The Feature and the Exclusive

The feature story must deal with a subject of current interest and is usually offered to a writer or editor as an exclusive. Because the feature lacks a news peg, exclusivity may be the only way you can interest a newspaper writer. Exclusivity is highly important to magazines and news feature services.

For feature stories, it is best not to prepare a full feature with images and then submit it. One procedure that works is to outline the story idea and visual possibilities in a pitch letter or e-mail. This outline may be all that is needed to interest a writer, who will probably want to write the story from his or her own angle.