Webinar | 18 June | What can writers & editors do to improve the pitching process?
The next webinar by Meera Dattani is all about getting your pitches commissioned quicker
Save the date and reserve your spot for just £6 — Meera’s next webinar takes place on 18 June at 3pm BST. Recording and materials will be sent within the following week to all who sign up, regardless of live attendance.
Working as a freelance travel journalist has, for many, never felt more exhausting. Amid staff cuts and slashed budgets, it can seem a perpetual cycle of ideating, pitching, following up, wondering, ‘checking in’, negotiating and more. There are countless pitching tips for freelancers, but what about editors and publications? What can both sides do better to ensure good pitches ‘land’ – and great ideas are commissioned quicker?
Being a good freelancer requires a multitude of skills; having interesting ideas and being a great writer are obviously integral to the skillset. But you need to be able to communicate that idea quickly and effectively to a busy editor, who’s often working as part of a team, and juggle the various components of a story while also trying to place it. It’s not always easy.
So what can editors, editorial teams and publications do to make this process better? Right now, it seems there’s never been more conversation around the frustration of simply getting a pitch picked up, with many freelancers even ‘grateful’ for a rejection because they received a reply. But surely it shouldn’t be this way? What can we all do to ensure easier communications and better relationships?
In this conversation, the panellists cover the full spectrum: Sarah Allard is Digital Director at Condé Nast Traveller, Laura Millar is a full-time freelancer after five years as Metro’s travel editor, and Meera Dattani splits her time between commissioning and freelancing. Fourth panellist TBC.
This is part of a series of webinars curated and hosted by travel journalist and editor Meera Dattani and sponsored by Adventure Travel Networking (ATN).