Writer and editor Jennifer Weiss shares her first pair of pitches to The New York Times City section, showing how a well-crafted initial pitch lays the groundwork for a future assignment. A graduate journalism student at Columbia when she initially queried, Weiss is now an associate editor at New Jersey Monthly. The first story she sent the Times was rejected, but she secured an assignment with her effective follow-up pitch, and reports, "I've written 10 or so freelance pieces for the Times since my piece on the ballroom dancer." MB analyzes how both her queries helped make it happen (you can read her pitch here.)