How to pitch to editors - with Lindy Alexander

From The Content Byte by Rachel Smith and Lynne Testoni

March 15, 2026 · 42 min · Season 18 · Episode 12

About this episode

Rachel and Lynne discuss effective pitching strategies for freelancers with guest Lindy Alexander.

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne welcome back Lindy Alexander, to discuss how pitching is changing for freelancers and what it takes to get editors' attention. Lindy is an award-winning travel writer and founder of The Freelancer's Year and she explains why she created courses after readers asked about her pitching strategy, and describes the tighter commissioning landscape as budgets stagnate and editors become more time-poor. She outlines common pitching mistakes, including pitching broad topics instead of specific stories, writing lyrical but unclear subject lines, and not knowing a publication's voice, tone, readership, or sections. Lindy shares what gets commissioned now: concise, clearly angled pitches tailored to a particular vertical, with relevant sources where needed, and how strong pitches can build relationships with editors, even without prior contact. She also covers following up, learning from rejections, and balancing travel writing with running her Travel Writer Accelerator course. Connect with Lindy via: The Freelancer's Year The Travel Writer Accelerator Here are also the links to the call outs she mentions: Study Hall newsletter Travel writing call…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel Smith, Lynne Testoni

Guest: Lindy Alexander

Topics covered

pitching to editors
freelancing
travel writing
commissioning landscape
writing strategies

Keywords

pitching
freelancers
editors
travel writing
commissioning
writing mistakes
pitches

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Freelancer's Year, The Travel Writer Accelerator, Study Hall, Rachel's List, www.lynnetestoni.com, www.rachelsmith.com.au, www.rachelslist.com.au

Places: Australia