{"id":5233,"date":"2016-06-14T12:16:35","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T02:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/?p=5233"},"modified":"2020-08-04T11:53:48","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T01:53:48","slug":"industry-insider-how-to-make-an-editor-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/2016\/06\/industry-insider-how-to-make-an-editor-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"Industry Insider: How to make an editor happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"INDUSTRY<\/a>Today’s addition to the Industry Insider series is a guest post by Maxabella<\/a> \u2013 managing editor of Mumtastic Australia<\/a>, experienced blogger, freelance writer and, full disclosure, related to me from birth. She works with freelancers and bloggers every single day and has some tips for pitching an editor \u2013 and getting repeat work.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been an online commissioning editor for almost five years and am currently the managing editor of lifestyle website Mumtastic<\/a>. My job involves building a crack team of regular editorial writers as well as hunting down \u2018perfect fit\u2019 writers for campaign work. I work with freelance writers and I\u2019d prefer them to also be bloggers because bloggers tend to write in a more personal tone that suits our website. Bloggers also generally have a more engaged and influential social media offering \u2013 valuable for editorial work and pretty much critical for campaign work.<\/p>\n

I get asked a lot (like A LOT a lot) if people can pitch a story my way and I generally say, \u201cI\u2019m not commissioning from unsigned writers right now.\u201d This is usually quite true, but it\u2019s also an excuse because 99% of the time cold pitches are just such a waste of my time. Not because the story ideas are 99% awful (although I\u2019d say at least 75% of them are boring, unoriginal or poorly written and generally all three at once), but because I don\u2019t know you. And if I don\u2019t know you, I can\u2019t trust that you\u2019ll deliver what you say you will when you say you will.<\/p>\n

Tips to get your cold pitch read<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe your pitch idea is so good that it shouts through the general noise in my inbox. We\u2019re talking a really, really loud pitch because I receive upwards of 25+ cold pitches and 100+ media briefs with story ideas a week. Combine that with all the general inbox noise and only the brightest, shiniest cold pitches are going to get heard. Some things help:<\/p>\n

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  1. Get to know me before you pitch me<\/strong> \u2013 most editors have a fairly strong social media presence and even if they don\u2019t, the publication they work for will. If you think that editors of bigger publications won\u2019t see you on their business Facebook page, think again. Any online editor worth their salt is all over Facebook page mining the comments for story gold \u2013 and that includes the big guns like Fairfax and News Life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, I\u2019d expect to see you over on the Mumtastic page commenting your little heart out weeks before I see your name in my inbox. Not only does it show me that you are genuinely interested and engaged with the website you want to write for, there\u2019s something else right in your favour: I\u2019ll know your name in my inbox so I\u2019m going to pay it some attention.<\/p>\n

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    1. The subject line is critical<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cI\u2019d like to pitch a story idea to you\u201d versus \u201cPITCH: I\u2019m in Love with My Best Friend, Should I Leave My Husband?\u201d versus \u201cPITCH: Trust me, you don\u2019t want to miss these stories\u201d. Or something like that. I\u2019m sure you can do much better \u2013 that\u2019s why I\u2019ll want to read your pitch.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. Be professional, not ingratiating<\/strong> \u2013 maybe some editors love a good suck-up, but I am definitely not one of them. I\u2019d rather hear why you think YOU are so great than empty words about myself or the publication. Let the pitch do all the selling for you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. Structure your pitch<\/strong> \u2013 this is a fantastic opportunity for you to show that you can structure an article, so give me a headline (plus an alternative if you\u2019re feeling creative); a 2-3 sentence outline; and a basic takeaway. What\u2019s the hook that\u2019s going to make them want to read? What is the reader going to feel \/ do after reading your article?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          1. Showcase your capability<\/strong> \u2013 pitch your work as above, then wrap it all up with an estimate for how quickly you can turn the article around. Add a brief bio with links to at least three online articles you\u2019re proud of \u2013 make it easy for me to view your writing. If you\u2019re feeling brave, put your rate in the email as well, knowing that it will be negotiated based on what the editor has to offer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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            1. Make me curious<\/strong> \u2013 above all else, make an editor want to find out more. The perfect pitch is one that leaves an editor gagging to read the actual story.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Moving from pitch to commission<\/strong><\/p>\n

              Once you\u2019ve had your pitch accepted (and yay for you, that\u2019s big news indeed), what happens next? Well, you can either deliver the one article, send your bill and then start the whole thing all over again as per the above, or you can make your editor so happy with you that they knock on your door and say, \u201chey, Joe, can you write me this?\u201d or \u201chey, Joe, what can you pitch me this month?\u201d Here\u2019s how to make your editor THAT happy:<\/p>\n

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              1. Support the publication<\/strong> – if you are writing for someone (or you really want to), be all over their social media. Be an enthusiastic advocate for that publication. It\u00a0will\u00a0<\/em>get you noticed and it will be deeply, deeply appreciated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                1. Pitch well<\/strong> \u2013 see above. Remember, you want to make an editor\u2019s job easier, not harder.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                  1. Write to your pitch<\/strong> \u2013 If you\u2019ve pitched ABC, don\u2019t write DEF (let alone 123\u2026 believe me, it happens). Write exactly to the pitch because that\u2019s what the editor is paying you to do.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                    1. Match the tone<\/strong> – Has the editor asked for a specific tone? If she has, write like that. If she hasn\u2019t, it pays to know the publication that you want to write for and match its tone. Is it authoritative? Is it friendly? Is it outraged? Is it personal?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                      1. Write the details<\/strong> \u2013 your pitch is your basic outline, now it\u2019s time to go deep into your topic – the interest is in the details. I find a lot of good writers aren\u2019t good investigators and if you\u2019re writing any kind of article, you need to put your detective hat on. Examine every angle and look on top of and under every word. This isn\u2019t about investigative reporting (unless that\u2019s what you\u2019re actually doing, of course), it\u2019s about covering a topic with absolute clarity. Don\u2019t ever make your reader guess and don\u2019t leave them feeling unsatisfied.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                        1. Give a little extra<\/strong> \u2013 whatever you\u2019re writing, offer something unexpectedly extra. This will be different for every story, but you\u2019ll know the offering when you see it. In print, it\u2019s the little call-out box that has bulleted points about an aspect covered in the general article. In digital a good way to learn how to do it is to offer 3 excellent links embedded in your article: 3 links to fast recipes to cook for dinner when you\u2019re writing about work-life balance for women; 3 links to meditation ideas when you\u2019re writing about the pace of modern life; 3 links to how to grow your confidence when you\u2019re writing about cold pitching to an editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n