You Ask, I Answer: When Can I Send My Query to a New Market?
I offer to answer readers’ burning freelancing questions on the blog. If you have a question, please send it to me at lindaformichelli@gmail.com. If you have a LOT of questions, please consider signing up for my phone mentoring for writers.
Nina asks: I submitted a pitch to a major magazine today. How long do I wait before sending it to a different venue? (That is, assuming they don’t immediately send me an acceptance…)
I personally send simultaneous submissions to editors I haven’t worked with before and follow up after two to three weeks. If I were sending a query to one editor at a time, I would follow up after two to three weeks and ask if there’s any interest or if I should pitch it elsewhere. If I got no response in another week, I’d then send it on to the next editor on my list. That’s just me, though; you might find that a different timeframe works for you.
Also, if you send queries one at a time, be sure to prioritize your markets so you’re sending your idea to the most desirable market first, second most desirable market second, and so on. Nothing stinks more than to sell an article to a third-tier magazine and then find out that a dream magazine wants to buy it and you’ve already sold the rights! I even do this if I’m simultaneously submitting: I’ll send the query to group A, then group B, and so on.
I hope that helps! [lf]
If you liked that post, you might also like:
Nov 18, 2010 Advice, Marketing, Query letters
Do most markets accept simultaneous submissions? Any notable exceptions? Do you disclose in your pitch that this is a simultaneous submission?
Hi, Devon~ I don’t know how magazines feel these days about simsubs, but my feeling is that if magazines take weeks or months to get back to you — or, often, don’t get back to you at all — then you NEED to do simsubs to make a living. I don’t let the magazines know I’m simultaneously submitting.
Hi Linda! Thanks for another great post. This is an issue I battle with regularly, as it seems almost everyone has a different idea of what’s acceptable. I totally agree that if you’re trying to make a living writing for magazines, sending out one query and then waiting at least 2 weeks before you send it to another publication is not exactly efficient. I still worry that I might burn some bridges with editors if they found out I was “simsubs”. Have you ever had a query you submitted be accepted by more than one magazine? If so, what did you do? Have you ever had an editor get mad at you for simultaneously submitting your pitch? If so, what’s the best way to handle that? Thanks!
Kate, it’s so hard to even get one reply that I don’t even worry about the possibility of getting two replies at once! In fact, it’s happened to me only once in 13 years. My first pitch that was accepted by a major women’s market was accepted by both Family Circle and then Woman’s Day! (Or maybe it was vice versa.) I told the second editor I had already sold the idea and she said, “Well, next time I’ll have to be faster!” I ended up writing multiple times for both magazines.
Linda, thanks a bunch for the great post! I’ve often wondered what was accepted in the industry related to “simsubs”. I’ve read conflicting ideas on this subject in various articles, but you’re a trusted source. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I’m flattered you consider me a trusted source, Chamois…thanks!