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A quick thread about pitches for newbie journalists (since I've got hundreds in my inbox that I'm currently sorting through)...
Pitch one good idea a week, rather than sending me something not thought through every day. Of course, if you send lots of pitches you're more likely to get them commissioned but if I open a few emails from you and they're not great, I won't be in a rush to open the others
Don't write the article before getting a commission because you're probably wasting your time BUT if you've written it already (for uni or something) don't email asking if I want to see it, just attach it
(I once commissioned someone who attached a uni article that sounded shit but was actually excellent and had it not been attached I would have never taken it)
DO THE RESEARCH. Please don't pitch me "I'd like to look into this". It's absolutely painful reading pitch after pitch of great ideas that I know would be excellent stories if they came off but will probably amount to nothing once you've done some basic research
Similarly, "I'd like to put in an FOI about this" and "I'd like to try to interview this person". Please put the FOI in or get the interview agreed before pitching
Editors try to plan content to the best of their ability and it's incredibly frustrating to not have an article come off or, even worse, for the freelancer to have spent a lot of time writing something that an editor has to spike because it's different to what they pitched
I know it's annoying to research something that then doesn't get commissioned (trust me, I've done it millions of times) but it's the only way to do it. There's simply no way I'll commission an idea that's not substantiated and I doubt other editors will
(If, on the other hand, you have a great track record as an established journalist or have written for us multiple times before, I'll be able to cut you some slack)
A Freedom of Information request. It's a GREAT way to get stories as a rookie with no experience or contacts. They can take as little as 10 minutes to do
Great question - it's one of the big freelance conundrums. I would always be honest with the PR and say I'm a freelancer and I'm planning to pitch it to XX but I know some freelancers lie and say they've got a commission already. I wouldn't recommend that
It is! (But I wouldn't submit it through there as someone might scoop you)
Please include links to something you've written - an article from your work experience at a local paper is fine or, even better, a journalistic blog post. It's just for me to assess whether you can string a sentence together properly
"What if I've never written anything before?" Perhaps the question is why are you pitching yourself as a professional writer? Get some work experience, get a blog and come back when you've had some practice
This is really interesting - we once had massive beef with Man City football club who allowed a freelancer to go to a training session thinking it was for Stylist and when they realised it was for us, they lost their shit because we're an indy publisher
Don't pitch opinion unless you've got some particular insight on a subject (ie you're from that community or have worked in that industry). Yes, lots of places publish ill-informed comment pieces but they're usually from staffers who have earned them by doing grunt work
Don't pitch me a piece that you got directly from a press release because I, too, got that press release. (Obviously get ideas and contacts from press releases but build on them)
Timing is EVERYTHING. Don't pitch me a diary piece for an anniversary that's just happened or is today. Don't pitch me a piece about something that happened last week. Sorry, you've missed it. Focus on what's coming up
If you pitch something newsy, understand that you'll probably have 24 hours to write and file it. If you're busy and don't have time to turn something around quickly, don't pitch newsy stuff
Keep trying. It's hard and horrible sometimes. But it only takes one editor to say yes. Freelancers won't know this but there have been lots of times when I've said no to something that I very nearly commissioned because I liked the person
Anyway, those are just the most immediately obvious ones this morning. I still have hundreds of pitches to go through (sorry if you've pitched me and haven't heard) so I might add some more today
Someone DM-slid to ask when to bring up money and the answer is ASAP. Ask when you pitch if they pay a set rate or if they would like to know your rates. Don't write anything without knowing how much you'll be paid
I should say, first google it, ie "the Guardian freelance rates". It's quicker and will stop you annoying an editor of a publication that's transparent about rates. Also check this amazing resource journoresources.org.uk/freelance-rate…
It's really up to you what you find an acceptable rate. Don't be bullied out of paid work by experienced people saying you shouldn't work for less than a certain rate. It's a time of a lot of change and people feel understandably very protective over their industry
But you have to start somewhere. Often when people say not to write for a certain sum, they're doing it in their own interest, not yours. Yes there are exploitative writing jobs which are best avoided but, equally, experience pays. It's very rare for a rookie to get £££
