Search/Pitch

It is not that they won't "let" me write. One of the senior editors at C Magazine agreed to review my clips. When we met last week, she told me, "You're a great writer." I thrilled at this. But then she said, "It’s not about the writing. It's about the information." It is about what I can bring to the magazine. In other words, pitch.

Where does this information come from? That is something I've been wondering over the past few weeks, as I ponder pitching. Where do the ideas come from? In fact, where does any of the content come from? How do editors find their stories, their angles, their interviewees?

I came to the conclusion that I was very spoiled at Santa Barbara Magazine, where my editors handed me articles and contacts. In a small town, when there is one especially glossy magazine catered to the affluent, everyone wants to be in it. As an intern, I waded through scads of emails from people telling us about their new product, store, event, career, etc. This also comes from being a known publication. Even at CASA, we had flooded inboxes. When you are a leading source of publicity, everybody wants in. So magazines, and their editors, are solicited. Information comes to you. As a starter, however, I have to go find it.

Let the search begin.