How to pitch to an editor and actually get your work published

Take note.

Fashion Journal, at its core, is built on voices like yours. While a significant portion of what we publish is written in-house, we strongly believe in sharing new perspectives and platforming a diverse range of writers.

Every month, we commission stories we think will resonate with our readers online from established and emerging writers. And every few months, we accept pitches from journalists, photographers and creative directors for our print magazine. So, if your goal this year is to see your byline in Fashion Journal, here’s what to know about pitching. 

Looking for more careers related content? Check out our Life vertical.

It’s true what they say, editors really do receive an astronomical amount of emails every day. This means we can quickly distinguish a great pitch from a good pitch. Some hit the nail on the head, while others linger in our overflowing nightmare of an inbox. For the common good of creatives and editors everywhere, we’ve put together a list of pitching tips to increase your chances of getting published.

The way you write your email matters

For whatever reason, this is one that too many people don’t pay much attention to. Despite the world of editorial being shrouded in ambiguity, there’s no hidden ‘art’ to writing pitches that’s accessible only through membership and secret passwords. It’s a skill, and like any skill, the more you do it, the better you get.

Start by writing PITCH: [Insert Title of Pitch Here] in the subject line. This is your first (and most important) chance to cut through the PR noise and capture our attention. Anything we’re interested in will then get an initial skim-read. 

Now, onto the body of the email. Keep it simple: introduce yourself, sell us your idea and tell us why it’s relevant for Fashion Journal (also outline here if you’re pitching for print or the website). Direct us to examples of your most recent work. If you don’t have any published work yet, attaching an example of your personal writing is a great idea.

Don’t make us do the legwork

Come armed with ideas. Editors work to a fast pace, so we rarely have time to respond to your “Here are my skills, is there anything you’d like me to write for you?” email. We already have a database of writers, and because we’ve worked with them before, we’re more likely to work with them again. The same goes for every other publication out there.

Instead, give us something specific and what you’ll do to make it happen. Will you write this in first-person? Who are you planning to interview? Do you have access to someone or something unique that gives you an edge as a writer? Make yourself indispensable to the idea, so we have no choice but to go with you.

Show you understand (and love) us

At the end of the day, we’re just a publication, standing in front of a potential writer, wanting you to tell us you love us. But in all seriousness, if you can convince us that you genuinely read and resonate with our content, we’ll want to work with you more.

We’ve found those who read Fashion Journal more quickly adopt our tone, inject a little humour and avoid clichés (all things we love). Explore our Beauty, Fashion, Pre-Loved, Life and Health sections and tell us where your pitch belongs. 

It also helps to know what articles we usually write in-house. We rarely commission freelancers to write our Hey, I Like Your Style, How I Got Here and Top Three series.

Timely versus evergreen

When it comes to new contributors, there’s often a bit of back and forth with editors to get the tone, language, format and overall vibe exactly right. This can take time, so if you pitch us an idea today that won’t be relevant tomorrow, we’re less likely to  pursue it. You could, however, write the piece in full, attach it to your email and ask if we want it. That way, we can see how much editing it will require.

If you’re a new writer, pitch us your timely idea in advance with enough lead time, or start with something evergreen. If you’re an experienced writer, don’t hesitate to send us a timely pitch but make sure to let us know when you can file it.

Keep pitches concise

Editors are time-poor, so get to the point as quickly as possible – no more than 150 words. It’s also unlikely you will get a pitch approved if you send through just one idea (unless it’s really strong).

Just like every publication out there, we decline more content than we commission. Increase your chances by putting forth three to four ideas per email. As for the format, the following works well.

Headline

Snappy tagline.

Here are all the details of the piece I’ll write and my reason for pitching it. I propose this particular format, covering the below points (you can also include any people of note/experts you wish to interview here):

• Point A
• Point B
• Point C

Benefits to you: Here is how you’ll benefit if you run this piece.

Think visually

Most articles will require some form of imagery. We do a lot of this legwork ourselves to keep our visuals consistent, but if you have imagery you think could work well with your piece, don’t hesitate to send it through (particularly if it’s imagery of you and is connected to the article at hand, e.g. a photo of your beauty cabinet for an article about serums).

Many outlets nowadays place as much emphasis on visual language as written, so make sure your suggestion fits with the publication’s aesthetic, as well as formatting restrictions, and ensure you have been granted the right to use it. All publications require a minimum size for their images, and many are restricted by image orientation (all portrait or all landscape).

Know the style guide

Every publication has one and you should know the basics. Do as much reading as you can and find out what words should be italicised, how to format dates, how we like to hyperlink, how to capitalise titles and any information we include at the bottom of an article. This is something that will immediately set you apart. We live and die by the style guide, and if you can make our jobs a little bit easier by adopting these conventions in your writing, then you’re already part of the way there.

Say my name

Nine times out of 10, our names are in our emails. And if they’re not, it pays to do your research. LinkedIn is an obvious start, or try the publication’s contact page. Personalisation is key!

If you’re ready to pitch to us, send it to editorial@fashionjournal.com.au.

For more advice on pitching, try this.