How to Pitch (And Not Submit)

$70.00 $80.00

This class will be taught over Zoom on Saturday, August 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT

In this two-hour seminar and generative workshop, students will learn how to pitch essays (personal, narrative, reported) to magazine editors for publication. We will discuss why pitching is an important practice for working writers, as well as what makes a successful pitch. 

The art of pitching is a tricky thing: showing a literary gatekeeper why your story matters and why you should be the one to write it, all in 500 words or less. But that introductory cold email is also your opportunity to show off your writing skills, prove your mettle, expand your creative network, and exercise your heart. After all, the more you pitch, the more you rack up both the rejections and the acceptances—all of it proof that you’re out there trying. You’re writing. 

This class is for early-career writers, anyone new to pitching, or a working writer who wants to freshen up their pitches. No prior publication experience required; this class will be more helpful if you have a regular writing practice. We will open with a short discussion about pitching and how it differs from “submitting,” and review excerpts from optional readings. Then we will discuss the structure of a pitch and best practices when emailing editors. After two generative exercises, students will leave class with the foundations of a personal essay pitch. We will end with a short Q&A, time permitting.

This class will be taught over Zoom on Saturday, August 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT

In this two-hour seminar and generative workshop, students will learn how to pitch essays (personal, narrative, reported) to magazine editors for publication. We will discuss why pitching is an important practice for working writers, as well as what makes a successful pitch. 

The art of pitching is a tricky thing: showing a literary gatekeeper why your story matters and why you should be the one to write it, all in 500 words or less. But that introductory cold email is also your opportunity to show off your writing skills, prove your mettle, expand your creative network, and exercise your heart. After all, the more you pitch, the more you rack up both the rejections and the acceptances—all of it proof that you’re out there trying. You’re writing. 

This class is for early-career writers, anyone new to pitching, or a working writer who wants to freshen up their pitches. No prior publication experience required; this class will be more helpful if you have a regular writing practice. We will open with a short discussion about pitching and how it differs from “submitting,” and review excerpts from optional readings. Then we will discuss the structure of a pitch and best practices when emailing editors. After two generative exercises, students will leave class with the foundations of a personal essay pitch. We will end with a short Q&A, time permitting.

About the instructor

Matt Ortile is an editor and writer who has taught creative writing seminars for the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Poets & Writers, Kundiman, PEN America, the Center for Fiction, and elsewhere. He is the author of the essay collection The Groom Will Keep His Name and an editor for print and digital at Condé Nast Traveler, and was previously the executive editor of the literary magazine Catapult prior to its closure. 

Testimonials

“I love working with Matt Ortile because he knows that ‘personal essay’ doesn’t mean ‘exploitative tell-all circa 2011.’ He knows it means a rigorous work of art. He takes it seriously, helping an author sound, not like him, but like themself on their very best day.” —A. E. Osworth, author of AWAKENED and WE ARE WATCHING ELIZA BRIGHT

“Matt Ortile is the editor of my dreams. He knows how to tell a good story and doesn’t keep his wisdom to himself. He will treat your work with care and respect, provide you with actionable feedback, casually offer nuggets of genius that will make you nod and snap your fingers, but my favorite gift of his is this: He will make you excited to write.” —Edgar Gomez, author of ALLIGATOR TEARS and HIGH-RISK HOMOSEXUAL

“Matt is a generous, thoughtful editor. He encourages my weird ideas and encourages me to make weak ones stronger, and helps me give the reader everything they need in a piece. Working with Matt, I find new ways to make my writing sharper and deeper, and our collaborations always leave me excited to write more.” —Jaime Green, author of THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE; and series editor of the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthologies

“I don’t have an MFA, and so for years, I held myself back from pursuing my dreams of becoming a creative nonfiction writer. But I realized, after working with Matt Ortile, that the most important lessons of the MFA can happen in your working relationship with an editor. Matt was able to see the potential for a published piece when I had just a kernel of an idea—a tweet, in fact! The way he shepherded me through the publication process helped me develop my confidence as a writer. As an editor, he was lovingly rigorous. In the end, my piece he edited not only got published, it ended up becoming my most viral piece ever. I can’t wait to work with him again.” —Anthony Ocampo, author of BROWN AND GAY IN LA and THE LATINOS OF ASIA; and professor of sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona