London is a big place and we are but one mag. It is almost inevitable that there are great things going on in London that we know nothing about, despite our efforts. So we would love for you to pitch us and, if you’re here, you probably want to write for us. It’s a great start. Here are a few pointers on what we’re interested in, and what we’re not.
First of all, subscribe to Capital Letter and give it a read, it’s the best way to see our style and the kind of thing we include. You will see quite quickly that we aren’t interested in PR plugs or drab listicles like ‘50 Best Walks Around London’. We also strive to avoid the really obvious. Places like E. Pellicci, the Prince Charles Cinema and Rowan’s aren’t what we want. Whatever the topic, if it’s got extensive coverage, we probably won’t take it, unless you’ve got a different angle – like why the Tower of London is actually great and which parts of the Heath are still worth going to.
The bread and butter of Capital Letter is really good recommendations: how to live in London now. This can be anything from a good place to eat, a good film, play, exhibition or shop, an excellent park, a piece of historical trivia you can visit, a pub, a club etc. We always want to know about these, even if you just want to tip us off to something, but they’re more than just a sentence about an average pint. We want to know why something’s good, what it’s like there, what it tells us about the city. Bear in mind the point about obviousness, and check to make sure we’ve not already covered your top tip.
After this, there’s the ‘guide-style’ pieces. This is something we’d love to see flooding into our inboxes. Broadly, there are two kinds: the area guide and the professional guide.
If you feel you know an area of the capital like the back of your hand, that’s the former. This city is massive, and even lifelong residents can find themselves unable to discern the good stuff from the bad, falling back into the mediocre safety nets of chain shops and restaurants. This is a chance to share your locals’ knowledge. Save someone from a crap Pret sandwich and shine a spotlight on your favourite local business. It’s a win, win, win.
On the other hand, if you work somewhere that you think has given you a particular vantage point on London life, or gives you some insider knowledge that a really well-informed Londoner would love to know, that’s the latter. We’ve had warnings and advice about where to get your hair cut from one of London’s top barbers, and advice on the do’s and don’ts of a catered event from a model working in the hosting industry. If you think your professional know-how might be of interest to your fellow city-dweller, let us know.
Finally, there’s ‘the dispatch’, an account from the coalface of London life. We want to know the details. What happened, who was there, what did they say, what did the room look like. We’ve had some great examples in the magazine – see Lotte Brundle’s piece on the most basic night out in London. It doesn’t have to be from an event though. It could be a fascinating person or story from the capital.
Indeed, these categories are all a rough guide. If you think you have something really great that would fit for us, feel free to give it a try. We pay for these contributions – although, as these are shorter pieces for our newsletter only, the rate is lower than for the magazine. We are also happy to promote your socials with your piece. And that’s about it.
We’re reachable on [email protected], just drop us a line with ‘Capital Letter’ in the subject line. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.