Pitches (Home, Body)
Deadline: 21 January 2024
We are so excited to announce that The Woodlands Magazine is now accepting pitches for our Spring 2024 issue, themed HOME/BODY. We encourage creative and expansive interpretations of this theme: “Homebody” usually means someone who wants to stay home—we invite you to indulge in that, expand on that, and challenge that.
We want stories about homes of all types (houses, spaces, havens, homes that have been lost or destroyed, homes we hope for in the future, languages, cultures, etc.), bodies in all their forms (human bodies, animal bodies, bodies of people, bodies of water, bodies of work), and/or stories that tackle both.
The most important thing: whatever you’re pitching needs to be reported in some way. We’re mostly interested in something we call journalistic nonfiction, which is somewhere between a personal essay and longform journalism, but we also accept (and admire) poetry, scripts, photo essays, art, and other mediums on a case-by-case basis. We may accept finished, unpublished pieces (like things that have been written for a class), we favor stories that have yet to be told that you will be active and exclusively reporting for The Woodlands. The key to pitching reported pieces, in any form, is that they involve interviews and research. Your reporting plan is essential to your pitch, and you should be able to research and write your piece on a timeline of about 8 weeks.
ROUGH TIMELINE
We're flexible on deadlines, but here's an idea of the timeline the editorial team will be expecting you to work on if we accept your piece. (We'll communicate all these deadlines again and talk about flexibility if your pitch is accepted.)
January 29 — we'll let you know if we've accepted your pitch!
February 4 — send us an outline of your piece that expands on your pitch and update us on the status of interviews and research and the steps you're taking for writing and reporting
February 25 — first draft sent to editor, with majority of reporting complete, and at least 2/3 of the content complete
March 15 — second draft that responds to editorial comments from first edits with all reporting complete, and most content finalized
March 31 — final draft for final copy edits
April 1 - April 5 — approve finalizing edits for print layout
COMPENSATION
We intend to pay all writers whose pitches we accept, contingent on them completing the piece and being responsive to editorial feedback throughout the semester. Our base pay for all pitches we accept is $100, but hope to pay more based on fundraising efforts. We pay contributors after the issue is published, which will be in early May.
If you’re unsure what our vibe is, check out stories from issue no. 1 and issue no. 2 here. And if you'd like more guidance on pitching, find guiding questions, story topic ideas, a pitch template, and other tips on our pitch guide.
Pitches are due to this form on January 21, but we highly encourage you to pitch us earlier (if we love your pitch we might even assign you before the deadline). You are also welcome (and encouraged!) to submit a pitch and apply to be part of the Editorial Team (application here).
Reach out to thewoodlandsmag@gmail.com with any questions.