Photo by Holly Webb

 

In today’s seminar we learnt about how to pitch, these are my notes from the seminar presentation.

 

What is pitching?

A pitch is a story idea sent to a newspaper, magazine or other media outlet.

Editors like to get pitches as a large part of their job is coming up with ideas – a good pitch is a useful gift.

 

Who should you pitch to?

• pitching to publications you like is useful
• start small
• Writers and Artists Yearbook
• WHSmiths stock smaller titles as well as nationals – check the shelves
• look for niche or local publications online
• consider international markets
• Google subject-specific magazines

 

Research

• read it carefully
• get a feel for the tone of the magazine
• read several editions
• see if they’ve done something similar before
• identify the sections they publish and ones you could pitch to
• make sure your idea hasn’t already been done

 

Starting out

When you are starting out, publications are less likely to trust you with big features, so start with smaller stuff:

• front of book
• sidebar pieces
• list articles
• news snippets

 

Coming up with ideas

Ideas can come before or after you’ve chosen a publication.

If you’re looking at a particular publication – look for gaps in what they’ve done previously.

Think about things coming up – new films, books, events – find an article to compliment it.

Pitch according to the seasons.

REMEMBER every story has a different angle.

 

Composing the pitch

• Headline – think about how it will look on a cover
• Description – paragraph or two of clear description
• Give some examples of the content you’ll cover
• Structure – finish by explaining the structure

REMEMBER proof read and prove that you can write

 

Composing the email

• begin with a short introduction
• you can include two or three pitches but possibly no more
• maybe include examples of similar work at the end if it’s first time pitching
• make sure you’re emailing the right person – might not always be Editor
• use their name

 

Following up

• be patient
• give it a week or two for a polite follow up
• if you don’t hear back, move on and keep pitching

 

Success

If you’re successful, you’ll most likely be followed up by a commission document – read it carefully and follow it word for word and to the word count.

Most editors will tell you what they will pay before they commission.

Don’t bother negotiating fees at the beginning of your career.

Look at the Rate for Job website for guidance.

 

General tips

• Don’t send pitch to more than one publication – if one says yes you have to decline the other and this risks the relationship.
• PROOFREAD YOUR EMAIL
• Don’t miss your deadline

 

The task for this week was to identify a publication to pitch to and write our project pitch. See the task below:

 

Use the guidelines here to create a pitch for a real publication. You’ll need to:

* Identify a publication

* Come up with an idea

* Write up your pitch

* Document this in your workshop blog

* Optionally – create a pitch email and send the pitch off

 

To read my pitch click here.

To read my publication research click here.