Bursting with ideas? Now you need the full package and then you are ready to approach the editor of a newspaper or magazine that you feel suits
your pitch best. When emailing editors you need to have that initial killer
paragraph summarising what the story is going to be about. Show them that you
are knowledgeable of their style and audience. They will want to know that you are
appealing to their readers and following their own style, otherwise your
article can slot into any other publication. It needs to suit that publication,
and most importantly needs to be an exclusive. Editors won’t want to hear about
a story that any paper can publish, they will only want a story from you
if no one else has got it, so be careful with this one. Don’t try pitching the
same article by adjusting the style to lots of different papers, if you’re
lucky and more than one come back to you then your article is no longer an
exclusive. Don’t make the school boy error of thinking editors don’t speak with
each other either.
Moving on down the email comes the ‘so what’ factor - the
nut-grabber. Why should the readers want to know about your story, and why
should they care? This is where you have to establish the public interest of
the story and address why people will want to know about it.
Leading on from this, outline exactly who it is you plan to
speak to, don’t just say you plan to speak to a doctor
in London, or even that you have spoken to a doctor in London. Be specific.
State what it is they specialise in and their name and relevance. Details are
key to establishing that you are organised and have everything lined up and
into place, so if your editor comes back to you saying file me this copy for
tomorrow, you can! The last thing you want to be doing is telling the editor
that your article has “fallen down” (journalise for failed) if you’ve
unsuccessfully been able to deliver what you said you would in the time he has
asked. Note to self, if something is not working out; let the editor know as
soon as possible, better that then the false expectation of delivery.
Timings are crucial, think about their lead times; bear in
mind that if you are commissioned to write an article and you send it their way
don’t be pestering them within a few days if they are a monthly publication.
Give it a few weeks and they’ll get back to you if they are interested, but if it’s a daily publication then chase it up the following day,
because as you imagine they get a lot of emails so you don’t want yours to get
pushed down to the bottom of the pile. Additionally, to stand out, have a good
subject field, make it interesting, amongst hundreds your email could get
deleted and remain unread.
Wrap up the email by highlighting why the idea is different
and exclusive to anything done before, finishing off with a small bio about you.
Include some cuttings of online links to where you have written before, or if
you don’t have this include a reference or name drop someone who may connect
you both. Try to establish a link with the editor, by mentioning something that
you both may have in common, this may come later on in the career when you have
written for several publications and there may be one that you have both worked
on.
Journalism is about building the trust and connection with
contacts, so they can come to you with an inside scoop to
another story in the future. By simply talking to friends and family you will get an idea for
the current interests people have, which can help spark an idea. Keep reading a broad range of different features from
different publications to get an idea of all the different types of styles out
there. The Press Gazette, have a “how to pitch to …” with different publications which is worth having a look at for an idea of what different editors are
looking for. In some instances editors may ask to see an example of the first
few pars, so give them a flavour for what you may be looking to do.
A few more pointers worth thinking about, take into consideration the time you are
sending your email. Think about what they may be doing, you don’t want to get
them when they are running out the office – we all know how easy it is to
forget. Secondly, do not make the mistake of sending the pitch as a word
document, no one wants the hassle of opening attachments it takes time, just
write it in the body of the email. It is also worth getting someone to scan
over you e-mail, to proof read it for accuracy and spellings. The last thing
you want is to make a bad impression with a pitch littered with American
spellings or bad grammar.
Remember back to the ‘full package’ you want to attach some
low resolution pictures as well, include a few photos of a portrait and
collects (to illustrate the story) editors will want to see that everything is
there and ready to go.
Don’t jump the gun by firing questions about pay until you
have got the commission, once you have the idea approved then you can move on
to discuss pay and negotiate rates. Some publications have set rates per word
for all freelancers, but others do not and I guess this will come with
experience on to how to approach the 'money’ question. As a freelancer you will
have to manage all your own finances, including tax and VAT, some papers will want
you to invoice them and others won’t. It’s best to assess it each time
individually. If you have established a reputation as an ethical journalist you
may find that people will come to you with a story idea, or a paper may send
you their own brief that they want you to follow. If you complete their brief
but they don’t go ahead with publishing the article you are still entitled to a
‘kill fee’ despite the fact it was spiked. After all they did ask you to do the
story.
Copy approval is a touchy subject, some journalists will say
an definitive "no" over showing their copy to their clients before they publish
it, but on the flip side some journalists particularly freelancers may like to
get approval from the people they sourced the story from. The catch here though
is its simply approval for accuracy not for style, they don’t want to be sued
for being wrong or misinterpretating their story, therefore they can get
approval from the client but this is not an opportunity for them to change the
copy.
This is an insight into how to pitch to
editors, everyone will always have their twist on things, but this is a good
way of approaching them, and a way of getting noticed. If you’ve got the full
package: pictures, interviews and a good idea lined up you’re set to get the
commissions rolling in. Writing the article should be the easy part if you’re a
talented writer, it’s the pre-planning that requires your time and research. Don’t
be afraid to send a quick pre-pitch email if you want approval that your idea
is something they will be interested in, but make sure you state you will send
through a more detailed pitch shortly if it is of their interest.
Give it your best shot, Good luck.
