Adapting a Newsletter Post for Publication
An example of how writing my newsletter got me a byline
Right before 2024 ended, I received an email from an editor at Gloria. The newsletter has a very specific target audience in mind, saying they are the publication for those who “[…] aren't yet "old," but aren't still "young”. Aka adult women. I’ve been a fan of them since their launch. Last year, I pitched a story on birth control and perimenopause, which will forever live in my memory as the article I wrote while I was slowly dying from a perforated esophagus lol. (My editor did NOT know this at the time, by the way, so this level of commitment to the bit is all me, baby.)
I make it a point to keep in touch with editors via social media because they bounce around so much these days, it’s easier to keep up with their professional ongoings through other means besides email. My editor followed me back on Instagram, which is where she read about my whole medical debt battle in this little humble newsletter. She reached out to me shortly after, to ask if I was interested in writing about my saga for Gloria. I didn’t think twice. An article I didn’t have to pitch and had basically already written with a kind editor? Dream gig! As the deadline loomed, though, I realized I couldn’t just copy+paste my post. I had to find a new angle to tell the same story.