The editor for Southwest Airlines magazine recently posted on Twitter that they are actively seeking pitches from freelance writers.

According to the editor, they pay $1 per word for features and essays.

https://twitter.com/Alexdmacon/status/1232704464437628929

According to their submission guidelines, they accept:

“Personal narrative essays. Profiles. Trend stories (so long as each has strong characters). Story is the key word here. We salivate over a well-spun yarn. We’re less interested in stories about particular places unless they contain a personal angle or remarkable character.”

They also have their full issue archives online, which makes it easy to get a sense of what they publish.

They also give a detailed description of what they’re looking for in a pitch. Their advice is useful for any magazine pitch:

Start with a sentence or two that tells us what your story is really about. Boil it down to the guts. Why will our readers care? Then, give us an idea of the story’s arc, and the kinds of scenes you could capture. Lastly, it’s a good idea to let us know why you’re qualified to tell the tale.

As with any pitch, it is worth the effort to make the pitch as concise as possible — and based on a clear understanding of the publisher’s needs.

If you’re interested in writing for them, be sure to read their writer’s guidelines page.