We appreciate your interest in writing for Good Housekeeping. We’re always on the lookout for great writers with great ideas, in an effort to deliver a unique mix of voices and perspectives to our readers. When it comes to freelance pitches, we're interested in long-form narratives, deeply reported service pieces and personal essays that offer a compelling point of view, a personal story behind the news, a unique story rooted in the ideas of house/home or a deep-dive guide into a topic that will help improve readers' everyday lives.
Our Voice
The goal of our features and essays is to invite a broad range of people into conversation about a timely subject with the intent of revealing various points of view and/or providing valuable service to our readers. Our reporting is balanced and our tone is positive, hopeful, approachable, smart, often funny and occasionally controversial, but never preachy, critical or judgmental. When it comes to covering key issues of the day, we use storytelling to "show" rather than to "tell," keeping people and communities at the core.
Who is the GH reader?
With a combined magazine and website audience of more than 51 million readers, mostly women between the ages of 30 and 60, Good Housekeeping reaches more people at every life stage than nearly any other media brand. You can take a look at our full media kit here.
Features and Essays
Compelling Points of View
With a goal of expanding readers’ perspectives and bridging gaps between communities, we offer stories that highlight a specific point of view or experience that falls beyond what’s considered “mainstream.” Examples include a first-person essay from the mother of a disabled teenage son, a reported story about the unhealthy side of wellness, and an essay from a woman confronting hard truths about herself through her interracial marriage.
- My Son May Have Special Needs, But Kids Like Him Can Still Make Friends
- How I Discovered My Wellness Plan Was Actually an Eating Disorder
- An Unthinkable Medical Mistake Left Our Daughter With a Severe Brain Injury
- I Thought I Understood White Privilege. Then I Married a Black Man.
- I Had No Idea My Husband Was Abusing Me
Personal Stories Behind the News
From the opioid epidemic to sexual assault, maternal mortality to food insecurity, we don’t shy away from hard topics. Our stories give these subjects soul by reporting on someone’s personal experience and offer advice for others going through something similar. An important element of these stories is a positive takeaway and a feeling of hope. Examples include an essay about Asian hate crimes from someone who has first-hand experience, an investigative piece about the shadowy world of mid-level marketing companies and an essay about racial trauma from the point of view of a Black therapist.
- Why Some Asian Americans Are Staying Silent About the Ongoing Hate Crimes
- Inside the "Toxic" World of Women Selling You Everything From Supplements to Skincare on Social Media
- I'm a Black Therapist. This Is My Advice on How to Protect Your Mental Health From the Relentless News Cycle.
- I Had Four Boys — Until One of Them Told Me She Was Really a Girl
Stories Based at Home
We are Good Housekeeping, after all. All that happens within or just beyond a home’s walls are our domain. Examples include a revealing essay about racism in home appraisals, a dramatic tale of a mother saving her kids from a house fire and an inspiring first-person story from a woman whose 6-year-old daughter opened a "restaurant" in their backyard and brought hope to their neighborhood during the pandemic.
- I Left My Son Alone in the Car for Five Minutes — And It Turned Into a Two-Year Legal Nightmare
- My Dream Home Turned Into a Toxic Mold Nightmare
- When My Home Appraisal Came Back Low, I Realized We Need to Change the System
- I Had to Walk Through Fire for My Kids
- This Summer, You May See More Yellow Jackets Than Ever. Keep Your Distance.
- The Highly Poisonous Plant That Could Be Hiding in Your Backyard
Essays
Most of our essays center on home, health, family, relationships and compelling personal struggles, experiences or decisions. While we welcome personal essays that deal with more serious topics, we’re just as interested in hot takes on more lighthearted, everyday subject matter. A few recent examples:
- Shoes Are Banned in My House, With One Important Exception
- I'm a Great Mom Who Doesn't Cook for My Family, and I Won't Be Shamed for It
- My Husband and I Had Sex Every Day for a Year — Here's How We're Doing Now
- I Knew There Was Something Wrong With My Body, But Doctors Wouldn't Listen
- My Son Has Memories of His Late Grandfather That Never Really Happened
- After Being Married to My Husband for Five Years, I Decided to Come Out
Service
Whether it’s a complete guide to doing laundry, a gardening special or the definitive handbook to handling elections as a family, our service packages go deep and cover an array of topics. While the vast majority of our service content is written by our in-house staff writers and Good Housekeeping Institute experts, we do occasionally work with freelancers for stories that require additional reporting and specific expertise.
- How to Do Laundry: A Step-by-Step Guide on the Right Way to Sort, Wash and Dry
- An Expert's Guide on How to Quit Anything
- When Politics Get Personal: Navigating Election Season With Your Family
- The Drama (and Joy) of Choosing a Baby Name
Where should I send my pitch?
Please send all freelance pitches, for both print and digital, to ghdigital@hearst.com (freelance writers only — please do not send PR pitches to this email, they will be deleted). Please include:
- Email subject line: Please include the phrase "STORY PITCH" and a short summation of your topic in the subject line of your email.
- Your info: Please include your name, contact info and a brief description of your experience as a writer (including if you've written for other Hearst publications) and links to your past work.
- Headline: Give us a working headline and dek for your story.
- Brief description/outline: We find that the best pitches are timely, well written, appropriately researched and have a strong working outline.
We accept all pitches for Good Housekeeping on a rolling basis. Please note that due to the volume of emails we receive, we cannot guarantee that each submission will be commented on; it is more likely that an editor will be in touch if interested in pursuing your pitch.
