When I first started freelancing before I got a full-time position at Polygon, my favorite thing to do was to take off during the day — without letting anyone know — to bring my dog, Major, to the park.
This is fascinating, thanks so much for sharing. You get so many pitches accepted that you’ve mapped out nearly the whole market for freelance games writing
As a freelance writer still in the early stages with a fairly sparse amount of bylines to my name, this is so helpful! Best of luck as you continue freelancing, very grateful for your work both here and out there in the world of journalism.
This is so, so helpful. Obviously you're established now, but when you were first getting started, how many pitches did you send out before you started to see some traction? Thanks!!
A LOT! Before I worked for Polygon, when I was starting to freelance, there were actually stories that I had sent around dozens of times before they got picked up. I really believe that there's a home for most ideas. It can be demoralizing to have an idea get denied dozens of times, but I kind of like the challenge of thinking outside the box of where something could fit.
Thanks so much for this, Nicole, it's heartening to read that your pitches get traction (well-deserved, of course).
I think the hardest part for me is the feeling that there just aren't that many publications to pitch about video games. Am I wrong to think so? Endless Mode, Aftermath, PC Gamer (not sure if they publish freelancers they don't know), like... Who else is there? I refuse to pitch anyone owned by Valnet, and they're not likely to publish what I want to write anyway. It's super cool to consider more general audience publications like The Guardian, but getting thorough to an editor in those feels like an insurmountable obstacle.
That hurts my soul that Polygon turned down stories from you that were too business-y! I read it daily. You would have had my clicks, that’s for sure. (And if I’d known, I’d click on it with my four different devices to raise the unique reader count, ha!)
This is such a good column idea. As Aftermath has found, there’s a real appetite for inside baseball stuff in gaming journalism. Showcases your work, adds value too.
I remember commissioning freelancers as a tech editor a life time ago. You got to know the good ones, who could file cleanly, on time and had something smart to say. Worth their weight in gold.
This is fascinating, thanks so much for sharing. You get so many pitches accepted that you’ve mapped out nearly the whole market for freelance games writing
As a freelance writer still in the early stages with a fairly sparse amount of bylines to my name, this is so helpful! Best of luck as you continue freelancing, very grateful for your work both here and out there in the world of journalism.
This is so, so helpful. Obviously you're established now, but when you were first getting started, how many pitches did you send out before you started to see some traction? Thanks!!
A LOT! Before I worked for Polygon, when I was starting to freelance, there were actually stories that I had sent around dozens of times before they got picked up. I really believe that there's a home for most ideas. It can be demoralizing to have an idea get denied dozens of times, but I kind of like the challenge of thinking outside the box of where something could fit.
Thanks so much for this, Nicole, it's heartening to read that your pitches get traction (well-deserved, of course).
I think the hardest part for me is the feeling that there just aren't that many publications to pitch about video games. Am I wrong to think so? Endless Mode, Aftermath, PC Gamer (not sure if they publish freelancers they don't know), like... Who else is there? I refuse to pitch anyone owned by Valnet, and they're not likely to publish what I want to write anyway. It's super cool to consider more general audience publications like The Guardian, but getting thorough to an editor in those feels like an insurmountable obstacle.
This is so useful for those of us still new to the pitching world. Thank you so much for sharing this, Nicole.
That hurts my soul that Polygon turned down stories from you that were too business-y! I read it daily. You would have had my clicks, that’s for sure. (And if I’d known, I’d click on it with my four different devices to raise the unique reader count, ha!)
This is such a good column idea. As Aftermath has found, there’s a real appetite for inside baseball stuff in gaming journalism. Showcases your work, adds value too.
I remember commissioning freelancers as a tech editor a life time ago. You got to know the good ones, who could file cleanly, on time and had something smart to say. Worth their weight in gold.