Freelance writing, Seattle Magazine, pays $400-$1500 for features

So, you want to write for Seattle magazine? You and about 1,000 other people. We don't want to discourage anyone from pitching us, as many of our best ideas come from our freelancers, but we receive dozens of queries a day. Before you read our writers' guidelines (and commit them to memory, of course), we'd like to offer these tips on how to get a freelance gig with us.

* Always pitch an actual story idea. Sending an email that simply lets us know you're a freelance writer available to write doesn't really tell us a lot about you, such as what you're interested in writing and how you'd write it.
* Actually read the magazine before you pitch. Get to know the regular columns and departments. In your pitch, explain where in the magazine you think your story would best fit. Of course, everyone thinks their story should be on the cover, but there's a whole science that goes into what we select as cover stories, which brings us to...
* Recognize the trend in our cover stories. Cover stories usually tend to be reader service-oriented: Best Restaurants, 10 Great Northwest Getaways, Top Docs, etc. These are the types of stories that sell more magazines on the newsstands.
* Pitch regional travel stories. Because people pick up Seattle magazine to learn more about this city and the surrounding region, we rarely publish travel stories on Mexico, Europe, etc. But our readers do love to take trips within the Northwest, so we're looking for interesting regional travel stories for the upscale traveler that haven't been widely covered elsewhere in the media. We cover the geographic area between B.C. to Portland to Spokane (or a bit further east) to the coast. Know how to write newsy stories as well as the lighter stuff. The majority of our pitches are from travel and food writers, which is fine, but what we're really in need of are writers who want to write about juicy, newsy topics going on in the Seattle area. These stories would most likely run in the Hot Button department or as a feature.

Who do I pitch my story to?

* General News and Features, Social issues, Health, Travel: Virginia Smyth, managing editor
* Food, Restaurants and Wine: Send your pitch to both Allison Austin Scheff, food editor, and Andrea Delimont, lifestyle editor
* Arts, Events, Pop culture, Trends: Brangien Davis, arts and culture editor
* Shopping, Beauty: Andrea Delimont, lifestyle editor
* Fashion: Pitch both Andrea Delimont, lifesytle editor and Hope Misterek, style editor
* Charitable Events: Sheila Mickool, research editor
* Society Events: Pitch Andrea Delimont, Lifestyle editor, and Ernie Pino, Flash Talk columnist
* Have an idea for Seattlemag.com? Pitch multimedia, blog and online story ideas to Karen Johnson, Web editor.

Query Procedures

We Do Not Accept Queries Over the Phone. Queries should be submitted in writing via e-mail or fax only and consist of four parts:

1. What is the story? A brief synopsis written in the style of your proposed piece.
2. How will you tell it? Detail what sources you will use and how you will research the story.
3. Why? Answer the "so what?" Why is this story important now? Why is this story right for Seattle magazine?
4. Why are you the right person to tell this story? What are your credentials and experience? What's your expertise and access to the subject matter?

The average department length story (1200 words) pays about $300 and the average feature length story (2000-4000 words) pays from $400-$1,500, depending on the story. Some very short pieces (200-300 words) pay $50-$100. These rates are not guaranteed and vary widely. You will, however, receive the best looking local clip you'll ever get and have a ball working with our team.

More information here.