Thread by @vsirnate

Hello Folks

So I decided to do a quick thread on Twitter after receiving many messages from young writers and new generation journalists about how to engage with media organisations or publications to get their work published. These messages have been trickling in for a while.

Many have reached out to us to consider publishing their work and also for advice on how to speak about publishing with more established and famous journalists and editors. So what I am going to write here are my rules of thumb for engaging with organisations and people.

Again these are things that have worked for me. So this is a thread on how I react or communicate with people and perhaps some of this can help younger writers elsewhere.

I began writing a very long time ago. But since I had decided to not pursue journalism and had started a Ph.D, it was only in 2009 that I even tried to write in newspapers or magazines.

I began writing a very long time ago. But since I had decided to not pursue journalism and had started a Ph.D, it was only in 2009 that I even tried to write in newspapers or magazines.

Often I would write something that I thought was important (a commentary or some such) but equally often no one would publish it. Slowly, this began changing and I think the reason was three fold.

1. I had started being more crisp in what I was saying.
2. I had started getting more traction academically for my work.
3. People had begun reaching out to me to write on specific topics.

All of this was very good and I was quite happy. I often wrote without any payment and that was ok by me. I already had a student stipend at Berkeley and if payment came my way it was good and if it didn’t, so be it. I was just happy that someone somewhere was reading my work.

However, things began to change in the last few years when I had to run the research wing of a think-tank in Chennai (THC) and I was often dealing with multiple emails from people on a daily basis with pitches on items they thought we would be interested in.

Often, we had to decline because we just felt the pitch wasn’t strong enough. I also wrote widely during this time and as usual, sometimes things got published and sometimes people just said they couldn’t publish something.

Fast forward to today, where I run Polis research and again as a team we get inundated with many pitches. It is very very difficult to sift through story ideas. But I can tell you a little bit about what to do and what not to do.

1. One thing I realised about myself is that I actually don’t send pitches to people. I send them a whole piece. If I know someone well, I ask them “I have something to say about X or Y issue. Would you be willing to take a look?” If they say yes, I send the piece asap.

2. If I’m writing to someone I don’t know, I prefer to use email. I never DM people with requests to publish me or send a pitch over social media. I’m old fashioned. At times when I am unable to locate an email for a person, I may reach out via social media ASKING FOR THEIR EMAIL

3. I always use proper salutations and never start an email to anyone with “Hey??” Everyone is Dear Mr., Dr. , Ms. or Prof. If its someone with whom I have a personal equation I relax these rules because I know these won’t be misinterpreted.

4. I am often annoyed when people send me work related DMs on either Messenger or Twitter. I am also annoyed when people ask me for my phone number so they can send me messages on WhatsApp.

This is because I fundamentally hate my phone and I fundamentally don’t like communicating through my phone. Because I despise phones, I also don’t blow up other peoples’ phones with requests.

5. One thing I have learned being an occasional op-ed contributor to various places is to stay humble. If someone says they can’t publish me, I say “that’s fine and thank you for responding. I hope to be able to hold your interest in my next piece” or something nice like that.

Whether there is a next piece or not, doesn’t matter. Rejections are a part of the game and editors will reject pieces or pitches for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they have already carried some piece on the issue you are writing about.

At other times, they don’t have the bandwidth to process your piece (especially if its not well written), sometimes they don’t know you and don’t have the time to find out about your work.

These may sound like excuses but on a daily basis one can feel inundated with requests and that often creates a sense of being overwhelmed.

6. One of the nicest rejection emails I got was from a female editor at NYT who told me “I’m sorry we can’t carry this piece now. But I do hope you find a good home for your piece”. I found this to be incredibly sweet and I made this line a part of my rejection emails.

7. Remember that editors are not your friends. They are people who work a pretty rough job often on very non-competitive salaries. They can’t respond to every email you write. And if you send them ten emails, they may get annoyed. Everyone is human.

8. I always keep in mind that my piece is not the most important thing in the world. This goes back to my point about staying humble. If I am rejected I don’t badmouth a whole organisation. I take it in my stride.

9. If someone says that they are publishing my work I always add a line in my final draft (which I always spellcheck), that asks “kindly inform me if this piece can be made stronger”. I let people get some control over my piece because a piece is not the product of one person.

It takes a whole team. I once wrote for Foreign Affairs and the editor kept truncating my piece. I must admit his edits were good but they did alter the piece. He later wrote to me saying he was so glad I was the one writing the piece

because I was “so easy to work with that it was a pleasure”. This is because when I disagreed about an edit, I politely pointed out why I did and if we could revert back to the original text. Yes, I often argue about every word choice. But I do so as nicely as possible.

This is because no one wants to work with a grumpy, egotistical, self-involved writer.

10. If you’re sending pitches to organisations. First of all make sure your pitch is clearly written and well-structured.

Often pitches promise a lot, but the piece under-delivers. I find this to be a huge source of annoyance (which is also why I prefer sending full pieces in). Second, if you’re writing for money ask about the payment amount AND the process involved in acquiring it before you commit

If its a good organisation, they will have an administrator who will follow up with you at the moment of publication. If they’re a bit wishy-washy about it, don’t count on receiving payment.

11. One of the reasons I am writing this thread is because I often get DMs (since I made the mistake of getting more active on Twitter) from young writers saying “Hey Vasu… does X pay???” First of all, respect the person you’re writing to.

They are not buddies, they are professionals so don’t use a short form of their name. Second, never ask someone YOU DON’T KNOW personally in the industry what another organisation pays. They may not know.

Or if they do, they will jolly well make sure to steer clear of you because they already know first hand that you’re carrying stories. ASK the ORG directly how much they pay and be bold about it. It’s your labor. There is nothing to be ashamed about in asking for payment.

12. If you want to be taken seriously in the writing world, then let your work speak for you. But Remember boundaries and respect are important in professional communications in every organisation.

13. Over the last year, I have got about three emails from young journalists that work in three separate news organisations in India. All of them were respectful asking about stories or some such. I also responded in the same measure.

But then once the conversation about a pitch or a story had gone beyond a few lines these conversations turned into personal discussions. I actively discourage such conversations. These were all women who wanted “guidance for their career”, “references”, and one even asked me

to snoop on her ex-boyfriend who was also a journalist. I am happy to provide guidance on what courses to study for a Masters, but I don’t understand why I should write a reference for someone I don’t know or snoop on someone’s ex’s Facebook page.

That last bit is rampantly unprofessional. Don’t do it.

Love to all and best of luck with your writing. Hope these few rules I have for myself can somehow help you communicate better and achieve success in your writing journey. Xoxo. V