Bust My Excuse: I’m Not Sure How Long a Query Should Be!
I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. If you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com.
Here’s Stacy’s excuse: I just sold my first query-ever! And while I’m excited to get paid for my writing, I’d like to pitch the big league magazines. I know I should be pitching FOB ideas, but I get super nervous. Plus my pitch letters are too long or too short. How can I find a safe middle ground?
First, congratulations!
A query should be as long as it needs to be to get your idea across. However, one mistake many new writers make is give too little info for the editor to be able to get a good idea of what you’re pitching. A query needs to have an eye-catching lede, describe the idea, give examples of what you plan to include in the article, and convince the editor that you’re the right person to write the article. You want the editor to be able to envision the article in her magazine. It’s hard to do all that in one paragraph! My first sale to a national women’s magazine resulted from a three-page query.
However, if you’ve worked with the editor before and have a good relationship, you may be able to get away with quick pitches. I have sold ideas that I described in just a paragraph or two, but these were to editors who already knew my work.
One rule of thumb: Your query shouldn’t be longer than the article you’re pitching. That’s why some writers prefer to just write up FOBs (Front of Book pieces — in other words, shorts) instead of pitching them — they say it would take longer to sell the idea than to just write it. And that’s fine!
One other thing: Don’t think that as a relative beginner, you have to pitch FOBs. If you have a great idea for a feature, go for it! If the editor thinks your idea would make a better short she’ll let you know — but why limit yourself? [lf]
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Jul 15, 2010 Advice, Bust My Excuse, Query letters
Thanks for confirming what I’ve thought all along regarding FOBs – that it’s easier to just write them than compose some long winded query in order to sell them! I’ve been given advice to the contrary – that I must lay out all my ideas and indicate how I’ll pull it altogether but then my query does indeed become longer than the article itself! Plus the whole process is a lot more work. I say just write the FOB and send it in. I sold one to a national mag that way and now it appears I have just sold another!
Thanks, June! I agree, though I’d like to stress that you CAN write a query for a short if you want to. But many people like to just write up the short and send it in. That’s how I broke into Details and Psychology Today way back when (by fax yet!).
When you write and send in an FOB, what other kinds of information do you include? Can you give an example of how you might “package” it? Also, is it taboo to include more than one at a time? The FOB thing has always appealed to me, but I’ve been stymied about how to actually do it.
Rachel, I would write a little “cover letter” in the e-mail with a very brief description of what you’re offering and for which department. Then paste the short below. Also, I think it’s fine to send a few at a time — just don’t over do it! Good luck!
Thanks Linda!