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How to Pitch: Wired
The tech culture guide invites writers to pitch beyond the straight narrative
By Melissa Walker - March 23, 2006
Circulation: 575,000-plus
Frequency: Monthly
Special Issues: The November issue ships with Test, a separately bound gadget guide.
Background: An online encyclopedia supersedes Britannica. A search engine takes on the rest of the business world. Mainstream Americans go off the grid. Wired is a guide to the cultural, technological and scientific future, and a snapshot of the constantly undulating landscape we pass on our way there. The magazine was pegged as a tech-and-science title when it launched in 1993, but since then, notes story editor Sarah Fallon, it has become "a guidebook to the modern world that uses engaging narrative, insightful analysis, smart infographics and bold design to give readers unparalleled insight into the men, women and machines that inhabit it."
Wired prides itself on being a solid tech publication that doesn't talk down to the reader, Fallon says. The magazine's sensibility appeals as much to the worldly generalist as to the totally plugged-in hipster. Based in San Francisco, Wired has a laidback-but-focused west coast feel, and there's plenty of room for freelancers - so long as you're pitching fresh meat. "We want to cover stories that you wouldn't find in any other magazine," Fallon says. "If you're going to pitch something mainstream, make sure you have a unique angle."
What to pitch: Break down the three-pronged front-of-book section for the best ways to get your foot in the door.
"Start" is news and analysis. Classic FOB fodder like charticles, tables, and Q&As fill this section. "These are short items that explain, clarify and illuminate the Wired world," Fallon says, adding that editors are especially interested in the intersection of technology and change in culture, business, politics, and science. Is there a new technology that's just barely emerging from the lab? That's just now starting to be used in the lab? The occasional "Obsessed" page is a good place to pitch someone with a single-minded focus on a Wired hobby. Or suggest a "Cheat Sheet" - a recurring item that makes sense of the buzz around a trend that everyone seems to have heard of but few people understand in depth. And editors are always looking for imagery-driven openers to the section.
"Play" is the place for culture and entertainment stories - think games, movies, cars, books and art. It's fertile ground for freelancers. "Screen" is a report from the Wired side of film and television, and the format can be an interview, a profile, Q&A or preview. "Print" could take the form of long reviews or short, image-driven reviews. The "Games" page profiles game designers, dissects innovative titles, or exposes the latest gaming trends. "Street" covers cultural events that involve tech in some way, and it includes the ever-popular "Japanese Schoolgirl Watch" item. "Arts" showcases Wired-type artists and exhibits.
"Posts" are Wired's answer to "Talk of the Town," and the section is a good place for freelancers with longer-form chops. At about 600 words, each Post describes a moment in the Wired world. A Post can take the form of a scene, an anecdote, a character sketch, or even a found document - one recent Post was the transcript of an interaction in an online role-playing game. Be creative here - Wired leaves newsy or analytical items for other sections.
What not to pitch: Don't give Wired old news. "Think way into the future," Fallon says. "If you went to Siggraph last week and saw an awesome installation, don't pitch it with Siggraph as your peg, because that's old news. Find out what the artist is doing next and find a future time frame." Fallon reminds writers that a tech story is not necessarily a Wired story. "Ask yourself if there are enough innovative ideas, people and tech in the piece to make it into Wired."
"Fetish," "Realtime," and "Hot Seat" are all staff-written. Columns belong to contract writers.
Recent freelance stories pitched and published: "We rarely sign off on pitches right off the bat," Fallon says. "It takes a bit of discussion between the writer and editor to come up with the perfect focus and format." The perfect pitch is short and sweet, while still providing all the info about why the story is fresh, why it's Wired, and where it could fit within the mag. Instead of pitching a straight write-up of current high-tech cancer treatments, one successful writer focused on the most unusual. Another freelancer pitched 500 words on a cell phone service you can ask questions to; the story ran as a 100-word intro followed by four questions put to the service.
Etiquette: Email pitches to the general editorial email address, submit@wiredmag.com. Editors don't open attachments, and Fallon advises writers to keep it short. "You don't want to frustrate us with a 1,500-word pitch that could have been 75 words." If editors are thinking on your pitch, it could take them a week or more to respond. But "if it's a definite no, you'll know pretty quickly."
Lead Time: 2 to 4 months
Pay rate: In the $1.50/word range.
Payment schedule: On publication.
Kill fee: There is one, but it's confidential.
Rights purchased: Varies.
Contact info:
Wired
520 Third Street, Suite 305
San Francisco, California 94107
415-276-5000
www.wired.com/wired
submit@wiredmag.com
Have you freelanced for Wired? Tell us about your experience below.
Melissa Walker is an editor at ELLEgirl. The staff of Wired assisted in the update of this story.