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Topic: Sources beginning to hound me
| Author | Message |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 9/25/2007 3:50:11 PM | show profile i'm new to pitching to consumer magazines. when recruiting sources for a freelance story to which i had not been assigned but was hoping to sell, the sources of course wanted to know where the story would end up. i told them the name of the magazine (a national title) where i believed it was the best fit. the magazine has not responded to my pitch (after follow up), and now the sources are wanting to know the status of the story, etc. Should i not have mentioned the title where i hoped to sell it? at what point should i start pitching elsewhere? |
| JimmyG | Posted – 9/25/2007 6:05:03 PM | show profile The delicate part is gently inquiring in the first place if they'd be available for an interview if you sell the article, and not taking up their time interviewing them first and getting them thinking their name will appear in XYZ magazine. If you can't sell the article you look foolish and will have lost a source forever. I know a lot of editors practiclaly want an article cast in stone when it's pitched, but I try never to waste too much of anyone's time unless I have an assignment in hand. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 9/25/2007 9:55:31 PM | show profile The key word here, perhaps, is "would"...i.e. it may have been hopeful if imprudent to tell sources where the story would end up, not the more truthful COULD end up. I often mention a few of the outlets I plan to try when I am talking to sources to ready a pitch but I make clear it's not a definite and don't take much of their time. If you have not multiply submitted it, I'd give them 2-3 weeks if it's a timely idea, maybe a week more for an evergreen. I think any source who demands or expects a 100% positive outcome from a freelancer pitching is unrealistic and/or you have failed to manage their expectations. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 9/26/2007 1:10:24 AM | show profile Most people pitch an idea to multiple magazines from the start. You have no way of knowing if this national magazine will even respond, let alone assign you the piece, so it really makes no sense to wait on them. |
| FeaturesGal | Posted – 9/26/2007 12:41:36 PM | show profile I always make sure to do "research for a POTENTIAL story" and "should the magazine accept".... |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 9/26/2007 12:55:01 PM | show profile I guess the larger question is, at what point in my reporting should i be pitching the story? I feel as though I should have the bulk of the reporting done before I pitch. I also think sources don't want to waste their time doing an interview if they don't think the story will even wind up being published somewhere. I certainly didn't promise the story would be published in the magazine I had in mind. I told them that's where I thought it was the best fit and would be my first stop. |
| nellie bly | Posted – 9/26/2007 12:59:38 PM | show profile I would never being "reporting" a story before I had a definite assignment. You're approaching this thing backwards. What if you don't can't sell the pitch? What if you get the assignment but the editor wants you to interview someone else or take a different angle on the reporting? There's a good chance you will have wasted your time. |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 9/26/2007 1:33:22 PM | show profile gotcha. I just figured it was more sell-able if i at least had the interviews in the can. of course i could always interview more people or take a different angle if that's what the editor wanted. |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 9/26/2007 2:13:46 PM | show profile When researching for a potential pitch, I sometimes interview people VERY briefly and make it very clear this is background research only. That way, if you get an assignment you can come back to these sources, but they have low expectations and won't get upset if they never hear from you again. Do just enough research to be knowledgeable about your topic and be able to throw in a quote from a potential source. But as others have said, if you pre-report the whole thing and never sell the story, what a waste of everyone's time! |
| Marie | Posted – 9/26/2007 6:04:47 PM | show profile It's fine to do some interviewing before you pitch. First, you need to ascertain that there really is a story, and that it's what you think it is. This pre-interviewing can help you angle your pitch, and throwing in an authoritative quote or two strengthens the credibility of the query. When you do these interviews, be sure to say that at this stage you're simply researching an idea, and trying to get a handle on what the story actually is. If they ask for whom you're writing, toss out a few names of pubs that you think would be interested. Make it clear that publication in one of these places is not definite. Again, you're just fleshing out the idea so that you can pitch it intelligently (sources seem to understand those words). But you need to emphasize that you're at the research stage. And ask if the source would be available for a longer interview once you get a definite assignment. |
