Posts Tagged Pitching
As in the bag, where to now?
A levels over, my As are in the bag plus a jazzy distinction for an AEA in English - but what happens now?
I did the university applications last year, had the places, and rejected them. Surely there’s got to be more than this ‘education’ of UK university which would have my arse sunk in £30,000 debt by the time three years are over? (So I asked myself zillion times over, and still applied. Still did drawn-out entrance exams and pretended to my parents I was studying more than perhaps I was in reality…)
But then there’s the leaguetables harping on about the value of our university and the ease that the majority of my friends, whilst not still in Manchester, are at least still in the UK. Of course, there’s also the comfort that university delays work - full-time, ‘proper’ work, at least, even if scrounging around for badly-paid evening shifts isn’t far out of the question.
Now I get time out. Proper, not just a week at Easter shoved in (whilst away on an exchange doing double the work or doing revision anyway.) I get proper time out. To digest, relax, read and learn for myself, write essays and gander around for opportunities of what I might want to do.
I’m also in Switzerland, the French-speaking bit. Mountains, blue skies and clean it may be, Manchester it certainly isn’t. One thing in particular gets a gold star though - you can fall asleep without feeling like you’re going to be burgled in the night, heck, you could even go all out and not lock the doors if you really wanted to push Swiss trust and see where it takes you.
Tomorrow is wall-painting and French lessons (private, one to one, Katy to Katy plus exercise book), or writing: poems, novel, essay for comp or some good new pitches. Go get me for saying good.
Not so impossible, after all: Pitching.
Posted by Katy Murr in Journalism, Opportunities on March 17th, 2009
To the outsiders, it often looks impossible. Mystifying and locked-up. Yup, we’re talking about the big J - journalism. In reality, I’ve found it’s one of the things which is actually open to people. You don’t need to have done work experience and you don’t need a specific grade in GCSE or A level. What you do need is the following: a ’story’ (i.e. subject and angle of what you want to write), the ability to convince the editor about your story, and the ability to deliver whatever article it is you’re promising.
Around October I started thinking about pitching something. In January (I think it was January?) I sent the article to The Independent. I told them a few stats, I gave the old anecdotal info, and they took it. In February they published it. The editor was not scary. She was patient with my inane newbie comments, and she even gave me some helpful advice on the phone. It was nothing to worry about. (But that didn’t stop me being terrified about calling, of course.)
This is not the general way. The ideal way is to sell your story by pitching it to the editor. You need to answer these main questions: what is your story? Why do you need to write it? (i.e sources for interview, personal relevance etc) Why does it need to be read by our readers now? And you need to try to do that in the style of the article you’ll be writing, ideally.
If you’re thinking about pitching, I would advise you to do it. Go and google the editor you’re after or try and find them on Journalisted.
There aren’t any excuses for not being a journalist if you want to be one. You have to contact the editors, look for the stories, and hone the pitches.
This is only what I’ve learnt so far. It isn’t gospel by any means. Don’t shoot me down yet. I’m just learning to crawl in journalism.