How to Write Your Pitch - and Nail It

This is where it all begins. Here’s how to, ahem, throw a strike.

Look at you. You’re considering pitching a story for The Doe. Radical. But you don't know where to start. Bummer.

Fear not!

Nail that pitch by following along here. We'll include tips and tricks to make it stand out, a shortlist of pitch dealbreakers and, if all else fails, a few pitch letter templates.

Check It Off

Before we really get cooking with gas, here’s a checklist to cover the basics of a pitch:

• Your pitch should only be a few sentences long. Please, please do not write your full story and then send it to us unprompted. It makes us sad.
• Include a proposed alias (you won’t be stuck with it if you change your mind). And no, your 420 or 69 alias joke isn’t that good.
• Add a sample headline so we know right off the bat what your story is about. Here’s a sample: “I Wrote a Blog About Nailing Your Pitch and It’s So Dope, It Literally Melted One Guy’s Brain.”
• Make sure you’re not pitching any of the following: poems, your backlink company, fiction, comics, stories about your warts, traditional op-eds or major league baseball. 

That’s it! You can go now. Psych, there’s more.

What We Love

We publish personal narratives! Hook us up. 

Straightforward, concise and to-the-point pitches make our hearts warm. Here’s an example: “Dear Editors, I’d love to write about my personal experience blogging. One time, I wrote a blog about nailing a pitch that was so good, millions of people read it and enjoyed it. I became famous. And rich. Just from this blog. Also, one guy read it and his brain literally melted from being overwhelmed by its beauty. I have proof.”

So yes, please tell us an interesting story about your life! They’re the best.

Dealbreakers

Here’s a list of things that (unfortunately) are sure to get your pitch thrown out:

• It features hateful content or accuses someone of a crime by name. All set!
• Pitches that are 10,000 words long.
• Bad grammar or spelling? C’mon, man. You know we have to proofread these stories, right?
• Unverifiable stories.
• Pitches about writing a killer blog about nailing your pitch. Been there, done that.

Do the good things and not the bad things. Yes, this is our message.

Mad Libs

Here are a few templates that can help you out if you’re still having trouble. Fill in the blanks:

• I had this really unique, amazing experience one time when I ____. I am the person qualified to tell this story because _____. People should hear about it because ______.
• This is timely! There are a lot of headlines about ______ and I was/am there. I want to share this anonymously because ______.
• People don’t talk enough about _______. I have a story I wish people knew; it’s about writing a sweet blog about nailing your pitch.
• I have experience(s) with a controversial topic about _______. I wish to share it anonymously because _______.

Use (some of) the tips above. We can’t wait to read your pitch! Head on over to our Write for Us page for more info.

And when all else fails, be sure to read our narratives to get a sense for the stories we publish. Or, you know, just to read them casually. ’Cause they’ll melt your brain.