Guides
Magazine pitching and commissioning: a practical guide
A magazine pitch sells one story an editor can verify, budget and schedule, and a commission confirms that freelance assignment in a written contract.
What to take away
- A pitch proposes one story an editor can picture on a page, not a subject area.
- Say which access is confirmed and which is still hoped for; editors price risk on that difference.
- A commission fixes scope, delivery date, fee, expenses, rights and kill terms in writing.
- A request under the US Freedom of Information Act is a schedule risk. FOIA.gov warns that agencies answer in order of receipt and that backlog and complexity set the wait.
- When a story grows, settle the new scope before the contributor does the extra work.
The story comes before the topic
Lead with the story in two sentences. Who is affected, what changed, and what the reader gets from it. Then the angle, the reporting route, and why this writer.
Topic vs. pitch
Topic
- What it gives
- nothing to commission
- Example
- state of freelance illustration
- People
- unnamed illustrators
- Editor can
- not budget or schedule
Pitch
- What it gives
- one story to verify
- Example
- gallery cut budget by half
- People
- named illustrators who lost work
- Editor can
- verify, budget, schedule
A topic is not a pitch. "The state of freelance illustration" gives an editor nothing to commission. A pitch says a regional gallery cut its illustration budget by half and now buys stock, and names the illustrators who lost the work.
Test the reporting before you promise it
Separate confirmed access from hoped-for access. A named source who has agreed to talk is confirmed; a source you expect to say yes is not.
Reporting access check
- Named source who agreedconfirmed
- Source expected to say yesnot confirmed
- FOIA request filedstate what it asks
- Response time varies with complexity and backlog
- Agency need not create records or analyze data
- Say what the piece becomes if late or empty
Records are where schedules break. The US Freedom of Information Act governs the federal records request, and FOIA.gov's guide to making a request sets out the rules. Agencies process requests in order of receipt, and response time varies with complexity and backlog. An agency need not create records, run research, analyze data or answer questions.
A pitch that leans on a release should state whether the request is filed, what it asks for, and what the piece becomes if the answer arrives late or empty.
What a pitch has to carry
Poynter's three guidelines for a story pitch name a premise, a reporting plan and a time peg. A magazine pitch adds length, form and visual possibilities, but those follow the story.
What a pitch carries
- Premise in two sentences
- Reporting plan and route
- Time peg for publication
- Length and intended form
- Visual possibilities
- Named sources, documents, scenes
- No access claimed that is not granted
Name likely sources, documents and scenes.
How an editor reads it
| Question | Editorial test |
|---|---|
| Reader value | What will the audience learn, feel, or be able to do? |
| Distinction | Has this angle already appeared in the issue or archive? |
| Evidence | Can the central claim be reported and verified? |
| Access | Are necessary people, places, records, and rights reachable? |
| Form | Does the proposed structure suit the material? |
| Risk | What conflicts, harm, legal, safety, or independence issues need review? |
| Capacity | Can the team edit, check, design, and publish the work properly? |
| Cost | Do fee, expenses, visuals, travel, and specialist checks fit the budget? |
Put the commission in writing
A written commission records who does what, by when, and for how much. It names the parties, the working title, the scope, the target length and the intended format.
It also fixes the delivery date, the editor, the fee and the payment trigger. Expenses, kill terms and revision rounds belong in the same document.
So do rights, credit, disclosure duties and the route for cancelling the assignment. Contract law and employment status vary by territory, so a template is not advice on a specific agreement.
In the United States, the IRS decides whether a contributor is an employee or an independent contractor. US publishers commonly ask a freelancer to file a Form W-9 and issue a Form 1099 at year end. In the UK, as a second market, check status with HMRC or an accountant.
Here is a worked example of those terms for a 1,500-word feature due on 1 June.
- Feethe agreed amount for that length, with the payment trigger named, for example half on signature and half on acceptance.
- Kill feethe share of the fee paid if the editor kills the piece, commonly 25 to 50 percent, and whether expenses are covered.
- Rightsfirst North American serial rights for a stated term, or all rights if the publisher buys them.
- Revisionsone round of edits within the agreed scope. A new angle or a rewrite is a new fee.
When the story changes
Reporting moves stories. A new source can shift the angle, and the shift can change the work.
If the new direction adds length, travel, interviews or data work, record the change before the contributor proceeds. That note should also cover the deadline and any rights the new material needs.
If the publication ends the assignment, apply the agreed kill terms and say what happens to unpublished material.
Common questions
How long should a pitch be?
Long enough to establish the story, its relevance, the reporting path and the writer's fit. Follow the publication's stated preference, and if there is none, keep it to a page.
Is a positive email a commission?
Only if it confirms the material terms. Ask for written scope, fee, dates, rights and revision terms before you start work.
Should a writer report before pitching?
Limited pre-reporting shows the story is feasible. Do not complete the reporting unpaid as a condition of being considered.
Can an editor change the angle?
Yes, through discussion. A material change should show up in the brief, the scope, the deadline and the fee where appropriate.
In this guide
- How to write a clear magazine contributor briefContributor brief method for defining reader purpose, scope, format, evidence, sources, voice, visuals, deadlines, revisions, fees, expenses, rights, and approvals.
- Pitch, contributor brief, assignment letter, and contract comparedContributor documents compared across pitches, briefs, assignment letters, contracts, statements of work, change records, invoices, and corrections.
- Magazine commissioning checklist for editors and contributorsMagazine commissioning checklist for pitch focus, reader fit, reporting, scope, deliverables, fees, expenses, dates, revisions, rights, and records.
- Magazine pitching and commissioning problems with practical fixesCommissioning fixes for topic-only pitches, unpaid reporting, vague approvals, scope creep, missing fees, broad rights, status assumptions, and silence.
- Feature commissioning case study: scope change and the lawThis feature commissioning case study follows a fictional assignment through a lost site and a scope change, set against New York's Freelance Isn't Free Act.
