Freelance journalists need to be able to sell themselves and their stories as much as they need to be able to write nowadays. Editors' inboxes are constantly inundated with pitches, so how can you make sure yours gets through?
Take note of this advice from Farahnaz Mohammed on IJNet, who explains the top seven reasons why editors reject story pitches, including the lack of a strong news hook or the journalist sounding unsure of herself.
Mohammed stresses the importance of remembering that editors are really busy people, so long-winded pitches are out of the question if you're looking for success.
"Be sure you’re only saying what’s necessary.
"An editor isn’t likely to look on your two-page pitch as passion – they’re more likely to look at it as an inability to summarise or clarify within word count."
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