Pitch to the Rauch Review
Starting with pitches makes more sense than immediately submitting a complete draft. We would feel awful if you worked hard on a draft specifically for us and then submitted only to find out it’s not a fit. If we approve your pitch, we will ask you to submit a complete draft.
We pay contributors for all non-partnership content that is published exclusively on The Rauch Review or published originally here and properly syndicated elsewhere.
Because we are busy, even good pitches are not guaranteed to receive a response. On the off chance we missed your pitch, feel free to follow up once or twice, but no more.
Here are some tips to increase your chance of getting a yes:
- Peruse this page, or at least the sections that are relevant to the type of content you’re pitching. Follow the instructions. We’ll be able to tell if you scanned or skimmed.
- Read About The Rauch Review, Our Full Backstory and our articles about our philosophy.
- Follow Joseph Rauch, our founder, on social media and check out what he’s been posting.
- Check out our newsletter page and sign up.
- If you’re pitching creative writing, check out Joseph’s short story collection and books to see if your story has similarities.
What We’re Looking For
Who We’re Looking For
How to Pitch Article Ideas
How to Pitch Book Review Ideas
How to Pitch Short Fiction, Short Creative Nonfiction and Poetry Ideas
Want Us to Review Your Book?
How to Pitch Ideas for Art Based on Joseph’s Books
Exclusivity Policy
What Happens If We Love Your Work and Want A Lot More?
What We’re Looking For
- Articles that cover our core themes of debating what makes writing “good,” challenging establishment views/norms and literary gatekeepers, reporting on the world of books with a perspective that is critical of neoliberalism, etc.
- Book lists that highlight a combination of quintessential and underappreciated titles within the broad categories of literary fiction, literary/genre blended fiction, creative nonfiction and political nonfiction
- Reviews of literary and literary/genre blended fiction and creative nonfiction books, ideally that are similar to Joseph’s novels (his book sales help fund the business, so it’s easier to justify paying people for book review pieces that can market his books)
- Short fiction pieces that are literary but perhaps not stereotypically so (or are clearly well-written but have been passed over by literary establishments)
- Short fiction pieces that blend literary style with light touches of genre elements
- Short creative nonfiction pieces that are clearly well-written but have been passed over by literary establishments, or that emphasize themes that fit with our literary and political philosophies
- Poetry that speaks to the aforementioned values
- Reviews of nonfiction books related to populist politics (For example: Right now I want to review books written by former presidential candidates such as Marianne Williamson and Cornel West.)
Our Idea of What is ‘Good’
It’s impossible to have a completely objective perception of quality, but we try to be objective by evaluating all submissions with what I like to call the three Cs:
- Compelling: not boring, at least not for a target audience
- Clear: easy for most people with a high school education to read smoothly and understand the gist, even if there are a few words they don’t know off the of their heads
- Concise: focused and not unnecessarily long
If your piece is relevant to us and satisfies enough of the three Cs, we will seriously consider it.
When We Say Yes to the Pitch But No to the Draft
There might be cases where we accept your pitch and draft submission, but feel the draft needs a lot of nurturing before we are comfortable publishing it. If you’re open to receiving our guidance, we will reach out and explain the situation. In cases where we don’t feel able to edit the draft into something usable, we will politely decline publication and pay you our $100 minimum fee to compensate for time.
Who We’re Looking For
You care deeply about literature and reaching your potential as a writer. For whatever reason, literary agents haven’t represented you, and traditional publications have rejected your submissions. Your creative writing doesn’t fit neatly into one genre or stereotypical style.
If this doesn’t sound like you, it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker. We consider writers who have had a lot of establishment success, but we prioritize people who fit the above description.
Populist Political and Cultural Views
Writers shape political and cultural discourse. When elitist authors with anti-populist political views define the Overton Window of opinions that can be expressed in and around literature, readers and fellow writers are deprived of enlightening content. The Rauch Review will not accept pitches from anti-populists.
In the context of U.S. politics, I define “populist” as championing major policies at least 51% of Americans want, according to an average of reputable polls. Populism can also refer to popular attitudes on political and cultural issues. Because establishments usually prioritize a wealthy and powerful minority of the population, being populist and anti-establishment are often the same.
We generally only accept contributors who:
- Believe American voters should have viable alternatives to the Democratic and Republican parties
- Do not shame third party voters as being selfish or spoilers
- Acknowledge that the Democratic Party is corrupt and capable of warmongering, not only the Republican Party
- Support unionization, universal healthcare, wealth taxes, breaking up monopolies, reducing pollution, police reform, abortion rights and LGBTQ rights
- Understand that establishments use censorship primarily to stifle opposition to their policies and narratives, not to protect people from lies
- Believe that, whenever possible, materials, products and goods should be sourced and made in the country in which they are distributed and sold
If you don’t hold all of these views but still want to write for us, ping me, and we’ll see if something can be worked out. I will not platform opinions that go against these views, but I’m open to considering people who might occasionally oppose some of these points on other platforms.
To learn more about this issue, read my article on how many people perceive acceptable political discourse in literature, and why I think this attitude should change.
How to Pitch Article Ideas
Follow these steps:
- Begin an email draft to hello@josephrauch.com.
- Use this subject line format: Article Pitch: [name of pitch]
- Begin the email body with “Hi,” or something like that. Don’t write, “Hi Joseph,” because he might not be the one reading your pitch.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Link to and/or attach relevant work samples or a portfolio
- Send the email.
How to Pitch Book Review Ideas
This section is for writers who want to write a long-form book review of someone else’s book. If you want us to review your book, scroll down two sections below.
Here are the types of books we want to review:
- Novels (ideally literary or genre-blending like Joseph’s books, and we are partial to self-published or independently published), memoirs and short story or essay collections that meet our standard of quality but have been overlooked by establishments or haven’t found a large audience
- Books that have received overwhelming praise, despite obvious shortcomings
- Classics, especially underappreciated ones, if you can provide new takes
- Comic books and manga that meet our standard of quality but — most likely because of their format — haven’t received critical praise comparable to known literary works
- Political opinion or journalism books with a populist or anti-establishment perspective
- Poetry books (separate instructions for these in our poetry section below)
Follow these steps:
- Read these articles:
- Our Philosophy on Book Star Ratings
- How We Address the Failures of Critic and Consumer Book Reviews
- Is It Ethical to Pay for Book Reviews?
- Begin an email draft to hello@josephrauch.com
- Use this subject line format: [‘name of book’] Book Review Pitch
- Begin the email body with “Hi,” or something like that. Don’t write, “Hi Joseph,” because I might not be the one reading your pitch.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Link to other book reviews you have written
- Send the email.
How to Pitch Short Fiction or Short Creative Nonfiction Ideas
Follow these steps:
- Begin an email draft to hello@josephrauch.com.
- Use this subject line format: [Short Fiction or Short Creative Nonfiction] Pitch: [name of pitch]
- Begin the email body with “Hi,” or something like that. Don’t write, “Hi Joseph,” because he might not be the one reading your pitch.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Link to and/or attach relevant work samples or a portfolio
- Mention creative writing courses you have completed and authors you have studied with
- Tell us if the short fiction or creative nonfiction piece is an excerpt of a larger work
- Send the email.
How to Pitch Poetry and Poetry Book Reviews
Follow these steps:
- Begin an email draft to nardinetaleb@gmail.com
- Use this subject line format: [Poetry or Poetry Book Review] Pitch: [name of pitch]
- Begin the email body with “Hi Nardine,” She is our poetry editor.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Link to and/or attach relevant work samples or a portfolio
- Mention creative writing courses you have completed and authors you have studied with
- Tell us if the poem is an excerpt of a larger work
- Send the email.
Want Us to Review Your Book?
Most of the above section applies to your book as well. To pitch your book, follow these steps:
- Read the Sponsored Book Review section of our Sponsored Content and Advertising page. To cover costs and compensate for time, we charge a fee for book reviews pitched to us by authors who wrote the book.
- If you’re still interested, begin an email draft to hello@josephrauch.com.
- Use this subject line format: [‘name of your book’] Review My Book Pitch.
- Begin the email body with “Hi,” or something like that. Don’t write, “Hi Joseph,” because he might not be the one reading your pitch. He has a small freelance team he delegates a lot of work to.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Link to writing samples such as other books, articles or short creative writing pieces
- Send the email.
How to Pitch Ideas for Art Based on Joseph’s Books
We love to see what people imagine when they read Joseph’s novels. If you’re a literature-loving illustrator or artist who wants to make a little extra money, follow these steps:
- If you haven’t already, you’ll need to buy at least one of Joseph’s books.
- Read the book and take notes on the scene or character you want to create art for. You are also welcome to create alternative book covers.
- Begin an email draft to hello@josephrauch.com
- Use this subject line format: [insert name of art piece] Joseph Rauch Book Art Pitch
- Begin the email body with “Hi,” or something like that. Don’t write, “Hi Joseph,” because Joseph might not be the one reading your pitch.
- Use the rest of the body to:
- Describe your pitch
- Explain why it’s a good fit
- Explain why you’re a good fit
- Attach or link to samples of your illustrations and/or art
- Send the email
Exclusivity Policy
Paid contributions should be published only on The Rauch Review. You may reach out to us to discuss an exemption. If you violate this policy without us agreeing to an exemption, we probably won’t work with you anymore.
We accept unpaid contributions as part of business partnership arrangements such as guest post exchanges and syndications. These pieces can be republished anywhere, as many times as you like.
If we are one of the sites you are republishing on, you need to let us know so we can properly attribute the original. Search engines punish websites for what appears to be duplicate content that is sourced without permission. To avoid negative outcomes and respect our process, read our syndication guide and keep our team in the loop while you coordinate.
What Happens If We Love Your Work and Want A Lot More?
If we love your first draft submission, we will reach out to discuss an ongoing professional relationship.
Pseudonyms and Pen Names
We accommodate the use of pseudonyms, pen names, etc. We’ll understand if you’re worried about a regular byline disrupting one or more aspects of your life. We will not reveal your true identity to the public. If you want us to sign an NDA or something to that effect, we will review the document and seriously consider it.
