Editor Tips for Getting Published
October 27, 2022
Allison Klein, “Inspired Life” blog, The Washington Post
Estelle Erasmus, Adjunct Professor, New York University’s School of Professional Studies
Tips from A Washington Post Editor to Get You Published
NYU Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts
Continuing Education Programs
Excerpts:
Allison Klein: [“The Inspired Life” blog consists of] surprising and unusual life stories. In the news, we don’t cover landings. We cover plane crashes. This blog is about before the plane landed, a teacher received $600 from others on the plane to buy things for her students. The blog covers stories that don’t always get attention.
Estelle Erasmus: It feels like a grassroots situation.
Klein: What really resonates with our readers are “moment” stories: spontaneous acts of kindness and generosity that are surprising. We don’t write about established organizations. We very much like to stay close to the news, but it doesn’t have to be connected to the news.
Example not connected to the news: A woman who lost her arm in a motorcycle accident reclaimed her fake arm with fashion and styling.
News-related example: On 9/11, a woman was on a plane that was diverted to Newfoundland, Canada. Her former boyfriend died in the Twin Towers. The story was about what that meant to her.
I don’t normally like anniversary stories. [I like] tragedy and trauma stories turned positive. We only accept whole pieces, not pitches. These stories rely on the quality of the writing.
Erasmus: When it comes to the essay, it’s all in the execution, not just the idea. Do you accept more than one piece?
Klein: Generally, one piece at a time. I always appreciate a mini narrative, a thread that pulls the reader through—a beginning, middle, and end, even for reported pieces. I encourage mini narratives. I want someone uniquely positioned to write one piece. If it’s a reported piece, they have to have access. It can be interviews or first-person. Timely stories that come out of disaster zones work well for us.
Example: saving dogs during a natural disaster.
Erasmus: What do you mean about a thread through a narrative arc?
Klein: How are they telling the story? Normally people start at the beginning. Walk people through and just explain what happened. Use action verbs and emotion.
Erasmus: How are they bringing out the emotion?
Klein: All “Inspired Life” stories have an emotional element. People are drawn to “Inspired Life” stories and need a break from “the world is on fire.” Before you pitch me, read the blog a lot. We generally publish news. Is it news? Is it consequential? Is it relevant?
Example: A guy has an emotional support alligator. A lot of people in his life recently died, and he was recently diagnosed with cancer. He has a connection to the alligator. It’s a sweet, emotional story about how people are coping. That’s why it’s news. Disclaimer: Don’t do this at home—have an alligator as a pet.
Erasmus: Posts on social media are in the moment. Take it off social media and make it a story.
Klein: I find a lot of great stories on social media. “Are a lot of people interested in this?” I am constantly scouring Instagram and TikTok. “Can we interview you? We would like to write about this?” I don’t usually ask the person to write it themselves.
Erasmus: Is there anything you don’t cover?
Klein: We don’t cover corporate givings, corporate awards, anything business-related, a heartfelt remembrance of someone, score-settling essays, nothing that accuses someone of a crime, corporations doing good things. That’s not news to us.
The only way “Inspired Life” works is if we have a diversity of voices—both the writers and the people in the stories. We try to keep things fresh and new.
Example: A white woman and a Black woman at the same company met in the bathroom. They didn’t know each other before. (Women chat in the bathroom.) Both husbands needed kidneys. Each woman was a match for the other woman’s husband. It was a beautiful connection. [When we published the story,] the surgeries had just happened, so it was newsie.
Stories go viral all the time. Not a lot of news organizations [have columns like this]. They are usually for niche publications. These are extremely shareable stories.
Example: a Halloween story in which a woman goes to different cemeteries and finds recipes on headstones and makes them on TikTok. People love her. What do these recipes mean? Why do you go to cemeteries? Why do people put recipes on headstones?
Erasmus: Nitty-gritty details.
Klein: The optimum word count is 1,000 to 1,200 words. The stories are as short as 600 to 800 words. They are often 1,000. People stop reading after 1,200. I’m good at cutting; writers often don’t even notice what I cut. We pay $350 per piece. We take first rights. After that, you own the story and can pitch it elsewhere: movie rights, memoirs, anthologies, etc. We take straight essays and reported essays.
Erasmus: Any submission-tip pet peeves?
Klein:
“Hey, can you assign me a story?”
“This would be great for The New York Times.”
You get my name wrong.
No pseudonyms.
If I accept a piece, I won’t fudge anything. Stick to the truth. I know what works. I know what part should start the piece. I will edit it and move stuff around. Sometimes people push back. They want to start with a quote from their grandmother.
Very important: What would be the headline? Put it in the email. It helps me determine “what is this about? Why would someone click on this? Why would people be interested in this?”
Erasmus: The “so what.” What’s universal? A nugget.
Klein: A little bit of wisdom. A takeaway. What can I take from this to incorporate it into my life? I would reiterate read the blog before you pitch. Get a feel for what we do. Ideas will pop out at you.
Most readers are national. Ten to fifteen percent are international. The bar is higher for international pieces.
The blog is only online, but the individual stories often get picked up for other sections of The Washington Post [sometimes for print].
The stories have to be universal or deeply personal—something you learned. If it’s a story from thirty years ago, there has to be something full circle that’s recent, unless it makes me fall on the floor. Come full circle on an older story.
You can submit a story about someone else with permission. How do you know them?
If it’s published before on a small blog, it’s a case by case basis. It’s not my preference, but if it’s an incredible story, yes.
Response time: After a week, feel free to ping me again. If I love it, I’ll get right back to you. I do try to respond to everyone. If it’s uplifting and you think a lot of people will read it, submit it.
I still want a full draft if it’s someone I’ve worked with before.
I do like bios and links, but the story is way more important. If you’ve written for The Washington Post, send a link for sure.
Do you need a platform on Instagram or TikTok? Definitely not.
We run three to five stories a week. Three is a slow week. Five is usual. We have more reported pieces than personal pieces, but I really like first-person reported pieces.
I get about ten to fifteen submissions per day, and two regular writers send five a day, so I receive twenty to forty a day total.
Email allison.klein@washpost.com. Follow Klein on Twitter at alliklein.