How to use this Page

Dreaming of your big break? Waiting to see your byline in The New York Tmes or Washington Post? Maybe seeing your name grace the pages of Cosmo or Ladies’ Home Journal or Sports Illustrated keeps you motivated.

• Develop your expertise. I’m a history nut and I enjoy current events. I’ve parlayed my interests into multiple magazine and newspaper articles, photo layouts, blogging gigs, and website writing.
• Establish relationships. So, you don’t know the editor of the local press? Go introduce yourself! Network!  I didn’t know the editor or staff of a regional magazine, but once I pitched a story and spoke with him on the phone, I made a point to learn the hierarchy of their editorial staff. Now I know not to send a query to the assistant editor. I would not have know that if I hadn’t taken a vested interest. 
• Fine-tune your pitch.  Don’t count out any ideas. A friend who is an avid reader landed a book column in a local newspaper! One trick that helped land a steady assignment was analyzing what was covered in-house and what work was farmed out to freelancers. Once you see what needs a publication has, you can adapt your platform to fit their needs.

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Happy Saturday, everyone! I really wanted to do a post for all of you novice writers out there working so hard to get your fabulous articles and stories noticed. It can be a very tough and frustrating road, can't it? I totally understand.

Not too long ago, I was right where you are frantically trying to get just one editor to take notice of my article and story ideas. Each rejection had me beating myself, wondering whether I was kidding myself of 'making it' as a writer. I kept every rejection letter--both paper and email versions. I know it seemed like I was just pouring salt on the wounds but, in the end, it proved to be one of the best things I've done.

You see, many editors will give you a reason your piece or idea was rejected--at least that's what I was lucky enough to have experienced. Alot of times, it isn't because your writing sucked but more because there wasn't room for the piece or they've covered the idea recently or it doesn't fit in to a particular theme they're going with. I always tucked away any tidbits of advice I was given so I could improve my querying skills (because it is a skill!). Another thing their advice gave me was the ability to look at my rejected offer with a magnify glass to see other possible reasons for it being turned down. And that's what we'll talk about today: The DON'Ts in article querying.

We talk about these periodically here on WOW but I felt it was a good time to bring it up again. We often put out all the 'Do's' to follow but you need to understand those Don'ts too. That way you can side-step all the things editors find most annoying and avoid having your idea turfed right into the rejection bin. These are just a few things I've learned (the hard way):

DON'T query about subject matter the publication doesn't cover. No matter how good your idea or your writing is that would be an instant rejection. Follow the publication's Writers' Guidelines to the letter.

DON'T call the editor by his or her first name unless you know him or her personally. It's a business relationship so unless they put that option out there, always address the person as "Miss", "Mrs." or "Mr." so-and-so. And, while we're on the subject, be sure that you address the person by the correct GENDER. There are many unisex names out there (eg: Jamie, Jordan, Jody, etc.) take the time to investigate whether you're addressing your letter to a male or female. Some editors don't have a great sense of humor about that sort of thing.

DON'T go longer than one page. You should be able to get a good hook in, a short description of your idea and your brief qualifications/contact information in one page. If not, you may not be completely certain about your idea.

DON'T send that letter off without checking it over completely. Check for spelling and grammatical errors, punctuation, and sentences that go on and on. And DON'T rely on spell check to catch everything. As you all know, some words can be spelled right but aren't the right word for what you want to say.

DON'T be over-casual in your email pitch. A business letter is the same no matter how it's sent so always be professional.

DON'T indicate you have no experience if you have none. For some places this doesn't matter but for others it does so no need to bring it up in your pitch. If they ask about it later, you can answer honestly but don't give that up from the get-go. You should be confid

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In my last post, I talked about some things I learned at the Missouri Writers' Guild conference when attending a workshop with best-selling romance author Bobbi Smith. Today's post is going to be more about my conference experience, and I'm going to focus on what I learned when I had pitch sessions with literary agents Kristin Nelson and Joanna Stampfel-Volpe (pictured on the left). So, here we go:

1. Introduce yourself and your work: The first thing you want to do when you go into a pitch session is introduce yourself and your work. You don't need to give the agent/editor a bio or have a chat. Just give your name and information about your project. For example: "My name is Margo Dill. I have a 68,000-word young adult contemporary novel titled Caught Between Two Curses, and it's finished." You probably have a time limit for this pitch session, so don't tell any extra information about yourself until you get your pitch out. You can always go back and fill in the gaps later if you have time.
2. Practice a clear, concise synopsis of your work: Some professionals say you should be able to get the main plot of your story down to one sentence. Others say three or five. The point is you should be able to tell the agent/editor your short synopsis easily and quickly. And practice! Practice! Practice! I practiced exactly what I wanted to say in the shower and in the car. Here's what I think I said (I was nervous, you know) at my pitch session about my novel: "Julie Nigelson is 17 years old and caught between two curses--one on her family by a woman her grandmother knew and the other--the famous curse on the Chicago Cubs. The curse on her family affects the men by killing them before their 35th birthday. Julie must race to find the answer to breaking both curses before it's too late for her uncle like it was for her dad. In the meantime, she deals with her own love life issues with a boyfriend who is pressuring her to have sex and her own worries that the curse will get the guy she loves, too."
   
3. Try NOT to use notes: Some agents/editors won't care if you have notes that you refer to--they know you're nervous. But you should know your own work well enough when you are pitching that you don't actually need notes. Don't type up a pitch and read it. Talk about your work from your heart. Remember, agents and editors are just people. Sure, they can make your dreams come true. But you know your work and you can talk about it--really. If you're nervous, you might just sound really excited about your book. And that's not a bad thing.
   

At every pitch session I've been to, the agent or editor was extremely nice. Once I finished with my pitch, they asked me questions about the book, my career, and so on. If you already have a book published even in a different genre, mention it to the agent or editor at the end of your pitch session if it didn't come up in the conversation. I have a book under contract that hasn't been published yet, and I let the agent know after she said she would like to see some of my YA novel.

In WOW!'s May issue (which will be up soon), you can find out more about going to conferences and what to expect with my photo essay.

Happy pitching!
Margo L. Dill,
http://margodill.com/blog/ Display Comments Add a Comment