While it’s still somewhat of a fresh and new year, I want to put out a request to the freelance writers within our readership (and beyond): Send me your pitches!
In particular, given that I am still a straight, cisgender, middle-class white woman—same as I was last year—I’m interested in expanding the diversity of freelance voices on the site. I try to research and write about a diverse range of topics, but the perspective from which I write will always default to “straight, cisgender, middle-class white mother of a white child,” and I can only assume this means I have blindspots to issues or topics we should be covering.
Although pitches related to diversity are certainly always welcome, they don’t have to be about, say, race or LGBTQ+ issues. A diversity of voices can bring fresh perspectives on any number of topics, and that’s valuable to our readers.
What I like in a pitch
Every editor has different preferences on how they like to be pitched. Missing a preference or two won’t land you on my permanent shit list, but following a few guidelines may help you hone your pitches so I can’t help but grab up all your ideas.
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To start, pitch me the idea, not the fully written article. That makes it much easier for me to tweak the idea to an angle that best serves our readers, before you put too much work in.
Before you even start writing up the idea, though, please—and I cannot stress this enough—search what we’ve already done on the topic. Lifehacker is celebrating its Sweet 16th birthday this year, which means we’ve had 16 years to write about things like picky eating and toddler tantrums. Generally speaking, most broad parenting topics have already been covered 20 different ways. But you may have stumbled upon some quirky new method that is working wonders for you that most people have never thought of, and that’s the idea you should pitch. (As an example, Buy Your Toddler a Dog Bed is just the right level of quirk for us.)
I use this custom search bar that Lifehacker’s senior tech editor created for me, and you can, too. Type in the topic you’re looking for and it’ll pull at least most of what we’ve written for Offspring over the years.
If you do pitch a broader topic, such as “How to Stop Co-Sleeping With My Child,” include at least a few of the tips you’ll offer within the piece. We’d want to offer at least three to five ideas or steps in a post like that. I don’t need a full outline, but I do need some idea of what direction you want to take it, so I can make sure it’s not too obvious, generic, or ideas we’ve already covered. (My most common reason for turning down these broader types of pitches is that the suggestions offered are too obvious and, therefore, not of high value to the reader.)
Keep in mind with any pitch that we are constantly aiming to solve a problem and offer solutions to all the struggles that pregnancy and parenting can bring. We’re not the site that would write posts about popular baby names—instead, we write posts about how to choose the perfect baby name, with actionable advice. If you’re trying to decide whether a pitch makes sense for us, it’s helpful to ask yourself, “What’s the hack here?”
Oh, and no pitches about crafty stuff. We steer clear of crafty stuff.
Other things to include or keep in mind
If we haven’t worked together before, send me a few clips of your work with your initial pitch—particularly clips that showcase your voice. We absolutely encourage you to have some voice in your pieces—they don’t always need to include personal anecdotes (although they can, if it makes sense), but we do want your personality to come through.
Please give me at least a week, preferably two weeks, to respond to your pitch before you follow up. I often set them aside as they roll in and go through them all at once.
Once I’ve accepted your idea
Expect a typical post to land between 500 and 700 words, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. I regularly also publish 300-word posts, as well as posts that are 1,000+ words. When a writer asks me how many words to shoot for, I can usually give a good estimate, but my basic philosophy is that a topic should get all the words it needs to be thorough and helpful—but no more words than that.
And finally, we’ll discuss rates once I’m into your idea; that can vary based on the type of post and how much legwork is required.
Please send all pitches to mwalbert@lifehacker.com with a subject line that clearly indicates it’s a freelancer pitch. And if you’re not a writer but there are specific topics like you’d like to see in Offspring, those ideas are always welcome, too! Drop them here in the comments or send me a note.
