The scariest emails a freelancer can get
And why they're actually not scary at all
Please join me on Nov. 19 for a workshop on the art of structuring longform narrative features. See below for more details, then register here, and don’t forget to use the promo code “subscriber” to get 50% off!
It’s the night of the living dread!
Whoa, sorry there, didn’t mean to frighten you! But what we’re talking about today are fears every freelancer has.
Being a freelancer is hard. You have to put yourself out there, be open and vulnerable, and, sadly, a lot of the time it results in nothing. It sucks, we all hate it, but rejection is, horrifyingly, the name of the game.
So to honor my favorite holiday, here are three of the most terrifying emails that haunt the inbox of every freelancer.
‘This just doesn’t work for us’
This is a tough one because it’s vague, undescriptive, and eerie, and it doesn’t really give you much to work with. You’re spooked because you have no idea what the problem is.
But!
As I say all the time, there are a thousand reasons an editor will decline a pitch, and shockingly few have to do with the story itself. Budgets are short, timing is complicated, and The Boss may just not like it. All of that is out of your control.
Sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself and move on from a pitch — don’t let that one idea become a vampire that drains you. The most difficult stories to jettison are the ones with which we’re most emotionally attached to. When you’ve pitched a story to a dozen publications after spending hours researching, writing, and revising your idea, it might feel impossible to put the final nail in the coffin. I’ve felt this myself! But realizing that something isn’t working is hard to see in your own work.
And really, it’s better for us freelancers in the long run: Accepting when something isn’t clicking allows us to devote that time and effort to stories that do work. Be a little mean to yourself — kill and bury your darlings — and tell your inner monologue that it’s just not there.
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‘We just can’t pay the rate you asked’
Like a slasher flick, this one stalks like Michael Myers and never stops. It may disappear for a period of time, but it persists.
How do we exorise it? It’s easy: Don’t bother with outlets that can’t meet your rate. By taking a smaller commission than you’re worth, it’s, of course, bad for you, but it’s also bad for the industry. If we all keep accepting less money than we deserve, it lowers the pay range industrywide, and we all suffer.
Admittedly, it is a privileged position to be able to turn down work, and I know that’s not an option for everyone. So, rough as it is, the responsibility falls to freelancers who can afford to turn down work. Sure, no one wants to sacrifice money, but it is for the greater good. Gut those pubs from your roster. (Here are a bunch of rates that fellow freelancers have recently gotten and shared.)
Dead silence
We’ve arrived at the ultimate nightmare of any freelancer: Ghosting — no response whatsoever.
*shudders*
Scary as this is, in most cases, it doesn’t mean what we often assume, which is that the editor hated the pitch so much that they didn’t want to respond. But the most likely scenario is that the email was simply lost in the shuffle. Everyone hates email — getting them and writing them — but the sheer mass and mess of any editor’s inbox can be an overwhelming madness.
Don’t let this trick you into thinking it's bad. Instead, treat yourself by selling it elsewhere.
Think of it like a zombie, and raise it from the dead. That one publication you pitched isn’t the only one in the world, so keep at it. If the bones of your idea are solid, it won’t be headed for an early grave.
Okay bye ily and Happy Halloween!
- Tim 🎃👻🧙
Oh, a few other things …
• Please join me on Nov. 19 for a workshop on the art of structuring a longform narrative feature. In this Zoom session, I’ll lead a deconstruction exercise of a longform narrative story and give you tips 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). We’ll analyze a published longform narrative as a jumping-off point, and go into detail about what it takes to go long on a story. Register to join here, and remember to use the promo code “subscriber” to get 50% off!
• If you like what you’re reading, please consider subscribing to the paid version of this newsletter. Paid subs get access to all past and future paid-only posts, the freshly updated archive of recorded Zoom panels, an expert panel on launching and growing a newsletter, a post about the 10 best things I did for my freelance career, the exact text of a pitch I sold to The Atlantic, practical tips for diversifying your freelance income, 50% off all Zoom workshops, and much more.
• I offer one-on-one coaching! Need help developing an idea or sharpening one you already have? Or want to talk about careers and building your freelance business? I gotchu! Book a one-on-one coaching session to talk about pitch reviews, story development, editing, and anything else you might need help with.
• I’m now doing Q&A posts in the newsletter to answer all of your questions, comments, and thoughts about freelancing and journalism in general. Drop any and all questions in the comments section below this post or email me at tim@freelancingwithtim.com, and I may feature it in a future newsletter. Let’s hear it!
• Just a quick note: If you’re considering it, please don’t cancel your subscription to The Washington Post. It's totally fair and valid to feel one way or another about anything and everything it does, but The Post is a genuine, net positive for the country that needs our support.
Question: I heard it could be a bad idea to link to several different clips in a pitch because it makes your email more likely to end up in spam and that it's better to link to a portfolio page. Is this true?