How do freelance journalists actually get commissioned?
By pitching — proposing a specific story to a specific editor — and the craft of the pitch matters more than the idea, because editors receive far more of them than they can read properly.
What a pitch actually is. A short email proposing one story: what it is, why it matters, why now, why you, and roughly how long. Not an offer to write about a subject — "I'd like to write about housing" is not a pitch; a specific story with a specific angle is.
What editors are actually deciding:
Does this fit the section? The commonest rejection reason is a good story sent to the wrong place, which is a failure of research rather than of the idea.
Is there a news hook? Why this week rather than any other — an anniversary, a report, a court date, a policy change.
Has it been done? Recently, by them or by anyone.
Can this person deliver it? Access, expertise, and evidence of having filed before.
Is it actually a story, or an interesting subject with no narrative.
The mechanics that catch new freelances:
Read the publication first, properly, and pitch to the right editor by name.
Keep it short — a few paragraphs, with the story in the first sentence.
Suggest a length and a format, which shows you understand the section.
Expect silence. Most pitches receive no reply, which is not a judgement; following up once after a week is normal and acceptable.
Pitch the same idea elsewhere afterwards, not simultaneously — simultaneous submission is a genuine breach of etiquette in most markets.
The business realities:
Rates are typically per word or per piece, have fallen substantially in real terms, and vary enormously by publication.
Payment is frequently slow, and chasing it is part of the job.
Kill fees — a proportion paid if a commissioned piece is not used — should be agreed in advance and frequently are not.
Copyright and rights. Understand what you are selling: first rights, all rights, or a licence. Assigning all rights means you cannot resell or syndicate, which matters over a career.
Expenses, which must be agreed before you incur them.
No commission means no pay, which is why most freelances maintain several regular outlets rather than relying on one.