Isabelle Kohn is a senior editor for Slate’s Life section, specializing in stories about sex, gender, relationships, and work. Kohn talked with Erika Hayasaki about how to pitch a story on any of those beats. Kohn shares several examples of successful (and sexy) pitches, along with guidance on how to make yours stand out.

Erika Hayaski is a writer focusing on the intersections of identity, race, psychology, inequality, science, technology, history, and the human condition. She writes a newsletter called The Reported Essay. She is a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and currently teaches at the University of California, Irvine as a professor in the Literary Journalism Program.

You can pitch Isabelle at isabelle.kohn@slate.com. Under the Slate contract, contributors license their copyright exclusively to Slate for three months, after which time they retain non-exclusive rights. Contributors irrevocably and unconditionally waive, in perpetuity, their moral rights, meaning they cannot insist on being identified as the author of the work or object to derogatory treatment of the work. In a positive note for freelancers, there is no indemnity clause. Contributors retain derivative rights, and agree to notify Slate before taking steps to create a derivative work, such as a movie or book, and if requested, to work with Slate on mutually agreeable terms for such a production.

The Freelance Journalism Podcast is a production of the Institute for Independent Journalists, whose mission is the financial and emotional sustainability of freelancers of color. Learn more about our work at theiij.com.