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Topic: simultaneous pitches
| Author | Message |
| annadilemna | Posted – 11/4/2007 11:18:44 AM | show profile | email poster Hi, I'm new to freelancing and have a question about simultaneous pitching. I wonder if when when you send a pitch to more than one publication, are you supposed to state in the pitch that you've submitted it elsewhere? Some magazines seem to specify that you do this but most don't state a preference so I'm not sure what the general protocol is... Also, unless a magazine's writer's guidelines state that they don't want simultaneous queries, is it safe to assume that it's okay? Thanks! Anna |
| Linda F | Posted – 11/4/2007 3:15:23 PM | show profile Hi, annadilemna, I'm all for simultaneous pitches. Especially when you're just starting out, editors can take weeks or months to get back to you -- if they reply at all. If you sent a query to one magazine and then waited for a response before sending it to the next, and so on, your story could be way outdated before you get a go-ahead! Don't tell them you're sending to more than one place...just do it. As I've moved along in my career, I've developed a hierarchy of how I send simsubs. If it's a mag I've worked with and that gives me quick responses, I typically give them a first look at the query. If I get a "no thanks," I send it to the next best target that I've worked with. If I run out of editors I've worked with, I may then simultaneously submit the query to magazines I haven't worked with before and who don't know me from Adam. Also, if you do simsub, you may want to first pitch those magazines that are high on your wish list, then move on to the B mags. Nothing feels worse than getting a quick okay from a B mag and then, too late, hearing from the magazine of your dreams! (Though there are ways to remedy this situation.) Good luck! Linda -- Renegade Writer E-Courses: http://therenegadewriter.com/?page_id=340 |
| Mr Media | Posted – 11/7/2007 7:10:11 PM | show profile You should definitely continue to submit your work to various editors because you never know. Some editors may not respond to your work and somebody might in a shorter period of time. Simultaneous pitching is definitely the right way to go. |
| WritingSoul | Posted – 11/8/2007 5:01:01 AM | show profile What DO you do if more than one publication ends up wanting your story? What do you tell them? Or if, as in the previous post, you got the assignment from B-level mag, accepted, and then a few hours later, mag-of-your-dreams-with-word-rate-of-anybody's-dreams tells you they want the piece? |
| Linda F | Posted – 11/8/2007 9:20:39 AM | show profile WritingSoul, the one time two women's mags wanted my story, I told the second magazine that I had already sold it. She apologized for taking so long to reply to my query, and after that she was much quicker in her replies! (I ended up writing for both mags.) If the magazines aren't competing, you can also offer different versions of the same idea. But I would try to avoid the whole issue of the B mag responding first by sending simultaneously but in tiers. Those B mags always seem to be quicker to reply! Linda -- Renegade Writer E-Courses: http://therenegadewriter.com/?page_id=340 |
| Mr Media | Posted – 11/8/2007 12:29:26 PM | show profile My opinion is if two publications want your story think about what you really want. How large is the circulation of either paper? How large is their reading audience? How much money is each paper paying? How fast can your work be published? Do you one publication more then the other? All of these factors will come into play. I usually pick the publication that I believe will maximize my exposure, give me more publicity, and of course the one that has the better "brand", reputation, and good pay doesn't hurt either. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 11/8/2007 2:55:22 PM | show profile Also if the publications are very different, newspaper vs. magazine, there's chance you can do both. Personally, I think you should send off queries whenever to whomever. Rarely have two editors wanted my idea, and the times it did happen it worked out for the best. Good luck. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| UrbanMuse | Posted – 11/8/2007 8:09:57 PM | show profile This has happened to me a few times. The first time it happened, Editor A had taken a LONG time to get back to me and I told her "unfortunately, story has already been accepted elsewhere." She was a good sport and said "our loss. Send me more pitches." I did and she assigned them more quickly after that incident. The situation I'm in now is a little pricklier because Editor B has given me a publication date, but has yet to produce a contract and Editor A needs me to sign a release form before the pub date given by Editor B (it's an essay, so I submitted it on spec, and essays are notoriously hard to sell, so I never imagined this situation happening!). We'll see what happens... ------ www.UrbanMuseWriter.com |
| ISR | Posted – 11/9/2007 8:41:01 AM | show profile Do it. It's so unlikely two editors will be interested, and if they are, one will inevitably lose interest. |
