WCP136 Archives Vol. III: Pitch the chicken

The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber

The freelancer’s version of the eggestential question: should I first reach out to the source to ask about interviewing them for an article, or should I pitch the story and secure the assignment first?

Our thoughts about the individual we want to talk to and the publication we want to write for can distract from the core issue: It’s time to make a choice, implement it, and evaluate what happens so that we can learn from it for next time.

In this episode you’ll get some key questions to help you make a choice about who to contact first for your next pitch, the source or the editor … and how to approach this with a problem-solving approach that you can use in other freelancing scenarios as well.

Even if you’ve already played a lot of mental ping-pong with this, it’s not a complicated decision. You don’t need to sleep on it or spend any extra hours or days going back and forth. By the end of this episode, you’ll be clear about who to contact first.

All the micro decisions you make in one pitch gives you information that you can use in the next pitch as well. Clarity makes it easier to prioritize your next step.

If you’re already practiced with handling this chicken and egg scenario, it’s still helpful to revisit the process of following a protocol for decision making.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese in Esquire

WCP 1: What’s your problem?

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More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast136