Writer’s Blog 8: The Importance of a Pitch
Pitching and sharing your ideas can be one of the scariest things to do as a young or up-and-coming writer. It’s in these moments that you feel most anxious and vulnerable. The ability to craft a unique story idea is one thing, but the ability to pitch that idea well to a potential editor is a whole other world. As a new and aspiring writer, it’s crucially important to understand the impact a good pitch has on your idea. Crafting a pitch takes time, research, and skill. When done right and done well, you can really wow an editor and the entire audience of a publication.
A few of the necessary steps to create a pitch that stands out is to read the guidelines of the publication you’re submitting to. This step is crucial, but so easily overlooked. By taking a few moments to see what the guidelines are and what the publication is looking for, you stand out. It also shows that you care and are invested in what the publication is writing about. Adding to that, it is handy to read through previous articles or stories published by the site to really get a feel for what their tone is. This is a great way to stand out as a pitcher and as a writer. By taking these two steps, your credibility as a potential writer for the publication can skyrocket.
It is also important to be smart about how you word your pitch. This doesn’t solely refer to grammar, style, and tone, but extends the entire way you craft and share your idea. Your idea should be something that is new or interesting and (obviously) relevant to the publication as a whole. Take the extra time to sort through your idea to get to the nitty-gritty details that make it stand out. This extra work and thought make your pitch even stronger, and as a result, can make your story better.
Essentially whenever you pitch an idea, you are making a case for that idea and arguing it to the best of your ability. The only catch is that you have to do it quickly with brevity and clarity as top priorities. You have to address why your idea would fit that particular publication and how your skills as a writer would benefit them. As you craft your idea, it is easiest to think from broad to specific. Think of something that interests you, then dive deeper. Confidence and passion are some of the key factors when selecting and writing about a topic well. However, when crafting a pitch, those characteristics should shine through your writing and reasoning for writing the story, rather than being the reason for the story itself.
When it comes to my topic, I like to think of my idea developing and opening as an umbrella with my big idea at the top and the subpoints and details trickling down to the bottom. With that said, my big idea to pitch would be about media issues, the specific case in that is news ethics. I want to dive into that by questioning whether the public and everyday news consumers think the news is ethical and trustworthy. This main topic solely centers around social issues, as the news provides a great public service to the whole country. A diminished amount of trust in news organizations can only cause more problems such as fake news, propaganda, scandals, and many more incidents that are becoming more and more common in our society.
With this narrowed-down idea and focused approach to the story, I can now craft a pitch that embodies both my passions and research on the topic. By taking these few steps, I am confident in my ability to write a pitch and craft a story that engages a wide range of viewers and enhances a publication.
