BREAK INTO TOP PUBLICATIONS WITH A MARKETING STRATEGY THAT WORKS
(Bring in the $1-a-word assignments WITHOUT the overwhelm and lack of control)
30 Days, 30 Queries will show you exactly how to do it.
You know that writing effective pitches is paramount to getting assignments, making an income, and doing the kind of work that creates an impact in the world.
But does it feel like when it comes to actually writing these query letters, you’re grappling in the dark and missing a crucial piece of the puzzle?
Do you email story ideas to editors thinking, hoping, and praying they will work, rather than knowing that they will?
Do your pitches often get rejections, or worse, silence, in return?
You're not alone.
When it comes to pitching, most freelance writers struggle to catch the attention of busy editors.
They end up unable to sell brilliant ideas that would have been perfect for the publications they’re pitching had they been able to communicate them effectively.
The good news: There’s a better, easier, and more efficient way.
And it leads to results in less than 30 days!
If you’d like a little help “figuring it all out” keep reading.
On this page, I’ll lay it out for you.
I’ll tell you how I’ve helped 800+ writers from 37 countries get bylines in some of the world’s best publications such as The New York Times, TIME, National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, etc…
… and how easy it can be for you to do so, too.
If you’re not getting high-paying freelance assignments, there are only three reasons:
- You’re not pitching enough
- You’re not pitching the right people
- Your pitches suck
You can overcome all three problems, especially with a proven system and a little hand-holding to support you along the way.
The secret to pitches that sell
You don’t have to be an award-winning journalist to write fantastic pitches that bring in assignments.
You don’t have to spend days looking for unique story ideas.
You don’t have to spend hours writing and polishing each individual word.
You just have to get incredibly clear on what you want to say.
You need to know what your story is, why readers of this particular publication will want to read it, and how you’re planning on telling it.
It’s simpler than it sounds.
And I’ll show you exactly how to do it.
If you want your pitches to sell, you have to understand what makes them sell.
The secret to writing effective pitches comes down to three simple steps:
Step 1: Find a killer story idea and learn how to present it to editors so that they’re dying to hire you to write it. (This is so simple and easy to learn, yet the step most writers fail at.)
Step 2: Study the publications you’re pitching and send them ideas that are perfectly suited to their style and audience.
Step 3: A system that ensures that you’re consistently pitching new editors with the least amount of effort, and spending more of your time on the work you love and less time hustling to sell stories.
If you know how to tackle each of these steps, you’ll start moving through your pitches quickly, and you’ll be done faster than you could ever have imagined.
And by the end, you’ll have saleable story ideas that editors are dying to assign and readers are dying to read.
Now, you need to know how to approach these steps, don’t you?
By the time you’re done reading this page, you’ll have your answers, and you can start putting together pitches more easily on your own.
So, let’s look at those 3 steps.
Step #1: Finding and presenting story ideas that make them swoon
Your query letter’s job is to intrigue. And good story ideas are key to that.
So, what makes a story idea good?
The word “idea” is a vague term, so don’t think in terms of what makes a good story idea. What you need to do is think in terms of the published story.
What makes a good profile?
What makes a good reported essay?
What makes a good news story?
Answer those questions, and then make sure the story ideas you’re pitching hit all those targets. (Don’t worry, if you sign up for 30 Days, 30 Queries, I will teach you how to do this.)
Ideas that make for good published stories, and therefore get assigned, have to be extremely sharp and focused.
If you can’t sum it up in a single sentence, you’re not slicing your story thin enough.
Story ideas and how to find unique angles that will interest and excite editors is at the core of what I teach in 30 Days, 30 Queries.
If you don’t get this one piece right, you could send out hundreds of pitches all day long and still see no results.
You could have excellent story ideas but because you don’t know how to package them, you’re left scratching your head as to why they’re not selling. This is why.
It’s crucial to get this piece right.
Step 2: Send ideas that are perfectly suited to a publication’s style and audience
Read the publication.
Read it so thoroughly that you could write in its style in your sleep.
Read it so often you know the names of its best writers by heart.
When studying a publication, I teach you how to play to your strengths because that will help you reach your goal faster.
What topics do you specialize in? What subject areas have you been covering recently that would also fit into this magazine? Is there a certain section that speaks to you more than others?
When you can match what you do best to what the publication does best, you have a sale and an assignment.
Don’t know what you do best? Can’t figure out how to match it to the publication?
That’s what I’m here to teach.
Step 3: A system that guarantees more pitches, less effort, more results
This is the heart of my system.
What sets 30 Days, 30 Queries apart from all the other pitching courses, and the reason my students are able to write and send 30 queries in a month, not just for the month they sign up, but month after month, year after year.
I don’t teach numbers for the sake of numbers.
But when you’re ambitious (like our students often are) and eager to not just sell a story but make a full-time living, then you have no time to waste.
And nor do I.
If you can write one pitch, you can write 30.
And if I can show you how easy it is to write a pitch in just a couple of hours, you can easily start getting enough assignments each week to have a full-time go at this thing.
All within the span of weeks.
Numbers are important not because more is better, but because getting more practice in at the beginning means you can minimize your mistakes, get better faster, and start making money sooner.
However, let’s be clear: You can’t send a query a day if it takes you four days to come up with an idea. You can’t pitch effectively if you keep getting overwhelmed, sabotaging your own success, and getting in your own way.
That’s where the real magic of 30 Days, 30 Queries kicks in.
After I’ve taught you all the strategy, I show you how to implement it using the magic of: Mindset, Momentum, and Motivation.
I make sure you have all three to get to your goals.
Want to hear how?
Introducing...
30 Days, 30 Queries
A proven process that has launched the careers of hundreds of writers, facilitated countless $1-a-word assignments, and led to thousands of published bylines in the pages of top publications such as The New York Times, TIME, National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, and so many more.
This course gives you a clear-cut path for getting assignments and blends detailed training videos with stealable templates, coaching, and personalized feedback.
Kiss the guesswork goodbye.
And say hello to a freelance writing career that you can be proud of.
What if you could get to your most audacious publication goal in a matter of weeks?
I’m not kidding.
What I teach doesn’t work on a fluke, work only for people who are full-time freelancers, or work only for people from a specific location.
My students live all around the world, have been published in most top publications that you can think of, and have written about all sorts of topics, from NASA and brain chemistry to feminism and movie reviewing.
Because I don’t teach formulas. I teach YOU how to tap into YOUR strengths and use them to bring in assignments and editors who are aligned to YOU.
If you’re DONE struggling and are ready for a whole new chapter your writing career?
Then join 30 Days, 30 Queries and you’ll never look at your freelancing career the same way again.
Of course you'll need to do the work, but wouldn't you rather do work that gets RESULTS?
With 30 Days, 30 Queries, You’ll Be Able To…
- Understand why your ideas are important and how to come up with stories that get assigned right away.
- Get responses to the pitches you send instead of having your emails ignored.
- Write intriguing subject lines that get your emails opened.
- Learn the different types of query letters and know which one to use when.
- Explain your story idea with such clarity that endless questions and rewrites become a thing of the past.
- Write confident query letters that set you apart from most of the other pitches that land in editors’ Inboxes.
Basically, 30 Days, 30 Queries gives you the BS-free direction you need so you can get assignments, increase your income, and tell the stories you’re passionate about.
And straight up? This isn’t just “another online course.”
It’s an implementation program that arms you with the precise templates, procedures, and systems you need to get the assignments you crave.
Here’s How It Breaks Down:
Instruction
Every day, you’ll receive a video outlining your next steps and giving you exact instructions on what you need to do to find stories, generate ideas, and get those queries written and sent. This is not going to be passive learning. Each day, I will be giving you assignments and action steps that will ensure that you not only learn how you can get to your goal, but actually take the steps to get there.
Support
As part of this course, you can get 30-day Slack support from me, which means that not only do you have access to instruction, but you can ask me questions, discuss your unique problems, and get 1:1 support from me. I know that no story idea or indeed, no writer, is the same and therefore, your problems are different too. Let’s get you the help YOU need to get you moving forward.
Community
As part of 30 Days, 30 Queries, you get an invitation and lifelong membership to my exclusive student community so you can have support from a community of peers who have been where you are.
This is big stuff and I’m here for you every step of the way.
DID I MENTION THE INCREDIBLE BONUSES?
I'll share with you FOUR pitch critique calls, in which I coached writers and helped them rework their pitches, landing them bylines in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and Business Insider.
Topics and story ideas don't sell, but angles do. In this 90-minute masterclass, we'll go into what you need to do EXACTLY to turn a topic or story idea into an angle that editors want.
When it comes to pitching, one of the most difficult aspects for writers is not only finding story ideas, but turning them into pitches that editors WANT.
That's why I'm giving you an ENTIRE program that we ran live as a bonus!
To write good pitches, read good pitches. And to help you get started, you'll have access to our database of 50+ successful pitches from me and my students.
This is a training created specifically for my student community on the exact steps I followed to break into my dream publication. And now you can, too!
These bonuses are valued at over $1,200. Students rave about the results they get from the bonuses alone.
Who Am I?
Hi, I’m Natasha! I’ve lived on four continents, written for publications in 80+ countries, and been a contributor to The New York Times, TIME, CNN, BBC, Psychology Today, ABC News, Marie Claire, Vogue, Ms., and more.
I’ve won awards for my journalism (Development Journalist of the Year) and have been a contributor to bestselling books (The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology: True Stories From The World’s Best Writers.)
It is not a coincidence that so many of my students go on to get $1-a-word assignments, six-figure careers, and location-independent lifestyles.
It is because I know exactly how creative and ambitious people think, what they want out of their careers, and where they stumble.
I know you because I AM you.
I have faced the problems, the income dips, the heartbreak, and the frustration that you may currently be feeling.
I have faced it and come out of it.
I don’t teach you just what I know. I show you what I did, and then I show you how to overcome your own blocks to achieve the same results.
But in order to get the results, you have to do the work and you have to take the risk to believe in and invest in yourself.
And if you do? I can help you.
DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. HERE'S WHAT 30-DAYERS SAY
Your career grows when you know how to write effective pitches
When you know how to write sharp, effective, saleable pitches, you bring in more assignments.
You’re more excited about sending them, editors are more excited about receiving them, and—let’s get super clear here—they lead to bigger bylines and better pay.
Sure, you’ll make money when editors assign the stories you’ve pitched.
But you’ll build your career when those same editors keep coming back to you over and over again because they know you’re going to bring them excellent story ideas that their readers love.
30 Days, 30 Queries is not a lifestyle.
It’s a way to jumpstart your career in a way that helps you build relationships, break into your dream publications, and get confident writing stories that are meaningful to you.
It is a way to free up the time and energy you’d spend sending pitches into black holes, never to hear back, and spend it instead on doing the work that matters (without the never-ending struggle and exhausting effort.)
Imagine what a relief it will be—and how good you’ll feel about yourself and your writing—knowing that you’re able to spot an excellent story, show an editor exactly why they should assign it, and feel genuinely proud of the work you get to do.
Everybody has a moment. That moment when you know it’s time to step up and make the change you so desperately need.
(I call mine my “fuck this shit” moment.)
Maybe this is yours?
If it is, I’m excited to be a part of it, and can’t wait to see where you (and your bylines) land.
You can get started right now.
30 Days, 30 Queries is a 30-day program that will give you the mindset, the strategy, and the accountability you need in order to quickly and easily start writing pitches that sell.
I will walk you through every single step of the process of finding story ideas, researching publications, and writing the pitch (without the stress and the overwhelm)—and show you real-life examples of pitches that worked.
Have questions? I have answers!
Anyone who writes (or wants to write) for newspapers, magazines, websites, or publications of any kind.
Absolutely! While I created the course for writers who want to make a career out of freelance writing and journalism, we’ve had tons of authors take this course and use it to pitch publications. Hey, a New York Times byline is a New York Times byline, no matter the reason you chose to go after it.
You’re not expected to. In fact, *whispers* can I tell you a secret? We’ve had dozens of writers get so overwhelmed with the number of assignments that came their way just in the first two weeks that they had to give up querying in order to meet their deadlines!
But that aside, this is an entirely self-paced course. My goal is to get you everything you need so you can speed up the process and get set up and start earning within 30 days. But if you’d like to take it slower, that’s totally cool. I want you to set your own targets based on your commitments, desires, and life.
But, if like me, you don’t want to wait around for months to start making an income and an impact, then roll up your sleeves, and let’s do this.
That’s what I’m here for. While it would be great to have a general idea of what you’d like to write about and what kind of topics you’d most be interested in, don’t worry if you don’t have specific story ideas. I teach you how to find them, research them, and package them.
You’re on your own! (No, just kidding! Wanted to make sure you’re paying attention.) ;)
First of all, congratulations! Tell me all about it so I can do a happy dance with you.
Second, I’m always available to help anyone who has any questions, and I will never turn down a request for advice.
That said, this course will not be focusing on what happens after you get the assignment. My goal in this course is to get you the assignments (as many juicy ones as is humanly possible). While I have other programs that can help with that side of things, 30 Days, 30 Queries focuses (brilliantly, I might add), on one thing only: Pitching that gets results.
You can—and many established pro journalists who’ve come through this course have said they learned things here that they’d never heard anywhere before.
Here’s how I would make this decision:
Does it speak to you?
Are you happy with where you are in terms of pitching? Are you getting the responses you want? Are you working with the kind of publications you know you should be writing for? Are you close to breaking into your dream publications? Are you enjoying the kind of writing you’re doing, on the subject areas you’re writing about?
If the answer to all those questions is yes, high five! You’re doing great, and while more learning and growth is always good, you don’t need this course. Do it for fun or to reinforce what you already know, or to find some new tricks and strategies.
Now, if you answered no to any of those questions, then I’d recommend that you take it.
Because if you’re not doing the work that you want to be doing, and you think I could help you get there, then why the heck wouldn’t you?
Yes! And any future updates, too!
No problem. Just email me at [email protected] and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
You’re about to make pitching super easy (and profitable!)
Pitching doesn’t have to be difficult.
When you have excellent story ideas that editors are excited about, clarity on how to express them, and guidance on where to send them, publications start opening up to you.
Sending pitches becomes easier for you.
Assigning stories becomes easier for them.
No more struggling with what to pitch or how to do it.
And your writing career? It can start to grow the way you always hoped it would.
It you want to write pitches that sell—and have an easy and fun time doing it, then get your spot now.
My Promise To You
I won’t promise you a “$1-a-word assignment by Tuesday” class.
Never have, never will.
But I will promise you that you’ll learn how to think the right away about generating story ideas, getting editors interested, and explain what you’re proposing in a way that makes editors want to listen.
I will promise you that I’ll take you by the hand and lay out how to find multiple angles for your stories, how to write an effective and confident pitch, and guide you with examples, templates, and specific tactical advice, every single day for the next month.
30 Days, 30 Queries isn’t about a formula.
It’s about getting (virtually!) mentored by me so that you know what makes query letters work and how to write them.
(And what you learn will actually help you write those stories, too.)
You don’t sell stories by using formulas. You sell them by being smart and learning how to package your story ideas to make them interesting and desirable.
I’ll teach you how.
THIS COULD BE YOU:
We have so many testimonials and success stories, we ran out of space.
So we made a whole page for them!
Grow your freelance writing career with a
Wordling Plus membership
You can purchase 30 Days, 30 Queries as a standalone course. Or, you can get it as part of Wordling Plus, our learning platform that gives you access to all our best courses, workshops, and trainings, for a fraction of the price.
20+ courses, bundles, and workshops with 348 step-by-step trainings
What you get:
- Full access to 30 Days, 30 Queries and all the bonuses
- Full access to the entire Wordling Plus curriculum of courses, bundles, and workshops to help you master specific aspects of writing and publishing
- Access to new weekly and monthly content, including fresh courses and trainings
- 5-minute daily coaching videos, to help you start each day with a positive mindset
- Full access to an entire library of 100+ samples, templates, and tools, to streamline your business
- Lifetime access to our student community, where you can ask questions, make friends, and be inspired.
