Nature Freelance Market Guide

Fees: This print and digital magazine pays freelancers from around the world competitive, by-the-word rates that vary according to a reporter’s experience and location. Features generally are 2,500 to 3,000 words long. News stories can be 800 words or less, while those requiring more analysis are 800 to 1,200 words long.

Submit to: For features, submit to Rich Monastersky, chief features editor, at r.monastersky@us.nature.com. Freelancers can also email Brendan Maher about biomedical sciences at b.maher@us.nature.com, and Kerri Smith about biomedical sciences, neuroscience and social sciences at k.smith@nature.com.

For news stories, submit to Lauren Wolf, bureau chief for the Americas, at lauren.wolf@us.nature.com.

Website: www.nature.com

Owner: Springer Nature

Readership demographics: The primary readers are working scientists and the broader audience is people who have an interest in science and some background knowledge. That means features should be written at a high level but be understandable and of interest to this broader audience.

Frequency of publication: Features and most news stories generally run both in the weekly print magazine and on the digital platform. About two features are published a week. Two to three news stories are typically added to the digital site daily.

What editors look for in a pitch: Generally, writers new to the publication should include a short bio and links to a few clips or a professional website.

Features: In three to five paragraphs, freelancers should succinctly describe the story and why it is important to tell it now. In addition, they should describe how they will tell the story; Nature’s feature articles can take many forms. “These can be more analytical features where we’re looking at an issue and trying to present to readers an authoritative take on what is known about an issue,” said Monastersky. Features can also be in the form of profiles, narratives, graphics-led stories, picture-led stories and stories based on polls and surveys.

Monastersky is interested in stories about interesting trends in medical research, gaps in public health, health policy, drug development and disease research. “We’re not a medical publication, so we’re not necessarily covering all aspects of medical research,” he said.

News: Wolf is looking for a two-to-three paragraph pitch, explaining what the news is, why it is important and why this is a story for Nature. If it is a take on ongoing news, the freelancer should explain how the story will be different from what everyone else has been writing and what new questions will be addressed.

Topic areas for news stories are similar to the ones for features. They include infectious disease outbreaks, vaccine and drug development and health care disparities, said Wolf.

Freelancers should not hesitate to pitch a news story based on a single journal article. “I always tell freelancers, ‘Don’t assume we have those things covered,’” said Wolf. The staff is scrappy but small, and sometimes a staff person is not available that week to cover an important journal article, she said. Freelancers should include who they plan to interview, such as the lead author, an outside scientist and perhaps someone from a patient group or medical society. “We usually don’t expect you to talk to more than a few people if it’s just 800 words,” said Wolf.

Do the editors welcome pre-pitches?: Freelancers are welcome to reach out to Monastersky to introduce themselves, briefly describe a story idea and ask to chat. “I’m happy to have a conversation with people,” said Monastersky.

Most common mistakes editors see with pitches: Monastersky said a common mistake is for writers to not proofread their emails. “It helps to put the same craft into a pitch that you would put into the finished story,” he said. Wolf said a common mistake is when writers pitch a topic rather than a story. Both editors have pitch guides they can send to freelancers.

Lead time for feature pitches: Monastersky tries to respond to pitches within a week. Once assigned, a feature could take a writer a week, months or even a year or more to hand in if it is a really ambitious story. “We will definitely work with people on any time scale,” he said.

Best place to break into the publication: Typically, freelancers write news stories before they write features.