Earlier this week, I shared the story behind my first-ever national magazine clip: a feature about Latina suicide attempts for Latina magazine. What I didn’t share, though, was the pitch letter I wrote that grabbed the editor’s attention and put me on the path to publication.

Here’s the pitch:

Dear Ms. [Name],

The strength or weakness of a Latina’s relationship with her mother is one of the primary factors in determining whether the young woman will attempt suicide. When family members participate in the mental health treatment of a Latina who has attempted suicide, the likelihood she will relapse diminishes significantly. Those are just two of the many fascinating findings that researchers and psychologists have recently uncovered in their attempts to understand the startling trend of Latina suicide attempts. Since 1995, Latinas have been the ethnic group with the nation’s highest suicide attempt rate. But as experts complete studies on the causes of this troubling trend, they’re unraveling clues that are being implemented in innovative treatment programs across the country. Experts know more about Latina suicide attempts than ever before – and that knowledge is making mental health practitioners smarter about stopping the trend.

I propose a Latina Lifestyle feature that updates previous articles on Latina suicide attempts by exploring what the most up-to-the-minute research is saying about why the trend continues. My clear and concise explanations of scientific data will be peppered with first-hand accounts of women who have gone through the trauma of a suicide attempt. The story will examine programs using new research to help end the troubling trend. Readers will come inside the innovative Bronx clinic where mothers and fathers – many of whom once scoffed at mental health care – are active participants in their daughter’s wellness. Fourteen percent of Latinas attempt suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That staggering statistic easily tops the rates for white women (7.7 percent) and black women (9.9 percent). With so many Latinas affected, it’s important to keep this issue – especially research that could help diminish those numbers – in the spotlight.

When he recently completed his five-year study of Latina suicide attempts, Dr. Luis Zayas, considered the nation’s foremost expert on the phenomenon, found that how much Latinas and their mothers listen to and understand each other has a direct correlation with how likely the younger woman is to attempt suicide. Other research has similarly pinned down the extreme importance of family relationships, not peer relationships as with some other ethnic groups, in determining the likelihood of a Latina’s suicide attempt. These important clues are being used nationwide to combat Latina suicide attempts. At the Bronx clinic, girls bond with their fathers over games of dominoes to break down the barriers between them. Mothers get English-language education and job training in an effort to decrease stressors in the household and increase communication with their daughters. Peer mentors level with parents about the realities of being a modern teen, while staff members educate girls about what life was like for their mothers, many of whom grew up outside the United States. A program in Denver is working hard to educate Spanish-speaking parents in their communities about mental health.

I wrote about the trend of Latina suicide attempts in 2007, while I was at student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Now that researchers are finding out what causes this troubling trend and more programs are working to stop it, I’m reaching out to sources who can bring this story up to date. I’m a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area and my work has appeared in more than 20 magazines, newspapers, and online publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Colorlines. You can see my clips, resume and bio on my website. Please let me know if this idea is of interest to you. I’d be happy to answer questions or tweak the angle. Thanks very much and I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best, Christina Hernandez

I spent a great deal of time crafting this detailed pitch letter. I wanted to make sure my knowledge of the subject — and passion to write the piece — shined through. A few comments on the whys and hows of this pitch letter:

• Although I was new to this editor, I didn’t introduce myself until the end of the letter. That’s because I thought the statistics of the story were much more compelling than my own bio.
• This wasn’t a new subject — Latinas were attempting suicide at high rates for years — so it was a bit of a challenge to prove to the editor why NOW was the best time to write this piece. But when I learned that a study had just been completed and we knew more about this phenomenon than ever before, I made those details a centerpiece of the pitch.
• I specified the section of the magazine where I envisioned the story to (1) show the editor I was familiar with the publication and (2) to help her “see” the piece in print.
• I proved that I was the ideal writer for this story by showing that I already had several sources lined up, along with key data.
• I introduced myself in detail at the end of the letter, showing that I not only had the content knowledge to write the piece, but that I also wasn’t a novice.

This is one of the more detailed pitch letters I’ve ever written. Now, because I already have established relationships with many of the editors I write for, my pitches are often much more concise and casual. But back when I was only months into the full-time freelance life, it took a detailed pitch like this to elevate me to the next level.

Image by Listener42