In freelance writing, your pitch letter is your bread and butter. It's your business card, portfolio, business plan and resume all in one. It's also the single most important bit of correspondence to master to take your writing to the next level.
I'll dive into the work habits and methods of successful pitchers at my upcoming Media Bistro seminar, Perfect Pitching, On Tuesday Sept 12 in San Francisco. In the meantime, here are Three Golden Rules for Perfect Pitching
Pitch Boldly: Don't be dissuaded by staid writer's guidelines or stuffy gatekeepers - aim high with your pitch letters. While $0.25/word for a local rag has its merits, so do Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler and Newsweek. Too often writers think they don't have enough cred for big press pitchings. You do. Don't undersell yourself.
Pitch Often: Like the NY lotto, you've got to be in it to win it. Far better to send out that pitch that may only be 90% fleshed out than to table it and see someone else swoop and steal your idea. Set a regular schedule - eg one a week, 6 pitches a month, every first Monday, whatever works - and stick to it! Make pitching a regular part of your routine, like hitting the gym or paying bills.
Have Backups: For every pitch you send out, have a couple solid backups for the same or similar ideas. If you're primary market rejects you, immediately swing that pitch toward your secondary market (often a competitor). So National Geographic Adventure doesn't want 'Adventure Town: Austin TX', pitch to Backpacker '60 Minutes Fixes: Austin' instead. Don't just save as though, make sure to update your pitch to match secondary, tertiary etc markets.
See? That's three daily tips today. So many more at the seminars.
Hi Jay,
These pointers sound familiar. :-) It's great that you're so willing to share your extensive knowledge with aspiring travel writers. I've really enjoyed the online mediabistro.com course. Your site is nice as well. I especially like the baby pics (but I think I got a kink in my neck looking at the sideways photos). :-)
Thanks for everything, and if you have a chance, maybe you can leave a little comment on my Blog... I'll hold onto it for when your rich & famous!
Cheers,
Liz
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