The Freelancing Rule I Frequently Ignore
And why you might want to do the same
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I got a degree in journalism in *checks notes* 1998 and started submitting freelance and creative pieces shortly after. I’ve also been a member of freelancing and writing groups for a long time and one of the pieces of advice that I’ve frequently seen repeated over time is “Never submit to a general email inbox. Those are just black holes!”
But I am here to report that I frequently submit to general inboxes and they are frequently not black holes.
Figuring out how to submit freelance pieces used to be a much more mysterious process involving finding a Masthead in a physical print magazine, determining the best editor for your pitch, and then guessing at an email address or even using the good old-fashioned mail.
For a few publications, this is still the process, but with the rise of digital publications, many pubs have very clear and easy-to-follow pitch guidelines posted on their sites.
Some of these guidelines even list the editor’s name and email for the appropriate section and some list a general email inbox (which is often an email like pitches@PublicatonName). I think these general inboxes are often worth trying.
Upsides to submitting to a general pitch email
It often really does work. I have had pieces accepted after pitching general pitch emails inboxes at publications like Fodor’s, Electric Lit, and Today’s Parent. I’ve also gotten rejections from several general email inboxes, so I know that those inboxes are not black holes.
Some pubs do not want you to email an editor directly. McSweeney’s has a general email inbox that is the only place you should submit to. I’ve also heard more than one editor at freelancing conferences say they really want you to use the general email box because several editors check it and it’s the most efficient way for them to review pitches.
Finding the right editor can take a lot of time. Editors often come and go or switch roles at publications and keeping up with who the current correct editor is can be tricky. There are ways to find this info—like searching Twitter/LinkedIn or looking at online mastheads (and I’m working on a paid subscriber resource for this that may help, stay tuned!). But it still takes time, and researching and writing a good pitch can also take time so if a site has a general email inbox and I can’t easily find a good editor to pitch, I will often try that first.
You can pitch to the inbox at any time. I also see a lot of hand-wringing about the best times or days to pitch editors given that they are overwhelmed with email, but with a general email inbox, I don’t worry about this. I just submit it when it’s done.
That said, I think there are times when you would want to go straight to the editor.
When to pitch an editor directly
When you have an existing relationship. If you have written for an editor previously you can often pitch them directly.
When the online pitching guidelines for a publication say to. Pitching guides are so helpful! Submitting life before online pitch guides was hard! Just follow the guidelines in them (something many writers, I’m told, don’t bother to do) and you will be on the right track.
When you see a call from an editor on social media inviting pitches to them directly or they clearly list their email on their professional social media profile. I subscribe to the newsletter Opportunities of the Week to help with this.
When the general pitching email really is a black hole. I know it is hard to ascertain when this is, but I think there are some pitch guidelines still floating around out there that won’t get you anywhere. If the guidelines haven’t been updated in several years that might be a red flag. Forming friendships with other writers or joining online writing groups can also sometimes help with sussing out this info. But in my experience, many of the general pitch email inboxes are really being read by someone.
The one other caveat to general email inboxes is that you may be less likely to get a response if your pitch is being rejected. Some pubs helpfully have guidelines or autoresponders that say “if you don’t hear back in x amount of time assume it’s a no.”
Pitching an editor directly may mean that you are likely to get an actual “no thanks,” but it also may not. Editors are busy and don’t always have time to respond to everything so pitching an editor directly does not guarantee a response.
I do usually try to follow up at least once (to a general pitch inbox or an editor pitch), but after that, I typically assume it’s a no and move on.
I usually only pitch to general mailboxes after I've spent hours searching unsuccessfully for a direct email, so I liked hearing your approach. I have also had success with general mailboxes and sometimes they have felt like a black hole. A woman who used to cut my hair once helped me find the NPR email address I needed for a pitch, after I had conducted a wide unsuccessful search among writing colleagues. True story.