You Ask, We Answer: Do I tell an editor the article I’m pitching was killed?
Debbie asks: A while ago I read a post about trying to sell an article that had been killed by the original magazine. I find myself in this boat sometimes and plan to make a better effort at finding a new home for these pieces. Here’s my question: when you pitch it, do you admit that it has already been written but killed, or does that turn off editors?
I go with my gut. For example, with the article I posted about, I did mention to the editors that I wrote the piece for Fortune Small Business, and that it was killed because the magazine went under the month before the article was to run. Also, I was recommended to these editors by a writer friend who writes for them, so I felt I could be more personal. Finally, I really wanted to place the article as is because I was so proud of it, which is why I sent the entire article with a note about its history.
And guess what? I ended up selling the article to Inc. magazine — though they wanted me to cut it down from 1,800 words to 250. (C’est la vie, but I won’t complain about getting paid twice and finally seeing my story in print!)
But if the article was killed because, say, the editors decided they didn’t like it, I wouldn’t mention this when trying to repitch. My advice, though, is to go with your gut in each situation.
If you decide not to tell editors your article’s history, I’d say it’s better to send a query than to send the completed manuscript…that way the editor who buys it can tell you what she wants in terms of word count, etc. So what you end up selling may be somewhat different from what you originally wrote, but that’s okay! [lf]
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Apr 1, 2010 Advice, Marketing, Query letters, You Ask, We Answer
I have faced this several times. I didn’t feel right acting all disingenuous and repitching, although I knew the story would have to be tweaked to suit the new place, so blabbermouth that I am, I just said, “Are you interested? Most of the work is done, except for the finishing touches to make it right for left-handed softball pitchers like your readers. Long story–I will tell all if you are interested.”
Hi, Star…I hope it worked for you?
The last time I did basically that–I did end up doing it for the other place. No guarantees. I am trying to think back… I just don’t feel right about pretending it’s all new, just for them, even though I do tend to do a good story with several slants, if I can talk people into it.
I’m glad you resold the piece, Star!
I don’t usually mention the history of a piece and offer it to a different editor as a query. I do see it with a very business-minded approach: it was something that simply didn’t work out for one client, but that doesn’t mean that this client won’t love it. What its past history is, is completely irrelevant as far as I’m concerned, and really, none of the editor’s business. If I were selling handicrafts, for instance, I wouldn’t say, well ten people came and didn’t like this, and one returned it because it didn’t fit in with her household design. Instead, I’d simply sell it. “Isn’t this beautiful?”
I don’t see anything disingenuous about it at all. We don’t mention queries that have been rejected and resend them all the time. What’s different about a killed article?