Maintenance
Part of Magazine pitching and commissioning: a practical guide
Magazine commissioning checklist for editors and contributors
Magazine commissioning checklist for pitch focus, reader fit, reporting, scope, deliverables, fees, expenses, dates, revisions, rights, and records.
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.
Pitch fit checks
- Story, not broad subject
- Reader value, focus, stakes, timing
- Preliminary reporting evidence path
- Contributor experience, access, perspective
- Disclose affiliations and conflicts
- Distinct from recent material
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.
Commissioning delivery schedule
- Reporting checkverify evidence and sources
- Draftfirst full manuscript
- Revisionseditor-requested changes
- Prooffinal accuracy pass
- Publicationexpected print or web date
Fees, expenses, and payment
- 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.
For US assignments, the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart is the standard reference. Its typical hourly ranges for proofreading, copyediting, and substantial editing run from about 35 to 60 US dollars. ASJA publishes rate guidance for freelance writers, which fits reporting-heavy commissions better than editing rates alone.
Both sets of figures move with the level of intervention, the deadline, the specialism, and the format. Set the amount from the work itself, not from word count alone.
Worked example: a completed commission sheet. A 1,800-word reported feature for a US city magazine, filled in:
Item / Entry
- Format and length
- Reported feature, 1,800 words, web and print
- Fee basis
- 1,200 US dollars per project, half on accepted draft, half on publication
- Expenses
- 250 US dollars cap for travel and transcription, receipts required
- Rights
- First North American serial rights, 90 days exclusivity, reversion after 12 months
- Dates
- Reporting check March 3, draft April 7, revisions April 18, publication May 20
- Kill terms
- 50 percent of the fee if cancelled after the draft is accepted
- Records
- Signed agreement and every amendment in the commissioning folder
The figures above are illustrative. Substitute your own rates, dates, and terms.
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.
File the signed agreement and every amendment in the same versioned folder in the publisher's records system, and record the retention period there.
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.
