Pitching story ideas as a freelancer can be an intimidating process, particularly if you don’t already have a business relationship with the publication, organisation or content client in question. Here are five tips to maximise your chances of at least receiving a response from busy, harried editors if you are thinking of submitting freelance articles – as a side hustle or as part of your portfolio of work.
Depending on whether the pitch is cold or warm, your approach will be different. The former assumes you are reaching out to potential clients with whom you have not yet collaborated. The latter is clients with whom you have already dealt in another capacity.
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
