How to Pitch: Honey
(MediaBistro.com, 3.20.03) Your tip sheet, straight from the editors.
 Circulation: 350,000
Frequency: 10 times a year
Special Issues: None
Background: That middle-class, successful African-American woman who subscribes to Essence? You'll probably spot her younger, hipper, 20-something fashionista sister on the subway with an issue of Honey tucked in her designer bag. Launched in 1999 by writers Kierna Mayo and Joicelyn Dingle, Honey, with its
hip-hop-meets-feminism sassiness, is sort of a cross between
Jane and The Source. In 2000, Honey changed its publication schedule from quarterly to 10 times annually. Amy Dubois Barnett has been the editor-in-chief for the past three
years.
The typical "Honey girl," as the editors affectionately call her, is an African-American between the ages of 18 and 34. Front-of-book sections include "Fusion," a mix of short pieces on what's currently hot in music, movies, books, and film, and the "Get Ahead Guide, which features career tips. Features mix saucy relationship articles ("Is He Cheating, Or Are You Just Jealous?") with takes on large social issues, like HIV in the black community. Cover stories, like at many
mags, are often celebs. "When we think of our cover subjects," says features editor Denene Millner, "we think of people who are looked up to, and who young women of color appreciate and want to emulate; who they can draw
ideas from."
What to pitch: The small staff of editors is looking for well-structured pitches that reflect the
Honey reader's interests. And what are the readers interested in? "They are of a generation that is interested in things
not just African-American," Barnett has said. "They watch
Girlfriends, but also Sex and the City. They listen to Jill Scott but also to Dido." The best areas for new writers to break into
Honey, according to Millner, are the first person, 600-word
experience sections "Makes Me Wanna Holla" and "My Life," which she edits.
The editors are also open to new-writer pitches on relationship articles. For example, writer Alexandra Mace recently contributed "Dating By Numbers," a tongue-in-cheek piece that included items about new
places to meet a guy—along with "clues that he's fronting." Millner says that this is the best way for her and her co-editors to get acquainted with a
writer's work, and for writers to move up to writing larger features for the magazine. "If it's good, I'd certainly call back and say, 'Hey, this was well-written, you take direction well, perhaps you'd be interested in writing some larger features for us'," Millner says. Cover stories and larger features are generally done by seasoned writers they've worked with in the past.
What not to pitch: Although it may seem obvious, Millner stresses that would-be new writers study Honey's content and back issues before pitching—and that, yes, she sometimes receives pitches about ideas that have nothing to do with the magazine whatsoever. "I've gotten pitches about 50-year olds who own vineyards in California," she says. "It sounds like a great story, but not a Honey story."
Pitches that lack detail are another faux pas. "Don't just send a two-line email," Millner says, "especially if you're not a writer we've worked with or recognize. If all you say is, 'I'd like to write a story on such-and-such,' there's nothing we can do with that, because we don't know if you can write that. We're not going to assign a 2500-word story to
someone we're not confident can write. We need to know who you're going to talk to, what angles you're going to hit in the story specifically, and what it has to do with Honey readers."
Recent freelance stories pitched and published: "How To Tell If a Guy Is Playing You (And If So, Why Are You Still With Him?)," which was featured in Honey's May 2002 issue. "The writer was new and I'd never heard of her, but her pitch was good and her story was really solid," says Millner. "She took direction really well."
Etiquette: The editors at Honey like to get pitches by e-mail. "That's the quickest way for me to look at it," Millner says. Clips should be attached electronically, if possible; otherwise writers should add at the query's end that samples will be coming in the mail. Ideas that may be of interest get "filed" under their respective
subject categories, discussed at monthly editorial meetings and are given a go-ahead if agreed upon by the four top editors. "Calling
every five minutes is not advisable!" says Millner, recalling a freelancer who chewed out one of the editors over the phone for not responding to a query she sent a few days prior. (Needless to say, they didn't buy her article.)
Lead time: Three months—they're currently putting together the August issue.
Pay rate: "$1 a word for seasoned writers, slightly less for those just starting out," says Millner.
Kill fee: 25 percent
Payment schedule: On acceptance.
Rights purchased: Varies.
Contact info:
Honey magazine
315 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10010
646-654-4200
646-654-4220 fax
www.honeymag.com
Features editor Denene Miller: denene.millner@vanguarde.com
Vonetta Booker-Brown is a Connecticut-based freelance writer and website designer. She's also the creator/editor of urban e-zine
Triscene.com.
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