Dear Accidentally Qualified: Pitches and How To Network With A Pending Layoff

“Accidentally Qualified” is an advice column from Study Hall written by Sonia Weiser, a freelance journalist and the founder of the journalism opportunities newsletter, “Opportunities of the Week.” Questions can be submitted through our anonymous form for consideration: https://forms.gle/pwUbNgwTBaGKATyu5. 

Dear Accidentally Qualified, 

How can I get faster at writing pitches? When I have an idea that I think fits a publication or a call for pitches, it still takes me hours to refine the pitch for that particular pub, research the editor, get the tone right, and so on. I’m positive I’ve missed out on great opportunities because I didn’t submit a pitch quickly enough. (Sometimes I even give up without sending anything, because the whole process takes away from other writing.) Is there a way to streamline this process? I’ve been freelancing for many years, and I thought this part would be easier by now. 

-Not Fast But A Little Furious

Dear Not Fast But a Little Furious, 

I understand wanting to get faster—pitches are unpaid labor and ideally, the speedier you can send them off, the more actual money-making work you’ll get. However, a good pitch takes time. You want to show that you have a story, know the publication, know the editor’s taste or at the very least, area of focus, and most importantly, know what you’re doing as a journalist. That’s not an easy ask. 

But it’s better to send out a quality pitch late than a gnarly pitch too early. Otherwise you might get one of the worst responses this industry has to offer. “You should read the publication first before pitching.” (I’ve gotten that multiple times and each time I had read the publication!) Assuming you don’t know the editor already, the pitch is your first introduction and you want to sell yourself as a top tier candidate. An A+ pitch is far more likely to lead to work in the future, whether it be related to this story or another one you pitch down the line, than a pitch that was thrown together in a rush. You want to show that you respect the editor’s time and have the skills to deliver what you promise. 

One thing I do is work on pitches piecemeal: when an idea starts percolating, I’ll draft out an email and as things solidify, I’ll keep adding to it until I have a pitch that feels ready. It doesn’t necessarily make the process any faster, but it might help make it feel less arduous. And then when you see an opportunity to send it out, you’ll be able to jump on it. Tackle ideas as they come to you, and you’ll end up with a hefty backlog of polished pitches in your email drafts or a Google doc to submit when the time is right. 

To push away that guilty feeling of needing to do something else, you could try setting aside a day or even an hour to concentrate on pitches. I’m not nearly focused enough to do this, but I know many people who are and it seems to work for them. 

Also remember that calls for pitches result in a tornado of emails for editors. It’s honestly in your best interest to wait a beat before sending something to them (unless they’re asking for a quick turnaround.) If they say there’s no deadline, then they mean it. Chances are that they’ll still be accepting pitches in a week or two. 

-Sonia

Dear Accidentally Qualified,

If you’ve been offered a buyout or marked for layoffs, but haven’t hit your last day yet/publicly announced it, when can you start reaching out to people in your network about possible new gigs?

-Keep It Down Now, Voices Carry

Dear Keep It Down Now, Voices Carry, 

First off, I’m sorry you’re in this position. It sucks, and has become the fate of too many industry folks. 

Admittedly, I didn’t know the answer to this, so I asked the Qwoted network of interview-ready sources and PR folks for their thoughts. Stephanie Alston, the President of DE&I staffing agency  BGG Enterprises responded, explaining that it’s smart to be ahead of the game, especially if your coworkers are all going to be scrambling for new positions at the same time. They suggested that you can reach out to your network privately, but be tactful and don’t reveal your cards too early. Contact people you already know and keep it general: ask them if you can have a brief chat about the industry or express interest in hearing about their job trajectory or what they would recommend for someone hoping to pursue a similar career. 

If your company has given you an NDA, be sure to abide by their demands. As much as we may want to think that we’re all in this together and that letting something slip in confidence about a former employer won’t come back to haunt us, you never know who’s friends with whom and how your comments may bite you in the ass. People are messy, especially in the media industry. 

Don’t announce anything publicly until you’ve been given the signoff—you don’t want to burn bridges with potential references—but don’t shy away from pursuing the leads that are available to you. There are plenty of folks out there who will offer their help. 

-Sonia

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