How To Pitch an Article to an Editor in South Africa

Getting published or being a regular feature writer for a magazine has always been a dream of mine. However, in the freelance world, that is, if you are looking to write articles part-time or to be a Carrie-Bradshaw, it can be challenging to get an opportunity.

My backstory with paid writing

During the pandemic, I got an opportunity to pitch an article idea to an editor for a paid feature. Honestly, I would have been happy with a once-off chance, but alas, it has been months and I have been paid for the submitted articles. Did I mention that they are PAID pieces!!!! However, I hope you know that you can work on your own and have a profitable blog/ website without hustling for paid work

As I was preparing to pitch, l did as much research as possible on how best to prepare and pitch to be published by the magazine. The biggest struggle I had was finding actual pitches, how to approach an editor, the writing process and, how to get paid. Now, I know that if you majored in a writing intense degree/diploma at school that taught you this then great, but if you are dipping your toes into the world of paid writing… buckle up!

Finding editors to pitch to

All you really need to know is, who is the editor and how you can contact them?

A lot of publications have their contributor’s page visible. This is simply that “Write for us” , “Do you want to contribute” or any of these variations. You have to trend carefully when you approach publications though as you might be exploited. Some magazines want to see your portfolio, which is great! A writing portfolio is simply samples of what you have written in the past.

In my case, I did not have anything “Published” but I did have this blog to show them so the editor could see my writing style and that I could actually write! However, some magazines want you to actually write over 1500 to 2000 words of work that you will obviously research on and take time to write FOR FREE. All for them to see if you can write. I do not know about you but I am not a fan of that. If you are a writer and you do have the gusto to pump out 2000-worded essays, well darling, why not just start your own website/ blog and get paid through it. If you are interested, HERE is a detailed post on how to start a profitable website Africa.

Pitching to write

You now know who to pitch to but how does one actually do it? The first thing to do go over the publication which you want to write for. This way, you will be able to see if it the right fit for you and mostly so that you can pitch the right topic ideas to the editors!

Winning article pitch example

I have been putting my pitches in email bodies as well as attaching a pdf which I have created from canva. This ensures that if the editor wants to print out pitches, put them in a folder or whatever, they have that option. Remember, canva has a lot of great free features and use their easy templates!

My winning sample

Good luck!!! While waiting to hear back from editors, start your own portfolio where you can showcase your skill and talent for as little as $3.35 per month

FIND MORE PAID WRITING WORK HERE