Tip: Check out this guide to pitching stories

If freelance journalists may have honed their pitching techniques, as it's something they have to confront on a daily basis, the process can be quite daunting for writers or aspiring journalists with less experience behind them.

There are different ways of approaching a pitch – whether you choose to have the story finished before contacting a publication, or prefer to submit just an initial idea, alongside a writing portfolio.

But there are some elements all pitches should include or use as starting points, regardless of their approach and what topics they focus on.

SciDev has put together a list of tips on how to pitch to a science editor, focusing on each stage of the pitching process: research, drafting the pitch and reaching out to an editor.

The recommendations include being as specific as possible about your topic, sticking to your angle once the pitch has been commissioned and tailoring it for a multimedia approach, if the story and equipment allow it.

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