Part of the challenge of being a writer is to sell your work--being published is what it is all about. While many of you will be writing specifically for your employer, others will have the opportunity to freelance their work. The key is to successfully pitch your ideas via the query letter--a skill every writer should possess. For this blog I want you to pick one of your stories from this class. I have given you a packet of readings to help with this. Please read through them and follow their examples. Tell me which article you've picked and the publication you've chosen to target. What will be the angle you will use to hook the editor? Please explain.Due: April 7@ 5 p.m.
For this assignment I think I would submit my how-to survive a road trip article in for publication. This piece would grab readers because the timing of it (if published within the next few weeks) would be perfect as the semester ends and students head home for the spring/summer. Based off the timing with BYU's academic schedule, I would probably pitch it to The Daily Universe so that students attending could read the tips before heading to their next destination!
ReplyDeleteI was at first thinking about pitching my Carnival cruise story to any student directed publications or basic travel publications. But after hearing from you Professor Thomsen about pitching my Wayne Young story to ESPN definitely changed my mind. Who knows, I still might pitch that story, but I will definitely shoot for the starts on this one.
ReplyDeleteMy angle will be to show that this is a story in progress. We have already seen the beginning and middle with Wayne and Guard and the end is yet to come with his son. To hook the editor I will convince him/her that there is a dynasty story to be told, and everyone loves a father and son story!
I'm going to pitch my post office story to the Deseret News' Mormon Times. I think my story will fit with their readers because people in Utah are always so excited for mission calls, and my story adds another dimension to the mission call experience. In my query letter I'll talk about that. It's relevant to the readers because it's something a lot of people can relate to, but it's a new perspective on something so familiar and cultural. I'll take this behind-the-scenes angle for the query letter. I think it will be a good hook for the editor. This is all about the faces behind the mail (the mail carriers) and the relationships they gain with customers through letter and mission call deliveries. I'll take the angle of humanizing the mail process. Postal workers enjoy going the extra mile to make a mission call delivery a special experience. It's a cultural thing that makes snail mail special and that distinguishes Utah post offices from others. I think that's something people should be able to read and appreciate.
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