approximate length and platform package are defined.
• Required reporting, source response, and asset duties are listed.
• Commissioning editor and final decision maker are named.
• Reporting check, draft, revisions, proof, and expected publication dates are recorded.
• Submission format and source-material route are clear.

Pause here and compare the requested work with the contributor's available time and the publication's editing capacity. A feasible reporting plan still fails if interviews, specialist review, image clearance, or production work cannot fit the schedule. Resolve those limits before setting the fee and delivery promise.

Money and capacity

• Fee basis and amount are explicit.
• Payment trigger, invoice requirements, and payment date are defined.
• Preapproved travel, research, transcription, and other expenses are covered.
• Expected revisions fit the fee and schedule.
• Kill or cancellation terms address work completed before termination.

The CIEP's page of suggested minimum rates publishes hourly figures for proofreading, copyediting, substantial editing, and project management, then states that the institute has no authority to tell anyone what to charge or pay. It lists what actually moves a fee: the level of intervention the text needs, how fast the job must be done, the specialism and experience of the person doing it, the format of the material, and market conditions. Budget an assignment from that kind of detail rather than from a word count alone.

Rights and legal terms

• Intended print, web, app, audio, video, archive, syndication, and promotion uses are addressed.
• Exclusivity, territory, duration, and reversion are clear where relevant.
• Credit and permitted biography or likeness use are stated.
• Warranties, indemnity, confidentiality, and dispute terms are understood.
• Both sides know which document controls conflicts.

Change and close

• A material scope change requires recorded approval.
• Added reporting, travel, format, length, or rights triggers a terms review.
• The final accepted version and source packet are preserved.
• Payment, expenses, correction questions, and reuse requests have named contacts.

Common questions

What should stop a commission?

No reportable focus, implausible access, unmanaged conflict, missing authority, or unresolved core terms.

Is a per-word fee always fair?

No single rate structure fits every assignment. Reporting time, risk, skill, expenses, revisions, and rights matter.

Can publication date remain estimated?

Yes, but payment and exclusivity should not depend indefinitely on an undefined date.

When should terms be re-opened?

When requested work materially exceeds the agreed length, reporting, formats, travel, schedule, or rights.