Comments on: 3 Things You Should NEVER Tell an Editor

By: Richard Best

Richard Best — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:58:43 +0000

Please add “You get the idea” to your list of expressions to never use. I don’t think any phrase has become as irritating as quickly as this one has.

By: tom gates

tom gates — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:16:50 +0000

#6: Never spell the subject of your piece incorrectly.

By: Turner

Turner — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:38:37 +0000

I finally tracked down my first email to Matador, written many moons ago.

1. I introduced myself, citing my personal blog and Matador profile as references.

2. I explained the idea I had for an article, and attached a short excerpt.

And that was that.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:29:16 +0000

Yes! I think it’s really important to keep in mind that you need to show how you and your story will fit really well into whatever outlet you’re pitching to. They have no need to accept or even consider you, so you need to pitch something really tailored and specific that will make an editor say, “hey, that’ll fit perfectly here, and that’s right up our alley!”

Also, cozy up to rejection. Man. It’s inevitable and I don’t think there’s ever really a time, unless you’re some best-selling author, when you’re not going to deal with it. But articles like this help massively in showing writers why they might’ve been rejected so that they can gear up to do it better the next time.

By: Abbie

Abbie — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:24:42 +0000

Thanks for the article – I need all the advice I can get!

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:05:55 +0000

Great advice!

The other one I would add is never ever start out with “I don’t have much publishing experience, but…” Don’t downplay your skills!!! Be sure you sound confident and an expert on what you want to write about.

By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:38:12 +0000

Right on. I started out writing crappy pitches too.

First rule of successful travel writing: it’s not about your trip. It’s about whether the article makes the reader feel something.