Ask the cubicle expat: To blog or to pitch?
August 23rd, 2008
Trina Sargalski writes: I’ve been blogging regularly about local and seasonal food in Miami. I just went part time at my school so I could devote more time to my freelance career. I’m wondering how you decide as a freelancer what to blog and what to save to pitch to publications and websites. Should I be worried about other journalists pilfering my ideas to use for their own pitches? I’m really confused on this one and would appreciate any advice either by email or on the blog!
I answer: This is such a fabulous question. Let’s start backwards: There are rarely unique ideas in the world of pitching, just unique spins on old tales (like, a new study comes out, or there’s a pop culture tie-in). To see what I mean, subscribe to Peter Shankman’s If I Can Help a Reporter Out, and marvel at how familiar all the story ideas sound (Greening Your Office, Losing Your Home, How Greening Your Office While Losing Your Home Affects Your Love Life, and so on). Or just go to the newsstand and read a few magazine covers or tables of contents. Then note how the headlines are virtually the same as they were last year, only with a few more “belt-tightening” and “tough economy” tips thrown in.
That said, if you have a stellar story idea, do not put it on your blog before you pitch it. Why tempt fate? And why waste it on an unpaid blog when you might be able to get paid cash dollar bills for it?
Here’s how I decide between blogging and pitching (for the sake of argument, let’s pretend I’ve been blogging a bit more regularly than I have been):
Could this idea make an entire article (rather than just a one-paragraph blip on my blog)? Are there viable media outlets where I could sell this article (or, do I know editors that might like this idea, or could I use it in my paid columns)? If so, then I pitch first. If I sell the article, I can always mention an interesting aspect of it on my blog later, once its been published.
I had your dilemma — to blog or save my ideas for paid work — when I was writing my new book earlier this year, which, like this blog, is on freelancing. Because I wanted the book to be fresh, I shied away from blogging about the topics in my book outline. I, of couse, had about 50 little sections or sidebars that I didn’t have room to include in the book. Some will likely turn into articles (some already have), or blog posts, or possibly even another book.
Once you start selling articles, you’ll get a better sense of what you don’t mind “giving up for free” and what you’d prefer to sell (said the gal who’s been having a hard time keeping up with her unpaid blog of late). But as always, I’d love to hear what others think on pitching vs. blogging. If you have a completely different MO than me (make money from my writing, get more national bylines), you may have a different take.
Entry Filed under: Ask the Cubicle Expat, Balance, This freelance life
7 Comments Add your own
1. GE Anderson | August 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am
A timely piece as I’ve had similar concerns.
I’ve dug up countless tidbits of info in my research that are interesting but would never make it into my book chapters. Nor would they fit into my freelance focus as I am more travel writing directed. However, I realized they are very useful as a blog post since they are (for the most part) short and sweet and build well into my expertise for when I query editors.
2. Trina | August 24th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
This information helps me–thanks so much!
3. Michelle Goodman | August 24th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Sure. And GEA, thanks for weighing in.
4. Michelle Rafter | August 25th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Thanks for the great post, which I liked so much I linked to it on my own blog for freelance writers. Here’s the link:
http://michellerafter.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/should-writers-blog-about-juicy-subjects-or-save-them-for-story-pitches/
A solution you didn’t mention is to blog about something that you don’t normally write about for pay, so you don’t ever have to make the post v. query decision in the first place. The downside of that is you won’t have the opportunities for cross pollination that come with blogging and writing about the same thing. However, a blog could be a good place to try out a subject you think you might be interested in pursuing for pay but don’t really have any experience in. Researching blog posts could lead to uncovering some ideas or events that lend themselves to pitches, and if you do turn those into queries, you could point to your blog in a cover letter in lieu of published clips.
Michelle Rafter
5. Michelle Goodman | August 25th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
michelle, thanks for the great points. great post, too!
6. Kate | October 1st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Great advice. It can be a struggle to tell sometimes which you should be doing. I say put it to a litmus test. Make up a title and google it, if you see the same piece already, then you should not bother saving it for a print pitch.
7. Michelle Goodman | October 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hi Kate, I agree with Googling to see what’s been written on the topic before. But I would not write off a pitch just because the article’s already out there. It depends on the topic, publication, and news cycle. For example, if a person’s thinking they’re going to write a unique op-ed piece on Sarah Palin, they obviously haven’t been reading the news or using Google. That’s a topic that’s pretty well saturated (still, it’s one that keeps on giving — thank you, Tina Fey!). But if you’re wanting to write a holiday diet guide for a women’s magazine, well, there seem to be no shortage of glossies looking for such pieces year after year (though they start looking in spring). And sometimes all it takes is one tweak to the story angle to make it fresh and new(ish) from what’s already been covered. So I wouldn’t write off pitching every piece that’s been done before. Almost everything’s been done before anyway; it just depends on your timing/spin. If you’re 100th to the party with the same old tired angle, then yeah, forget it. But if you’re early on in the trend and can add a new twist to it (including those predictable annual holiday stories), then go for it.
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