The biggest reason I turn down a pitch is because it focuses on a topic or an idea rather than a story. Stories have narrative action and memorable characters. They tell me very specifically about something that happened to actual people. They have plots. 2) Surprise!...

So maybe you’ve got a narrative with good characters, but does the story play out basically the way I’d expect it to? This is so hard, because there are a lot things we *should* know about, but the way to make those issues or stories appeal to a broad audience....

....is to tell people something unexpected and surprising. In this vein, if it’s a story we’ve seen many times before or something that we’ve covered a lot, it’s probably not going to work for us. 3) Audience!

Our target audience is women under 35. That’s a huge and diverse group of people, but there are things that just don't matter to them. I know this is tricky, and if you’ve got something that meets the other two criteria, shoot your shot, absolutely!

4) For the most part, we don’t publish personal essays, op-eds, or trend stories in the features section. Those do have a place at Cosmo, but I’m not the right editor for those pitches....

...Some features have a first-person perspective, but those typically contain lots of original reporting and narrative. Ask yourself–does my piece have a narrative and characters, or is it an exploration of a “topic” or “idea”? If it’s the latter, it’s not right for us.

Hope this is helpful. Please keep pitching me (nicole [dot] pasulka [at] hearst [dot] com) and if you have questions, feel free to ask--just @ me here, I don't read DMs. I was a freelancer for over a decade, I get how frustrating and confusing it can be.

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan Thank you for being so kind to my pitch yesterday! I can only imagine how crazy your inbox must be so I do appreciate you taking the time to consider it! 😊

@crystalcrichard @Cosmopolitan Of course. I’m trying to respond to everyone…I will fail, but I’ll do my best 😂

@NicolePasulka @WrittenByHanna @Cosmopolitan So does this mean you’ll stop repeating features like “what your man loves in bed” every month? It would be delightful if you focused those women’s attentions on themselves rather than trying to please men.

@kate_cottle @WrittenByHanna @Cosmopolitan Those wouldn't be published in the features section and Cosmo publishes stories about all aspects of women's life, work, and relationships. If you want to get a sense of what we publish in the features section, check out our work here:

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan Hello! Who is the opinion/ trends editor at comso? 🙈

@heykaranitsme11 @Cosmopolitan our masthead is here:

@NicolePasulka @Hugh_Ryan @Cosmopolitan I can do all these things! Stripper Jesus, please grant me the miracle of momentum so I can pitch Nicole. 😬🪩

@lilyburana @Hugh_Ryan @Cosmopolitan you can do it! 👏👏👏

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan nice mansplaining there - you might lead with what makes a good Cosmopolitan story. The demographic and genres you publish are not the answer. What is Cosmo’s DNA? mission? what are you trying to be to women around the age of 25? what is the Cosmo voice?

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan Thank you for this @UnrollHelper

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan congrats!

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan fellow editor here and I just wanna say - this is so well expressed! I’m saving it 😬

@NicolePasulka @Cosmopolitan I have a personal story. Basically it’s the reversed “milk man” with a man’s wife? But for women. I’m sure it’s a more common occurrence than we think and I would love to share my story. I was literally 24 when this happened to me. I just don’t know how long it should be🥸