Scientific American Freelance Market Guide
Revised May 21, 2021; checked for accuracy November 22, 2022.`
Fees: Very competitive rates for news stories of around 1,000 words, although length can vary, and feature stories running between 2,500 and 3,500 words.
Submit to: News: Dean Visser, chief news editor, dvisser@sciam.com; Tanya Lewis, health and medicine editor, tlewis@sciam.com; or Josh Fischman, senior editor, jfischman@sciam.com. Features: Josh Fischman.
Website: www.scientificamerican.com
Owner: Springer Nature
Readership demographics: The readership for Scientific American is predominatingly a popular audience as well as many scientists.
Frequency of publication: Dean Visser, chief news editor, says they have both a daily, online news operation that focuses on more timely developments and analyses, and a monthly print publication that takes deeper looks and runs longer features, which also run online. Writers should note if they are pitching specifically to one or the other; otherwise editors will decide which is more suitable, based on a given pitch.
What they look for in a pitch: It should be novel, clear and concise: “I want to know what’s the news,” says Visser. He says they usually acknowledge receipt of the pitch, and then various topic editors will often discuss it. Depending upon the complexity and timeliness of the query, he says writers can usually expect to hear back from someone within a week. Josh Fischman, senior health and medicine editor, says feature pitches should include why you are the one to write the story, how it will differ from previous press coverage of the topic, and the sources you will interview, including “sources that are members of groups that are historically underrepresented in science, when possible.”
Most common mistakes he sees with pitches: “It’s been done already, or they send a pitch without explaining what is the main point or premise,” Visser says. Queries are often too long and a pet peeve of his is when writers include multiple hyperlinks in a pitch; this can slow things down because editors often have limited time to refer to them. A good writer should be able to explain the proposed main point of a story in a couple of sentences and, in a couple of additional paragraphs, the conclusions that can be drawn and what question it answers (as opposed to just asking a question). “I think the most common mistake is not giving me a sense of why what you’re proposing has advanced science or medicine,” says Fischman.
What is lead time for pitching: “If the pitch has a time peg, and we’re considering it for print, we would need it to be submitted to us at least 4 months before the event. Our features that are more generally topical can have a longer time frame,” says Fischman. More timely online news stories often go out within days, Visser says.
Is there a better place to break into the pub? What they look for with new writers are “brief” 400- to 800-word news articles about new scientific developments in the health field. Visser likes queries on topics such as developments related to breaking news stories, behavioral studies, illness outbreaks, advances in technology, antibiotic resistance and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.