Member-only story
The Forge Pitching Guide
Pitching can be difficult. We’re here for you.
Editor’s Note, February 2021: We are currently not taking unsolicited pitches! If you’ve written a piece you think would be great for Forge, we invite you to write it on your own Medium profile and then send us a link at forge@medium.com — if we love it, we’ll contact you about featuring it in Forge. Thanks for your interest, and happy writing!
Hi! We’re so glad you’re here, and we are excited to have you pitch your awesome idea for a Forge story. But first…
Forge is Medium’s personal development publication. We love stories about productivity, self-improvement, optimization, personal progress, mindfulness, and creativity. We also love stories that comment on the world of personal development in a thought-provoking way. Our stories are backed by journalistic rigor and offer a toolbox of research- and expert-backed strategies to work, live, and be more productive, inspired, and whole.
Formatting your pitch
We’re looking for: longer features that really dig into a topic or trend in depth; daily stories that are about 1000 words in length; and quick hits that are more like 500–750 words and just include a tip or two. When you pitch us, please first take a look at what’s on the site today and make sure your piece feels like a Forge piece!
In your actual pitch, please format your email with the subject line like so: “Pitch: [headline of the piece]” so we know what we’re looking at. In the body of your email, include a suggested headline and a brief paragraph that outlines:
-Your thesis, which should be specific and fresh. Think of this less like a topic (for example, conversation skills or time management) and more like an actual statement or stance (for example, “People think gossip is bad but it’s actually good because it can create social cohesion and remind us of how to act in a society,” or “You don’t have to say yes to everything people ask of you and having this system of these seven yes/no questions will help you not to overcommit”).
-Your backup, by which we mean the names of any experts you plan to interview, links to research you plan to cite, or specific examples of the thing you want to highlight.
