Open Pitch: Kick Open the Door with Your Best Idea for a Guest Post

Want to write a guest post for Make a Living Writing?

Now’s your chance to land an assignment. It’s open pitch time around here (through March 8, 2019).

We’re ready to take a look at the best of the best guest post ideas about the business and craft of freelance writing.

Consider it a showdown.

Kind of like the final fight scene in the cult-classic movie Karate Kid when Daniel LaRusso takes on Cobra Kai bad-boy Johnny Lawrence.

You know. Wax on, wax off. Sweep the leg. Focus all power.

Short on ideas? Remember when LaRusso did all that work for Mr. Miyagi. At first it seemed like he wasn’t learning anything. But with a little help, he realized he had the skills to make his mark.

Whether you’re a newbie freelancer hustling to make things happen, a mid-career writer, or a pro, you’ve probably got a few moves you can share to help other writers.

So step on to the mat. Here’s what you need to know to pitch a guest post idea:

Sweep-the-leg-advice for bad guest post pitches

When the crazed Cobra Kai sensi John Kreese tells LaRusso’s opponent to “sweep the leg,” he knows it’s a move that will result in immediate disqualification.

Maybe you’re already in fighting stance ready to strike with your first guest post pitch idea. But before you do, it’s important to know what will disqualify your pitch every time.

Almost every day we receive pitch ideas from people who think Make a Living Writing is :

• A good place to sell their snake oil
• An editing and translation service for non-English speakers
• A forum to tell a sob story about some traumatic life event
• A clearing house for pyramid schemes and money-making scams
• A philanthropic organization that cares for rescue dogs, cats, monkeys, and unicorns
• Interested in a vague mish-mash of ramblings about freelance writing

It’s kind of a problem. Truth be told, maybe 1 in 20 guest post pitches make the cut. The rest are a major brain drain, on time, inbox capacity, productivity, and creative mojo.

Far too many pitches we receive have nothing to do with the business and craft of freelance writing. If you don’t want to be escorted off the mat, don’t submit a pitch that will disqualify you.

Deliver your pitch with a punch in the face

Do it. If you’ve got a great guest post idea about the business and craft of freelance writing, ball up your fist and punch us in the face with your best offensive strike. Seriously, unleash your fury. Here’s how.

• Study the guidelines. It’s all there. Lot of freelance topics, details, and instructions to pitch an idea with the best chances of acceptance. Far too many writers don’t read the guidelines or purposely ignore the explicit rules for disqualification.
• Read a dozen or more blog posts published on the site. FYI, there’s more than 1,000 on all kinds of freelance writing topics. Get familiar with the content, style, and audience, before you pitch a guest post idea.
• Develop an original idea about the business and craft of freelance writing. We don’t accept any generic, researched-off-the-Internet writing topics we’ve all seen 100 times before.
• Share your experience. Your hands-on approach to freelancing, successes,  failures, and strategies make a difference. Share your experience or provide a play-by-play account of how you get more clients, for example. Learning from other writers’ personal experiences is a powerful way to teach, motivate, and help other freelancers move up and earn more.
• Write a pitch with a working headline and brief outline of the points you’ll cover in the guest post. In case you didn’t see that…write a BRIEF outline with a working headline. No pre-written posts, ramblings, or novel-length submissions.

Send us a guest post pitch Mr. Miyagi would be proud of. “Either you karate do ‘yes’ or karate do ‘no.’ You karate do ‘guess so,’ get squished just like grape.”

It’s open pitch through March 8. Let’s see what you’ve got. Send us your guest post ideas, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible, if it looks like a good fit.

Have a question about pitching  a guest post idea for Make a Living Writing? Let’s discuss.

Evan Jensen is the blog editor for Make a Living Writing. When he’s not on a writing deadline, or catching up on emails, he’s training to run another 100-mile ultramarathon.

The post Open Pitch: Kick Open the Door with Your Best Idea for a Guest Post appeared first on Make A Living Writing.

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