How to keep rejected pitches alive
Sure, know when to cut your losses, but some ideas are just too good to drop.
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Hello friends! Today we’re talking about the difference between cutting your losses on a story that simply isn’t selling, and knowing when to stick with it because you believe in it and just can’t let it go.
Now, to be clear, this doesn’t mean every single story idea we have is worth pursuing, which is something I touched on earlier this month. Quite the opposite! Most of our story ideas are garbage, and it’s crucial for all freelancers to learn how to find the treasure in the trash. All the work a freelancer does for a story is unpaid labor until the story sells (if it even does, of course), so we need to minimize that as much as possible and focus on, you know, work that will pay off.
But sometimes you have an idea that worms its way into your brain and just won’t leave, despite not getting any bites from editors; it just feels too good to give up on. Those are the ideas we’re talking about today, and I’ve invited veteran freelancer and friend of FWT Foram Mehta (of Slate fame) to give us some tips on keeping those ideas alive.
Take it away, Foram!
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Sometimes as a writer, you just know that a story is meant to be told. It’s a gut feeling that lives deep in the heart of a storyteller. I’ve been there. And I’ve endured the rejections to some of my dearest (and most successful) stories time and time again before they finally found a home. And I’ve learned firsthand that the worst thing you can do to a good story is kill it because of some bumps in the road. Here’s my advice as a seasoned freelancer of 15 years on how to safeguard a good story and find it a forever home.
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Jot down your rough ideas
I know I’m not alone when I say that sometimes an idea presents itself when you are least expecting it. On your daily commute, daydreaming in the park, or during a good shower brainstorm — you never know when the brilliance will happen to bubble up. For me, these are the moments the story begins crystallizing, and I know I have to write it down. I have a spreadsheet with a tab labeled “Rough ideas,” but use whatever works for you. The most important thing is that your idea is there for you to return to, and it’s written down somewhere you can actually find it. More on that below. (Note from Tim: Cannot recommend this idea enough!👇👇👇)
Stay organized — spreadsheets are your friends
The right brain-left brain teamwork plays an important part in successful freelancing. I picked this tip up from another freelancer many years ago, and it really changed how I work. Seeing your story through from the “rough ideas” to the “published” stage requires organization and project management.
There are lots of tools out there that can work excellently (e.g. Asana, Airtable, Trello, etc.), but my trusty spreadsheet has done the trick for me for years. I have tabs for each year, and columns where I can drop in a full pitch’s text, where I pitched it, the editor’s contact info, whether they responded and, whether I followed up and when. Project managing your pitches like this means nothing falls through the cracks, and you can keep track of where you’re pitching and who’s responding. For pitches that have taken longer to get picked up, I’m able to grab the pitch text quickly if and when an opportunity presents itself. Here’s the exact template I use.
Upcoming Zoom workshops! All registrants will get a full playback of the workshops whether or not they attend live, and paid subscribers get 50% off tickets!
• May 21 @ 4:30 p.m. Eastern: The art of structuring a longform narrative. Join me this Thursday for a workshop on how to structure and organize a longform narrative feature. I’ll lead a deconstruction exercise of a published longform narrative story and give you tips and advice on how to use those tools in your writing. It’ll be structured like a grad school-level class, with participation encouraged (but, of course, not required)!
• June 18 @ 4:30 p.m. Eastern: How to get into — and thrive in — Travel writing. Wanna learn the ins and outs of making it as a Travel writer? This is the workshop for you! Join me and Nina Ruggiero, Senior Editorial Director at Travel + Leisure and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, for a workshop on how to get into Travel writing and build it into a sustainable, profitable part of your freelance business. Bring any and all questions you have about Travel writing, and be ready to dive in deep!
Rework your pitch to keep it relevant
Okay, so your pitch is saved and ready for quick access. Great! But don’t forget to edit it before you pitch it to a new publication/editor. I have certainly lifted my exact pitch and used it again, but I always check it twice. I’ll ask myself questions like: Have there been any updates to the data I’m referencing? Is there a different angle better suited for this publication/editor? Has this been written about in some capacity, and do I need to rework the angle altogether? Sometimes, there’s no need to update it. More likely than not, however, if you’re pitching the same story over months or years, the story has evolved and your pitch needs to as well.
Pitch. Pitch. Then pitch again.
I have kept some pitches in my back pocket for a very long time. I have pitched some stories over the span of years, gotten rejected, wrote other stories, and then come back to the ones that I knew were waiting to be told. Sometimes, pitching the same story over and over only to be rejected or not hear back can fool you into thinking that story belongs in the trash. And, yes, sometimes you need to listen to those signs! But that isn’t always the case, and that’s why keeping a tracker of pitches is so helpful. You can step away, come back, and pick up where you left off. And in my case, I’ve had an editor post a pitch call that was just right for one of my stories, and I was ready to go.
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Tim here again! Foram was kind enough to share a few stories that, after initial rejections, eventually found their ~forever homes~:
How Taco Bell Turned Its Back on Indian Americans: My most favorite story! I pitched it to Eater and other food pubs many times before NY Mag’s Grub Street picked it up. It was trending on Apple Stories the day it went live!
On Masala Dabbas and Rotis: An Ode to Indian Aunties: I also pitched this around tons of times, and in the end it found a home in a literary publication that wasn’t an avenue I had considered previously. I think it was the perfect home for it to live.
Climate change is making gardening in D.C. harder. Don’t let that stop you.: This is a perfect example of a story that evolved. I was pitching this as a more general piece and had been pitching it for years. In the end, a local magazine in D.C. picked it up, and I made sure to rework the pitch so it was more localized. They asked me to write it as a service piece, which I loved and was happy to do! This also broke a serious dry spell I had been experiencing, and it was reassuring to have an old pitch get picked up at long last.
Moved Fast and Broke Things: My most recent piece, in Slate!
Oh, a few other things …
Got a question about freelancing or the wider world of journalism? Let’s hear it, and I may feature it in a future Q&A post! Fill out this form with your question. Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!
Sell a pitch recently? I want to see it! If you had a story picked up not long ago, I’d love to feature you and your story in our ongoing series highlighting pitches that sold. Email me at tim@freelancingwithtim.com and put “Pitches that sold” in the subject line. Can’t wait to see ’em!
I offer one-on-one coaching! Is your story falling apart and you need a second set of eyes on it? Want a seasoned perspective on a pitch you’re kicking around? Interested in talking about careers and/or building your freelance business? Maybe just want an edit on a story draft? I’ve got you covered! Click below to book a one-on-one coaching session to talk about pitches, story ideas and development, editing, careers, or anything else you might need help with! (Paid subscribers get 33% off — email me at tim@freelancingwithtim.com for details!)
It’s sooooooo good to know that even the ‘old’ hands and pro writers take a while to place their stories. Aaannd, relax!