ThIs wRITING LiFE
Short story suCCEss
how To
The normally prolific
short story writer
FREELANCE
Linda Lewis has been
finding excuses…
T
hese days, the perfect pitch morning. But so will a lot of other
to an editor goes some- stuff he’s basically trying to delete
thing like this: as fast as possible. He may acci-
Me: Hi Brian, Would you like an dentally delete your perfect pitch
interview with Jamie Cullum? – or put it aside to think about
I
’m now living in Leeds, but so far, my new life isn’t going according to Brian: tvm. later, with all the other things des-
plan. I’ve been in this rented house for 41 days (and, yes, I am count- That’s ‘Ta very much’. Brian’s tined to be forgotten.
ing them). I’d expected to be moved by now. The white-painted walls emails really are that succinct. Weekly and monthly magazines
are starting to get to me.
But, of course, you can only get have a day or a week in each pub-
Frankly, I feel like a bit of a fraud. In a recent column I said that I
away with pitches that brief once lication cycle when the editor
wouldn’t be making any more excuses. I promised to carry on writing
an editor has got to know your has no time for anything except
even as the removal men were packing my furniture into a van, but have
work. When you are pitching to getting everything ready for the
I been working non-stop? No, I’ve been doing other things, and top of
a magazine for the first time you printers. These aren’t good times
the list is worrying.
have to work a lot harder. to pitch, unless it’s really urgent
I can’t help it. Worrying’s what I do. I blame it on my writer’s imagina-
It’s worth making the effort – and neither is just before going-
tion. I can always come up with a thousand and one things that could
because there’s more than one home time on Friday. Whilst
possibly go wrong. Sadly, when buying a house is involved, things DO go
article at stake. Get your foot avoiding deadline days, Tuesday to
wrong. So far, I’ve almost bought three different houses, but for reasons
in the door and you can look Thursday are probably the best
I won’t bore you with, none of them has worked out which is why I’m
forward to ten years of having days to pitch. Try about 11am.
still living out of cardboard boxes.
one-line pitches nodded through
The second thing that’s been getting in the way is Yorkshire. Before
with a tvm. Pro TiP: If you get an ‘Out of office
until...’ reply, send your pitch again, a
deciding to move here, I’d taken holidays in Scarborough and Whitby
Who’s who day or two after their return.
once or twice, but not since I was 19. It’s been hard not to behave like
The most important part of any
a tourist especially as the weather’s been amazing since I arrived.
pitch is sending it to the right First impressions
It’s lucky I’m not into shopping. Leeds city centre is simply bursting
person. Dear Sir, mailed to info@ A pitch is more than an outline
with arcades and markets, plus there are galleries and museums. These
anymag.com may get forwarded, of your article, it’s an example of
are often free and therefore doubly hard to resist. Best of all, the city
but it may easily go unnoticed by your writing. Put as much effort
centre is only a short bus ride away.
a receptionist slogging through an into writing and re-writing it
Then there’s the rest of the county. I’ve already been across the
inbox full of readers’ letters, press as you would a finished article.
Yorkshire Dales to Morecambe. When I was living in Devon, going out
releases and junk mail. Spelling mistakes, bad grammar
often felt like an expedition as I don’t drive and the easiest way to get
Many magazines and news- and sloppy wording suggest your
about was by car. Now, I can just hop on a train or a bus. York is less
papers are run by a dizzying article will be no better. Well-
than an hour away.
assortment of features editors, turned sentences and a sense of
I’ve justified my days off by calling it research. So long as I’ve made a assistant editors, commissioning pace and style say your article will
few notes, I can tell myself that, one day, Whitby or Harrogate will make editors, deputy editors and sec- have the same qualities.
wonderful settings for one of my short stories. I often use settings as tion editors, each commissioning An editor wants to know you
starting points for fiction, rather than a character or a theme. articles for a different slot. can hook readers from the first
You might like to try that sometime. It doesn’t matter where you Step One is to phone up and paragraph, present information in
live, or how long you’ve lived there, take a day off and go out wearing
ask to whom you should pitch an a smooth and lucid manner, and
your tourist’s hat. Try to look at your surroundings with fresh eyes,
idea on, say, health, or for a spe- entertain them, too. So make sure
taking in the tiny details – the smells, sights and sounds that you may
cific regular slot, such as What’s In your pitch does all that.
have stopped noticing over the years. I find that when I add these to my
My Fridge?
writing, they help bring a story to life.
The headline
Sadly, for the past week, I haven’t even done that. The stress of buying
Pro TiP: Sometimes it’s worth Editors eat and breathe headlines,
a house has really started to get to me. If I write short stories when
pitching to the editor-in-chief and so put in the Subject box one that
I’m feeling miserable, they come out flat as though somebody has run
letting them pass your idea down would fit the magazine’s cover.
over them with a steam roller. I’ve been doing other things like fill-
the line. This is especially true if a Michael Jackson: His last rehearsal,
ers and articles, and inventing slogans for greeting cards, but I’ve also
mag has a new editor (it’s always by the friend who was there.
spent hours playing table tennis on the Wii, and feeling sorry for myself.
worth a flick-through in the news- Girls Online – the world of female
When it came to the end of the month, and time to add up exactly how
agent’s to keep an eye on changing bloggers.
many stories I’d written, I was worried.
names). New editors like new ideas, Jon Bon Jovi – the leather-trousered
and a features editor who may have philanthropist.
So I was amazed to find that somehow, I’d still managed to write ten
turned you down may respond dif- The above are winners because
short stories. That gave me a real boost.
ferently to an idea handed down they not only grab the attention,
I took Solange Hando’s motivation course at Caerleon three years
from the new boss. they also tell you exactly what the
ago and I’m still feeling the benefit (try reading her article in November’s
article is about. An appropriate
Writers’ Forum). She recommended making a note of everything we
Perfect timing headline shows you are in tune
write – from blogs to letters for the newspaper.
When you get an idea, the temp- with the publication. It saves the
If, like most writers, you don’t write full time and have to grab the
tation is to pitch it NOW! But, editor having to think up a head-
odd few minutes once or twice a week, it can be easy to forget what
as with breaking a piece of news line himself, and suggests your
you’ve done. By keeping a record, you can look back and can see exactly
to your significant other, will you finished article may require little
how much you’ve achieved. Hopefully, like me, you will be pleasantly
get a better reception if you wait work on the editor’s part.
surprised.
until they’ve got their coat off, sat
When that happens, don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back.
down and had a cup of tea? Dear John
Despite rumours to the contrary, writers are only human. We all need Email an editor at 7pm on We’re all on first-name terms in
a bit of encouragement every now and then, even if we have to do Saturday and, sure, it will be the media. So it’s Hi John or Dear
it ourselves. waiting in his inbox on Monday Sally, not Dear Mr Jones. But we’re
20 Writers
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foRum #99
WF99JAN20.indd 1 24/11/2009 10:00:46
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