3 Ways to Always Have Ideas When You Need Them
+ to know when not to invest your time in free labor
I've had some pitches rejected lately where the editor has asked me for some other ideas. Both times, I set the email aside intending to get back to it but flaked, and now too much time has gone by for me to follow up with more ideas! What are some tricks I can use to quickly find good ideas the next time an editor asks me to send something else?
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I've been in that position, too. It's always encouraging when someone else asks for other ideas–but, like you, if nothing comes to mind immediately, I might not respond.
Some writers swear by brainstorming these backup ideas before they even send the first pitch. I'm not always that organized, especially if I'm replying to a specific call for pitches for a publication I'm not familiar with. But if I do have a few off-the-cuff ideas, I’ll jot them down on my spreadsheet of opportunities just in case.
Honestly, if it’s a publication you only pitched because of one specific call and you don't imagine yourself writing for them generally, it may not be worth your time to do the research, investigate a few potential pitches, write them up, and continue to nourish the relationship. A better use of time might be recycling that unwanted pitch somewhere else–ideally, an outlet you could contribute to regularly.
A practice that’s been helpful in the past is keeping an idea file by beat. I’ll skim news articles and note anything that interests me (say, something I disagree with for a hot take) or recurs (a trend to pitch?). This way, if an editor asks me for more ideas, I can look over the news I've been paying attention to and spin a few ideas without needing to stop everything and research. As always, if you're doing this it's worth searching to see whether the site in question has published something similar. If there’s an old article on the topic, make sure to explain how your new piece would be materially different (this can be as simple as "I noticed you wrote about this X years ago. I'll update that piece and connect it to [something that's of concern now, or a time peg or different demographic]."
Let's say it’s not a beat you cover regularly so you don't know the trends, but you would like to nurture that relationship. I’ll typically go to the magazine's website and browse either the vertical that I’ve pitched or related verticals I’d be interested in pitching.
Seeing what they’ve published lately will give me an idea of what not to pitch (since it’s been covered) or where there might be a gap between what has been covered and my area of expertise, so I can tailor some pitches that meet a need they haven’t yet served. If I find a dated article that’s similar to a pitch or idea, again I’ll think about a way to modernize it. I’ll also think about different formats for content based on what I notice when scanning their site. If I pitched a personal essay style article, maybe a reported take would be a better fit.
If I’m still struggling, I’ll check out a competitor site to see if that gets the wheels turning. And if I still feel stuck, I take it as a sign that I shouldn’t put time into coming up with pitches for that editor!
Don’t feel bad about moving on. Your time is valuable, and you’re not getting paid for ideation and research.
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