Lessons for Byline Hungry Writers

Things I've learned about pitching

In November, I wrote more than 38,000 words for Courtney Kocak’s Pitch Party Extravaganza. My list of ideas grew by at least 80 in less than four weeks and I ended up sitting out the last few sessions to give my brain a break. It was overwhelming and it was easy to think I was the problem.

But it turns out that aside from learning how to write, if you want become a writer you must learn how to organize your work and get it done. Prior to a class I did with Courtney about pitching for columns (via PandemicU), I hadn’t thought about submitting for the calls that turn up on places like Bluesky or in the Study Hall newsletter I subscribe to. It all sounded like it was for grown up writers, not beginners like me.

What I want every writing day to look and feel like (photo by Ampersand Grey)

Wrong. The point is to send in ideas, to get it wrong, and to learn. I went into the month thinking I might match Elizabeth Austin’s 16 pitches sent. That was a too high bar for me. Instead, I ended up learning a ton about the process, how I can make it mine, and the value of writing in community. That last lesson seems to come up over and over again. You want to write? Get yourself writing friends. It makes a huge difference.

If you’re nervous about meeting people, come to the Networking Sucks workshop I’m giving on January 18 in Calgary with the Alexandra Writers Centre. The workshop will not suck - I promise.

But I want to share some things I learned from a month of writing for newsletter and pitches nearly every day because maybe they’ll help you.

Ideas are Not Pieces

I was in the habit of getting an idea and the running after it too easily. An idea is just an idea. It might come to me complete with a couple lines of text or examples or a structure, but that’s all it is. Responding to every idea that pops into my head or that flows from my pen during morning pages is worse than shiny object syndrome. It’s more like a cat chasing a laser pointer because there is nothing to sink your teeth into.

I’m better off developing a single idea into several writing projects or for several outlets. That’s writing efficiency and it helps each piece develop more depth. Is a wine metaphor appropriate here? More layers, perhaps.

My solution: Start tracking ideas in a spreadsheet and spend time reviewing them. Are things coming up more than once? Are there themes or overlaps? Can I make it more specific? Spending time with my ideas will help me develop them into robust pitches.

Pitching ideas is efficient

Some people like to get a pitch ready in detail and even write articles before they pitch them. That works for them and if I had a larger project in mind and wanted to publicize it the way Lily Anolik turned up in all the publications with Joan Didion and Eve Babitz when her book came out, I might do the same. But my goal is to publish more than to publish something specific. So I’m creating situations where I write after my pitch is accepted. For now, that gives me time to focus on pitching and organizing my work. Writing an article takes time and until I’ve got a stronger platform and sense of my own style, it makes sense to write what folks want as opposed to writing what I want to write and then seeking a platform, which is hard.

My solution: Focus on pitching for now and use that process to familiarize myself with different publications. I tried the learning about all the publications route for a while and it didn’t get me to publishing and it was intensely overwhelming.

Pitching is a skill

Learning how to pitch is a separate skill. A pitch has to meet the editor’s needs in terms of topic and interest and convince them that I’m the kind of writer who will get this done and do it well. In other words, it’s a job application. That means spelling counts and grammar counts and being polite is important. It also means that I can assume there are dozens if not hundreds of equally qualified people applying and I need to make an impression.

Of the ten pitches I sent out in November, one stuck and it was the one that Courtney gave me feedback and tips on. I had a lot to learn. Since then, I’ve sent out five more and got one next day rejection and one “let’s talk” response. The next day rejection was a win over the null responses I got on the other nine in November, so something about my pitching is improving. One idea can turn into several pitches and each pitch might end up going to several editors before it finds a home. Each rejection is an opportunity to look at my work again, apply anything I’ve learned, and then send it out again.

My solution: Read other peoples’ pitches (the Byline Bible from my local library helped) and remember that it’s about getting the best fit, not the best writer or best idea. I’m revising pitches as they get rejected, keeping the old ones and pasting a new one above. That gives me a history to look back on. Maybe by the end of 2025, I’ll have learned what kind of magic sauce makes a pitch work.

Pitches require immediate attention

There are thousands of writers out there who want that freelance byline as bad as I do and or more. So when a pitch emerges in the world, there are a lot of immediate responses. Writers have to be ready to send pitches when the call comes out. Aside from developing pitching skills, immediate access to a bunch of ideas is the key. The spreadsheet comes into play here again. Time spent reviewing ideas is also time for adding keywords or expanding notes. One time last month, a pitch came out that would have been perfect for a pet project that I’ve been thinking on for a while. So a pitch might require immediate attention to an old idea– which feels like the ultimate great match.

My solution: Use my idea list for pitches. And develop pitches for the ideas that matter most to me before I see the call. Then it’s on deck and ready to send when the right pitch turns up.

Big bylines are closer than you think

That one pitch that worked out - I couldn’t believe the publication who wanted it. I’ve been operating on the assumption that my work would have to go through multiple levels of publication size and prestige. But it turns out that if you can write and your idea matches what the editor needs, you can skip a bit of the line. Not the way my mom cut every line at Disneyworld in 1989, but there’s no reason to not pitch places you dream of landing a byline in.

My solution: Pitch all the darn things. But also, I’ve committed to participating in a couple of monthly competitions– AWCS Many Voices here in Alberta and The Sun Readers Write because they got started in North Carolina where I went to university. It’ll keep me writing on a schedule and a win or placement would be fabulous.

Editors are your friend

I want to put good writing into the world, that means the kind of writing that the reader starts and doesn’t want to stop reading until they get to the end. It means the kind of writing that has value for readers. I’m also learning that good writing will mean getting a whole lot more vulnerable and personal than I have in th past.

Here’s the thing– any editor I work with wants the same thing. They want to put good, meaningful writing in the world as well. So if they have suggestions, it’s to shape my work for their audience. My friend Jaima talks a lot about seeing her editor as her boss. I don’t always entirely agree, but the sentiment helps me understand what our working relationship is. If bylines matter to me, then making the boss happy from pitch to finished product is the only way to get there.

My solution: Treat writing and communication with editors like a job. That means letting them know where I am on projects so they don’t worry, asking questions, responding to questions, and generally showing my most professional self. It doesn’t mean getting too uptight, though. I’m a human being and it turns out editors are, too. We have to like the work and we have to like each other, too.

Writing is only part of the work

My goal is to developing a writing career, which is not the same as writing a book or getting a particular story published. I like the idea of making a mark on the world with my words– and getting paid for it. The amount I’ve had to learn about how different types of writing has been truly mind blowing. For books there are authors and agents and publishers and distributors and booksellers - but not always and sometimes more and not always in that order. Ditto for freelance writing. And in each case, the path to publication has a thousand variations.

My solution: Learn as much as I can about the many routes to publishing. There are so many possible paths these days that it’s a bit of a choose-your-own adventure experience. You try a thing and see how it goes. Then you try another. But in all those attempts, be sure to learn about the industry. And no, asking everyone who’s ever published how they got an agent is not learning about the industry– it’s structure that you need to learn first and details come later.

My big take-away

Having met and worked with a few writers over the past couple years, the pattern I see is that writers who get published work hard and have a system. They plan working time, track progress, and don’t forget to take care of their minds and bodies. They develop their own writing goals and develop systems that will support those goals. They are cautious about what they say yes to and hungry when it comes to knowledge gathering. And things are in order. Whether it’s an index in a notebook or a filing system or, I’m learning, lots and lots of spreadsheets - they aren’t winging it.

So, as much as I wish the writing life was all feathered fountain pens and scrolls of paper (did you know Jack Keroac taped his first draft of On the Road into a scroll? What kind of madness is that? I kind of love it).... It’s not. There’s a lot more administration and planning in writing than I want there to be, but by developing systems I can work with, I end up with more time and opportunities for writing.

Are you writing? Do you have systems that help you get things done?

Share any tips or methods you’ve got! The hive mind is powerful.