Fish for a writing gig…
As the editor of Practical Fishkeeping (PFK), a specialist pet care magazine, my main problem is sourcing gifted writers. While I’m graced with a healthy pool of individuals willing to submit, they frequently fall into one of two polarised camps; extremely focused aquarists with little to no writing background, or ‘chancers’ with a history of creative writing, hoping to hide their lack of subject knowledge with flowery passages and engaging similes.
Like other editors of titles like mine, I want someone in that sweet spot, right in the middle. If you’re prepared to put in a little research time, that could be you.
The pitch
The pitch is your one chance to attract an editor, and you waste it at your peril.
More pitches to PFK receive a generic ‘thank you for your offer but…’ response than those I chase up, at somewhere around a 75/25 ratio. Of the rejected pitches, most can be summed up as ‘Hi, I’d like to write for you, if you want to tell me what to write about…’
This approach is a guaranteed pitch killer. Editors are extremely busy people, who already have people in mind for particular topics. Knowing what
