Op-eds

Everything op-ed (opposite the editorial; opinion, commentary, etc.) related can be found on The Op-Ed Project’s website.

Washington Post’s Opinion editor, Alyssa Rosenberg explains what makes a good opinion pitch in this Twitter thread.

Read guidelines on how to submit an op-ed essay to the New York Times here.

Guidelines on how to pitch an article to Guardian Opinion here.

How to submit an op-ed to The Boston Globe here.

Write first or pitch first?

Depending on where you pitch, you might be expected to submit a full draft before an editor gives you the green light. Having written a few op-eds that never saw the light of day for prestigious publications (in one instance, twice for the same editor), I now advocate against writing op-eds on spec (that is, submit a draft on a speculative basis).

I would argue that this is especially true if you’re an established mid-career journalist and have a set of clips. I know a lot of bigger publications, especially those based in the US suggest a completed draft is the norm, but, to me—an Indian writer based in India—it seems like a step in gatekeeping a number of already overworked and underpaid freelance voices.

Here are a few publications that (at least in my* experience) let you pitch first-

The Independent’s Indy Voices

CNN Opinion

Metro Opinion

South China Morning Post

The Daily Dot

HuffPost

The Guardian

Bustle

Glamour

Lacuna Voices

Pitching a argument before you’ve got a full draft down also lets the editor talk through the angle and the story with you. Perhaps there’s an overarching theme they want you to include. Perhaps they’re not interested in that particular angle, but something else you mentioned in the pitch caught their eye.

Also read Nicole Dieker’s take on this in “Ask a Freelancer: Should You Write Your Article Before You Pitch It?” for The Freelancer by Contently.

*disclaimer (because this is the internet): This is just my experience

Pitching: how to pitch, where to pitch, pitch calls, etc.

How to pitch

If you’ve no idea what a pitch is or how to pitch anyone, start with this guide on Nieman Lab by NYT’s Tim Herrera: “How to successfully pitch The New York Times (or, well, anyone else)” as well as this all-’round great resource, aptly titled “Pitch, Bitch!” (many thanks to Chloé Braithwaite-Cvetojević for sending this through)

“The Art of Pitching: How I Got Published in The Atlantic” (via Campfire Labs)

“5 Tips for a Successful Freelance Writing Pitch” (via Writer’s Digest)

“How to pitch story ideas: tips from journalists” (via International Journalists’ Network)

“50+ pitching guides for NYT, NatGeo, Wired, WaPo, Bustle and more” (via Freelancing with Tim)

“Here Are A Load Of Successful Journalism Pitches To Help You With Yours” (via Journo Resources)

“How to write the perfect pitch” (via Journalism.co.uk)

Sample pitches

Journo Resources has a collection of successful journalism pitches

Successful Pitches (a database of pitches that includes word counts and subject lines)

The Open Notebook’s Pitch Database (a collection of successful pitches for science writers).

Where to find pitch calls + publications to pitch

Catapult has a list of submission and freelancing opportunities under their Don’t Write Alone column.

Freedom With Writing sends out an email with pitch calls, submission opportunities, etc.

IWW Freelance Journalists Union compiled this spreadsheet with rates and contact details.

This Google Doc contains “media outlets that publish science stories, mainly U.S., Australia, Canada, English-language; some Latin America,” compiled by Robin Lloyd.

Where to Pitch - enter your vertical, the search engine finds you publications to pitch and gives you their pitching guidelines.

Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week Newsletter.

This Google Sheet from an anonymous (at time of writing) person who goes by The Commission Hunter on Twitter.

The Society of Freelance Journalists has a great international Slack community of 1,200+ journalists, editors, and content creators. They share opportunities and provide each other with support.

The Reporter’s Notebook has compiled a list of paying publications that focus on beer (although some of these publications cover a range of other topics).

Contently’s Freelance Rates Database has a list of publications to pitch alongside their rates.

Journo Resources put together this list of commissioned rates. They also send out a weekly newsletter gathering freelance opportunities and gigs scouted from around the internet.

PitchWhiz, HackPack, The Dots (the latter is mainly suited for UK-based freelancers) all send out weekly newsletters with pitch calls and opportunities.

TravMedia, Food4Media, Telum Media also send out pitch requests from editors (the first two are travel- and food-specific respectively).

Other similar sites you might want to check out include Media Bistro and Media Beans.

Follow editors of your favourite publications and Writers of Color on Twitter for pitch calls.

Kaitlyn Artford retweets pitch calls and opportunities on Twitter. As does Chryselle D’Silva Dias.