I absolutely love your posts with all the back story to your pieces. This helps not only writers trying to break into specific outlets, but experienced writers who want to feel a little less alone with their pitching experiences. Thanks so much for sharing!
I stumbled upon your newsletter in my feed and clicked because of the funny title, but what a useful article! I'm so glad I found your Substack, and it's once a month, thank god, since there are too many newsletters lol
As always, Anna, this is super helpful. My writing goal this year is to make money (to dig myself out of my book-publishing hole). I hear what you're saying about platform, but I'm curious if you've gotten new subscribers after your Newsweek or other big publication essays? Even if you don't have hard data, how do you assess the value of 100 million readers?
The pages and pages of quality bylines in Anna's book proposal showcased the strength of her collective platform and reach. And she sold her memoir within a few months of being on submission! I'd say the value for each person will vary as it will depend on each person's goals.
Oh, this is such a great question. I wish I had a good answer. As Morgan said, these bylines helped me sell my book proposal while I was on submission. But I, too, have these questions about what's worth it vs. what's not when it comes to publishing. Right now, for instance, I've really had to become more strategic with my time since going back to work after maternity leave. I think a lot about not wasting my limited resources and about how to most effectively promote my forthcoming book. So, for me right now, that means waiting to pitch these big outlets again until I have a preorder link I can include in my bio. But I will be very curious to see how standalone essays that I (hopefully) place then translate into sales figures.
All that to say, this question resonates with me. And I hope you're able to focus on your goal of making money through writing this year!
Okay, I needed to take some time to think through all the information here, but now I do have some questions. How far in advance do you pitch timely essays? I've read different perspectives, but I would have thought after Christmas for a New Year's resolution piece would be cutting it too close, but it worked! Is it because you already had such a specific idea for where you were taking it? Also, with regards to simultaneous submissions, you wrote that you submitted elsewhere within a few days if you didn't hear back. Did you let the outlets know you were going to do that? Just wondering because I have a specific piece I'm working on. I LOVED the essay!!
Ah, these are such great questions! So, you should pitch timely essays (or, at least, essays pegged to events on the calendar rather than the culture) much sooner than I did. Ha! I pitched my essay about holiday grief to Salon at the beginning of December. And I pitched this Taylor Swift/New Years essay to Newsweek close to Christmas. I was cutting it way too close (and I really didn't think I'd get a yes). But I ended up placing them. I think this is, in part, because these outlets are digital/daily outlets. If this had been in print, it would have been way too late. If these outlets published less frequently, again, way too late.
So, there's varying advice about simultaneous submissions. If you're submitting a full essay to literary outlets, simultaneous submissions are pretty much expected. If you're pitching an idea to a news outlet, you need to pitch exclusively until you get a response and/or at least a week passes. But when you have a timely piece, many people say that editors expect that you are simultaneously pitching. It's best to play it safe and include a note in your pitch saying that you are pitching multiple outlets because of the timely nature of the topic.
I'm eager to see the piece you're working on placed somewhere! Thanks for always being so kind and encouraging.
Thanks for this! It’s so tough to figure out! A few years ago I submitted an essay to an online parenting site about a month before Christmas. They responded that it was perfect, but too close to the holiday. I still kind of scratch my head about that one because they regularly publish timely pieces. One more question (though maybe I should just message you) about timely pieces: if you didn’t include a note about simultaneous submission with a query, but you don’t hear back after a week or so, is it okay to move on? Or should you nudge the editor first?
I absolutely love your posts with all the back story to your pieces. This helps not only writers trying to break into specific outlets, but experienced writers who want to feel a little less alone with their pitching experiences. Thanks so much for sharing!
I'm so grateful for all of your encouragement -- and for all I've learned from you about breaking into new outlets, too! Thanks, Heather.
Loved this and your Newsweek piece!
I appreciate that so much!
I stumbled upon your newsletter in my feed and clicked because of the funny title, but what a useful article! I'm so glad I found your Substack, and it's once a month, thank god, since there are too many newsletters lol
I totally agree! I like once-a-month newsletters because I just can’t keep up with that much email. Thank you for your encouragement and for reading!
I love this piece. And especially knowing the backstory!
You’ve always given me the best ideas for standalone pieces!
Thanks for another great BTS. Love this!
Your kindness and encouragement mean so much to me -- thank you, Abby!
As always, Anna, this is super helpful. My writing goal this year is to make money (to dig myself out of my book-publishing hole). I hear what you're saying about platform, but I'm curious if you've gotten new subscribers after your Newsweek or other big publication essays? Even if you don't have hard data, how do you assess the value of 100 million readers?
The pages and pages of quality bylines in Anna's book proposal showcased the strength of her collective platform and reach. And she sold her memoir within a few months of being on submission! I'd say the value for each person will vary as it will depend on each person's goals.
Oh, this is such a great question. I wish I had a good answer. As Morgan said, these bylines helped me sell my book proposal while I was on submission. But I, too, have these questions about what's worth it vs. what's not when it comes to publishing. Right now, for instance, I've really had to become more strategic with my time since going back to work after maternity leave. I think a lot about not wasting my limited resources and about how to most effectively promote my forthcoming book. So, for me right now, that means waiting to pitch these big outlets again until I have a preorder link I can include in my bio. But I will be very curious to see how standalone essays that I (hopefully) place then translate into sales figures.
All that to say, this question resonates with me. And I hope you're able to focus on your goal of making money through writing this year!
Pointed and practical. Your advice will inspire many to brush up their pitches.
I'm so grateful for your kind words and encouragement, Rona -- thank you!
Wow, Anna! You’ve knocked it out of the park again! This is so interesting and informative! Thank you for sharing all this so generously!
Okay, I needed to take some time to think through all the information here, but now I do have some questions. How far in advance do you pitch timely essays? I've read different perspectives, but I would have thought after Christmas for a New Year's resolution piece would be cutting it too close, but it worked! Is it because you already had such a specific idea for where you were taking it? Also, with regards to simultaneous submissions, you wrote that you submitted elsewhere within a few days if you didn't hear back. Did you let the outlets know you were going to do that? Just wondering because I have a specific piece I'm working on. I LOVED the essay!!
Ah, these are such great questions! So, you should pitch timely essays (or, at least, essays pegged to events on the calendar rather than the culture) much sooner than I did. Ha! I pitched my essay about holiday grief to Salon at the beginning of December. And I pitched this Taylor Swift/New Years essay to Newsweek close to Christmas. I was cutting it way too close (and I really didn't think I'd get a yes). But I ended up placing them. I think this is, in part, because these outlets are digital/daily outlets. If this had been in print, it would have been way too late. If these outlets published less frequently, again, way too late.
So, there's varying advice about simultaneous submissions. If you're submitting a full essay to literary outlets, simultaneous submissions are pretty much expected. If you're pitching an idea to a news outlet, you need to pitch exclusively until you get a response and/or at least a week passes. But when you have a timely piece, many people say that editors expect that you are simultaneously pitching. It's best to play it safe and include a note in your pitch saying that you are pitching multiple outlets because of the timely nature of the topic.
I'm eager to see the piece you're working on placed somewhere! Thanks for always being so kind and encouraging.
Thanks for this! It’s so tough to figure out! A few years ago I submitted an essay to an online parenting site about a month before Christmas. They responded that it was perfect, but too close to the holiday. I still kind of scratch my head about that one because they regularly publish timely pieces. One more question (though maybe I should just message you) about timely pieces: if you didn’t include a note about simultaneous submission with a query, but you don’t hear back after a week or so, is it okay to move on? Or should you nudge the editor first?
I think different people have different opinions about this -- but I think it's okay to move on after a week, even without a note.
That's a wonderful story of perseverance. I also published an essay with Newsweek. It was a great experience.