Any freelancer worth his or her salt will tell you that earning an editor’s trust is half the battle. So, the best way to get your hands on a meaty feature could be to start off small with an FOB piece here, or in the case of Ebony.com, a sticky, tweetable Web story there.

“We want everything,”  said editorial director Keirna Mayo. “We want great ideas. We want people to be thinking about black lifestyle in a very nuanced way. We’re looking for the unique take, the unique angle, and the strong writer.”

And it would be in your best interest to keep those pitches polished.  “I think a lot of people think you can take shortcuts online just because things are abbreviated. Well, you can some places,” Mayo said, “but you can’t here.”

For more information on what to pitch, read How to Pitch: Ebony.com [subscription required]