Slate Plus members! It’s that time of year when we invite you to pitch stories you’d like to write for Slate.
Here’s how this works:
Post your idea for a story you’d like to write in the comments section below. You can submit up to three ideas. Please put each one in a separate comment so we can follow up appropriately. Check out your fellow members’ pitches. Like your favorites; ask questions; make suggestions. Slate editors will jump into the thread to discuss the most promising ideas. When we find an idea we like, we’ll commission the piece, edit it, and run it on Slate! (And pay you for it, obviously.)
Some tips:
• Check out this guide to pitching Slate.
• Foreground the argument you want to make, not just the topic you want to tackle.
• Use your pitch to demonstrate that you can write something we’ll enjoy reading.
• Google your idea to make sure that other publications (or writers for Slate) haven’t done it already.
• Look through the ideas and advice offered in our first and second pitch slams.
• Learn from previous winners Diana Martinez, Haley Swenson, and Steve Kraus.
Wait, what if I’m not a Slate Plus member?
Everyone is welcome to pitch Slate. Send pitches by email to pitchslate@slate.com, or refer to this guide for editors’ names, email addresses, and subject areas.
The pitch slam is an opportunity for members to interact with Slate’s editors, to refine their pitches, and to vote for their favorite ideas—and a way for us to learn about Slate Plus members.
Good luck, and thanks for helping us make Slate.
