Querying Editors

February 16, 2018 4:40 PM

I am working on a marketing plan to promote an upcoming book. One market in the mix is magazines to whom I'd submit freelance articles as excerpts about subjects in the book. I've read submission guidelines that say freelancers should suggest a story idea to an editor and wait for a response.

But I've also read stuff that says they should ask editors what they want in a general inquiry before sending a formed idea in a query. I guess its supposed to let the editor say exactly what they're wanting at that moment, though I'd guess some editors might push back by saying that's what submission guidelines are for. Which is the best way?

posted by CollectiveMind to Writing & Language (4 answers total)

I'd recommend spending some time reading the magazine, if you're not already very familiar with it, to best understand what angle from the book might most be of interest. Then tailor a specific pitch for the appropriate editor at the publication. I think people generally do not have time to answer an open-ended question (and unfortunately, also have very little time for your pitch, so keep it short and very targeted).
posted by pinochiette at 5:01 PM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]

OTOH, the monster must be fed, and if your pitch does reflect some familiarity with the magazine, and gives the editor something fresh or compelling to offer it, you stand a good chance of getting a response.
posted by notyou at 6:09 PM on February 16, 2018

Hi, former magazine editor here. You want to send pitches, not finished stories; please don't send a request for an assignment to an editor you've never worked with. I want freelancers to pitch me story ideas; I might assign ideas to a writer I know and trust, but never to a total stranger. Do your research and learn what the magazine covers and how it's covered.

However, I would never accept a pitch for an article from a PR person, no matter what the topic. Just, a flat no. Luckily for you, many magazines will run a book excerpt, if it fits the magazine (that would be better promotion for the book, anyway). That's the way I'd go. Send the press release for the book along with a few ideas of excerpts that might work for the magazine (again, you'll have done your research and know what those are). Good luck!
posted by chowflap at 9:55 PM on February 16, 2018 [4 favorites]

Another former magazine editor here -- print and online.

While we mostly had reliable in-house or regular freelance writers to call upon, we also got pitches from random writers, so we compiled freelance submission guidelines to send to those newbies.

Depending on what field your book is in, these magazines may do the same. Are you comfortable sharing more information in this post? (My Memail is open, if not.)

We often received pitches from PR people, most of which were poorly researched and really didn't fit our target audience, but if we were offered an extract from a book that was well written, we would sometimes run those as guest posts online. And, of course, we didn't pay for those.

I have received truly brilliant articles that were sent in by random freelance writers, a couple of whom have since gone on to bigger and brighter things, but they are vanishingly rare, and I'd always rather see a well-written pitch.
posted by vickyverky at 11:34 PM on February 16, 2018