Whenever I get email asking what type of stuff @them publishes so a writer can know what to pitch, I somehow picture myself as a fish being asked what kind of bait I like.
As a fish, I like all sorts of bait, different types of worms and colorful flies, and you can get a sense of what lures me and other editors from what we've already published, but the important thing is to send in that pitch and fish!
I spent a lot of my childhood fishing with my grandfather, and I learned is that it depends on all sorts of conditions, getting the fish to bite. We often came home empty-handed, but we always had a better sense of what would work better next time.
So to me pitching is not mainly about getting the bite, it's about the joy and activity of it, the challenge of figuring out how to get the fish. I've never considered an ignored or rejected pitch a failure because it always teaches me something about how to do it better.
And maybe that's why I honestly and sincerely love pitching, just like I loved fishing as a kid, whether or not the day ended with my Lolo and me making a fire and grilling fish by the riverbank.
So I guess if I'm trying to convey lessons here it's these: 1. Don's ask, just pitch. 2. Keep pitching because it's fun for it's own sake. 3. And once your pitch gets accepted, you'll be a better writer for having pitched many times.
