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Topic: Frustrated with editors
| Author | Message |
| danikarp | Posted – 3/27/2008 4:34:46 PM | show profile | email poster I'm a freelancer, and I'm getting really frustrated with magazine editors. If I spend an hour thinking of the perfect pitch for your magazine, you should have the decency to at least e-mail back a quick rejection. There's nothing worse than being completely ignored! Just needed to vent. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 3/27/2008 6:56:22 PM | show profile oh, dani. Be prepared to be bellittled, called immmature, unproffessional, pessimistic, idiotic, unappreciative of editors who work 24/7 and can't possibly respond to every pitch they get, etc etc. The Pollyannas are the best: They'll tell you not to get discouraged, that maybe an editor is just busy, and sometimes it can just take months for an editor to finally read a pitch and respond, and there are those who will tell you to stop whining and send your pitch out to other editors (ignoring that you have obviously done so from your post) and there are others who will tell you that to be in this rugged business you have to have a thick skin and accept rejection and move on, don't stop believin' (cur Journey song, oh wait! last time I heard that song some guy got iced on TV!) , have faith in yourself and just keep pitching and one day your dreams will come true, you'll climb every mountain and ford every stream and people are published in national magazines all the time because they don't give up and so don't give up and don't be angry or unprofessional about it!!!!! did I leave anyone out? |
| danikarp | Posted – 3/27/2008 7:09:42 PM | show profile | email poster Ha! The weird thing is that I used to be an editor, and I'd never simply ignore someone. It literally takes 30 seconds to decline the story. Ugh, so frustrating. |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 3/27/2008 7:13:59 PM | show profile It takes a lot more than 30 seconds at publications with several layers of approval. |
| onmyown | Posted – 3/27/2008 8:08:49 PM | show profile An hour? Doesn't it take more than an hour to "think of the perfect pitch," then do some research, write it and then submit it? A lot of writers feel it's an editor's job to respond to unsolicited queries. It's not. The editor's job is to fill the magazine with the appropriate articles. Professional courtesy is always ideal. And I agree, Dani, if you sent a well-thought-out, well-writtten query, but it wasn't right for me, I'd take two seconds to reply. But editors do not work for freelancers, it's the other way around. And when you're selling a product, you have to be prepared for rejection. |
| writerandeditor | Posted – 3/27/2008 9:15:22 PM | show profile I agree with onmyown, and I feel compelled to add that for every 10 freelancers who are convinced they've crafted the perfect pitch, 9 of them have no idea what kind of content our magazine publishes. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/27/2008 10:37:05 PM | show profile A non-response is frustrating, but it's really common in the business world. I've been trying to snag interviews for a story and most people don't respond to my emails or phone calls. From the editors viewpoint, a lot take the attitude, "I didn't ask you to send me a query, so I don't think I have any obligation to respond. If that bothers you, the answer's simple: don't send me any more queries. I'll live without them." Personally, I just accept that non-response is part of marketing. I tend to write very few queries, because I find that an ineffective way of getting work. If I do pitch an article, I tend to aggressive and follow up with emails and phone calls. The best thing you can do is expect non-responses. That doesn't mean you have to like them -- or even accept them. But the last thing you should do is stew. --I'm a freelancer, and I'm getting really frustrated with magazine editors. If I spend an hour thinking of the perfect pitch for your magazine, you should have the decency to at least e-mail back a quick rejection. There's nothing worse than being completely ignored!-- |
| seeattleme | Posted – 3/27/2008 10:43:35 PM | show profile Dani, did you mean an hour writing it? I've spent days on a pitch, and done several drafts, and had editors coach me in those drafts, only to hear nothing at all after I finally turn it in. Except, of course, for the two I did for a national women's magazine that ended up running in the magaizne about eight months after i finally submitted it. Written by a former assistant of one of the editors on staff--and a fellow Brown grad. Love it. Love Love Love it. |
| peyton | Posted – 3/28/2008 2:24:28 PM | show profile yugogirl, if it takes many layers of approval and you have exerted all that effort to decide yes or no, then why wouldn't you let the writer know about the "no." and if you don't want to go through those layers - which not sure why you'd be an editor then - then just write back immediately, "no thanks." |
| peyton | Posted – 3/28/2008 2:26:47 PM | show profile writerandeditor, if 9 out of ten aren't writing the right types of pitches then all the easier for you. you can write back quickly, "no thanks." |
| JackieRo | Posted – 3/28/2008 2:28:08 PM | show profile Dribbledrive1, that's what it was like at the job I just quit. My boss didn't want to be bothered with it. I don't know if that's common because I've only had one real job out of college and two internships. |
| InsomniacNOT | Posted – 3/28/2008 2:39:40 PM | show profile Peyton, Right, because so many writers are going to be really happy when they receive "no thanks." |
| Mirage | Posted – 3/28/2008 3:08:44 PM | show profile Exactly. I have stopped responding to off-base unsolicited queries because 9 times out of 10, the author does not take "No thanks" for an answer. He or she sees this as an opportunity to "establish dialogue," and begins to grill you as to how/why the pitch was wrong, and to begin throwing other pitches at you. He/she begins to call incessantly (and if you don't think calling several times and hanging up instead of leaving a message doesn't look stalker-ish and off-putting, you're wrong...but that's a rant for another of the three threads featuring freelancer/editor wars right now)... Bottom line, many authors have a hard time "letting go" after initial contact is established. And this is why many editors just don't reply instead of saying no thanks. |
| intraining | Posted – 3/28/2008 4:07:31 PM | show profile So because you rejected one idea, that means the writer will never be able to pitch something that may fit and *gasp* ultimately sell? Lets hope the writers at your magazine always have a steady flow of absolutely amazing ideas so that you'll never have to look to freelancers. "I have stopped responding to off-base unsolicited queries because 9 times out of 10, the author does not take "No thanks" for an answer. He or she sees this as an opportunity to "establish dialogue," and begins to grill you as to how/why the pitch was wrong, and to begin throwing other pitches at you." |
| peyton | Posted – 3/28/2008 4:23:17 PM | show profile i would love a "no thanks." that is all i am looking for. i just want to know, is this going forward or not. if not, i don't need to know why. if people write back after you have sent a no thanks, i think those emails are perfectly fine to delete and not respond to. i just think it is rude to not take 5 seconds to send back "no thanks" and let the person know that a) you got it and b) you aren't interested. |
| danikarp | Posted – 3/28/2008 4:33:22 PM | show profile | email poster Honestly, I'd love a no thanks. It means that I can move on with my pitch. I think it's common courtesy! |
| write2rachel | Posted – 3/28/2008 4:36:14 PM | show profile After I get a rejection, I usually email the editor back just to thank them for the response. I hope that's not annoying, because I actually do appreciate it! ------ www.rachelcericola.com |
| peyton | Posted – 3/28/2008 5:20:24 PM | show profile write2rachel, i do too! i just jot back, "ok, thanks for getting back to me. hope you are well." because i really do appreciate that they get back to me. |
| Mirage | Posted – 3/28/2008 5:24:34 PM | show profile danikarp and write2rachel I'm not in magazine publishing, so it's probable that none of what I said applies to you. (It also likely doesn't apply to those of you who send out well-researched and appropriate queries.) I used to send out a basic "no-thanks" e-mail that said, essentially, thank you for your query but I don't work in this genre (or whatever was completely off-base about the query), and best of luck with your work. Almost always, I would get a response that said something like, "Can you [send me the name of a colleague who does work in this genre, give me agent contact info, explain in detail what I can do to improve this query, etc.]..." It got to be very frustrating, not to mention time-consuming. For the record, I do respond to every pitch that is even somewhat close to what I actually do. But I do feel annoyed that my contact information is readily available to anyone who dashes off a half-assed query without bothering to research what I do, what my company does...or even what the CORRECT SPELLING of my name is. I do not feel I owe those writers a response. Period. In my opinion, you get back just as much effort as you put out there. |
| beenthere | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:08:34 PM | show profile If I submit unsolicited resumes to a number of companies that may/may not have an opening, should I expect a response from all of them? Just because I submitted my resume? Of course not. It's the same thing with queries. If it fits, you'll be contacted. If not, you won't. It is not an editor's job to respond to a writer's query any more than it is an HR reps job to call back every single person who submitted an unsolicited resume and tell each individual why they won't be hired. Why writers don't understand this, I'll never know. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:19:58 PM | show profile Been there, the problem is that some magazines won't cantact you at all, some contact you two weeks later, some two months, some two HOURS, some a year. Yes, you heard that right -- a year. And that was a "yes". And I had already sold it to another competing magazine that contacted me six months previous to that. You can rationalize and justify it all you like--a simple, no thanks, or let me run it by my editors, you'll hear from me ain a couple of weeks/months/years, or I need some time to think about this, or anything else is professional and approrpiate response for sending in a pitch. My pitches are often how you editors make your living. I LIVE off my pitches. No it is not the same as sending a resume to a compnay--however, since you make the analogy, I have to say I have ALWAYS gotten a response when I send a resume to corporates --Hearst, Time Inc., Conde Nast, Hachette, McClatchy, NY Times etc. It's when I send my resume to the editors that I don't hear anything. I think it's amazing that all most of the writers want (including myslef) is acknowlegement of receipt of a pitch (we don't even know if you got it) and a simple thanks or no thanks, or a thanks but no thanks. I have never harassed an editor once he she said no, and unless they ask me to do so, I rarely send another pitch. Not for a good six or seven months, anyway. So I don't really get who all these psycho stalker writers are. But the fcat that all freelancers wwant is a simple "no thanks" says a lot about how they are treated in this business. |
| Mirage | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:36:15 PM | show profile Really, qunester? You "always" receive a RESPONSE when you send out resumes to corporates? Are you sure you don't receive automated replies? Hey, if that's all you want, I can set up an auto reply that indicates that your query arrived in my in-box. Problem solved. The thing is, though, I thought this thread was about a yes or no answer to a query... |
| beenthere | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:39:20 PM | show profile Stalkers and nasty writers are in abundance. Most "no" responses, in my experience, are not accepted as a "no" but as a "gee, they cared enough to respond to they must REALLY like me. I'll call and continue to follow up." What this does is annoy editors who again, do not have the time to answer UNSOLICITED queries. It's gotten to the point that my assigning editor does not answer her phone if she does not recognize the phone number. That should be eye-opening to freelancers about all "those other writers giving us a bad name." It's amusing that no writer has ever been rude or stalker-ish, yet every editor has at least one story. ** No it is not the same as sending a resume to a compnay ** It is exactly the same as sending an unsolicited resume to a company that hasn't advertised. I make my living by acquiring a job, selling my skills. As far as receiving responses for a resume--that's nice that the biggies that have entire departments devoted to HR can send a response. However, it is not necessary. If I send a resume to a company that has not posted an ad and then pout about the fact that they don't respond, all that makes me is immature. They didn't ask me to send them anything, and I am not entitled to expect a response. And as far freelancers making a living off responses: Yes, you are a salesman. You have chosen this profession. It is not my fault if your wares are not what I am looking for. If they were, I would strike a conversation and happily buy. If not, move along. No explanation is necessary. I don't explain to the salesgirl why the blouse is ugly. I just don't buy it. The writers on this board spend so much time complaining about editors, it's amazing they get any writing done at all. This is after a ridiculously busy week at work trying to meet impossible deadlines. Oh wait, that's right, editors don't ever actually DO work. Only writers work. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:54:53 PM | show profile Mirage, yes, shockingly, because as I stated in my post (or maybe it was the other Smart MOney one) I have no idea whether or not my resume or letter was even RECIEVED. So I don't know if I ought to send it again. AUTOMATIC REPLIES ARE BETTER THAN NOTHING AT ALL. Seriously--I have to TELL you that? Have you READ any of these other posts? Sometimes aI feel like I'm teaching reading comprehension on this board. |
| Mirage | Posted – 3/28/2008 7:58:34 PM | show profile Reading comprehension Maybe you should go back and read your post, dear qunester. That's not what you said at all. I don't have time to read all your other posts on all the other threads to figure out what you're ranting about on this one. Maybe you should be clear about what your point is. ...or maybe your lack of clarity is why you're not getting responses from editors. (Cue rant in which q. starts typing in all caps and using excessive punctuation about how her posts on a bulletin board are not indicative of her ability to write for all the big, important glossies around which the world revolves.) |
