Writing for a magazine might not have been the first thing you considered when you decided to write a book. But did you know there have been countless authors that were once journalists before they released award-winning books? Not to mention, using your new book as a magazine pitch could also grant you a new career path in publications.
When pitching to a magazine you should have an important reason in mind about why you’re the one who’s meant to write that specific piece. Ideally, the piece you’re pitching should relate to your book in some way. Writing for a magazine isn’t just a new income/job opportunity, but it’s also a great way to promote your upcoming book.
Here’s how to use your book in your next magazine pitch.
Create an elevator pitch.
In case you’re not familiar with the term, elevator pitch stems from this idea: if you’re in an elevator with someone that could skyrocket your career and you only have 60 seconds or less with them, what would you say?
Knowing how to pitch your work is essential for every writer. If you can’t sum up your idea into a sentence or two, you don’t have a magazine pitch. Your elevator pitch will force you to only think about the essentials needed to describe your story. It eliminates the vagueness or fluff and goes straight to the point. Your goal with your magazine pitch should be to have them understand immediately what your story is and why they should care about it.
Have a unique angle.
With the rise of successful self-published authors, it’s not hard to guess how saturated the market is. So if you pursue this piece you must be motivated and intentional about why your piece should exist.
Focus on the benefit it’ll bring others.
You can’t have a successful pitch without taking into consideration the person on the other side. It’s easy to think about how writing your book and this piece has benefited you. However, the sole focus should be on how it will add value to the publication and its audience.
Some questions you can ask yourself as you develop your pitch:
- How will someone’s life be better by reading this work?
- What will a reader lose by not reading this piece?
- Is this the right story for this publication?
Editors want there to be a meaningful takeaway for their readers. So if your story creates a clear benefit, chances are they’ll want to share your work.
Are you ready to publish a book? Whether your book is a finished manuscript or still just an idea, our publishing packages can take you there. Visit XulonPress.com to learn more.
