How do you impress editors?
Easy wins for building a rapport as a freelancer
Following on from last week’s issue where I talked about what editors can do to improve the pitching process for freelancers, I wanted to reflect on what you can do to impress an editor. The single most important thing you can do at the beginning of your journalism career is filing clean, accurate copy on time. And be polite. Read that again. That's really all there is to it.
You don’t need to have mind-blowing ideas or be a literary genius to establish a good rapport with an editor; being creative comes further down the line where it’s more likely that a structural gamble or niche investigation will pay off. All you need to do is deliver what you said you would when you said you would deliver it, and be nice when interacting with the editor.
I’ve been editing other peoples’ work since I was 17, as music editor at The Indiependent. We’ve published over 2,264 music articles in the last 7 years. That’s nearly an article a day. Although I have help from the brilliant editorial team, I’ve edited a big old chunk of those articles personally. That means I’ve also received thousands of pitches. The people who impress me are the individuals who:
Have a short, snappy pitch that makes it super clear what they want to cover and why they’re the person to write it
Are communicative throughout their writing process; they tell me when they hope to file (if it’s not time-sensitive). If they need an extension they give me ample notice rather than emailing on the day of submission to ask if they can have more time
Are friendly, they include email pleasantries about my week or something that I said on social media
Listen to feedback, realising that the editorial process makes their writing better
Say thank you for the time I’ve spent working on their piece
One thing many early career stage journalists don’t realise—especially if they’re used to publishing their writing on their own blog or website without asking a friend or family member to proofread their work first—is that being edited is part of the professional writing process. It is not a personal attack on your understanding of grammar, your word choice or your ability to string a sentence together. An editor’s job is to take your ideas, and your articulation of those ideas, and polish them until they are as shiny as possible.
A good editor is approachable—if you feel like you’ve been too heavily edited, then by all means, pushback. But appreciate that their suggestions come with the benefit of emotional distance from your subject matter: they read your piece as a reader would and as such, they are primed to tell you what is and isn’t working. Editors have also been doing this a long time—they’ve read enough pitches and articles to know what goes down well with their audience, and they also know which ideas have been done 100 times before. If they suggest a different angle to take, there’s probably a very good reason. Maybe you’re missing your ‘So what?’ hook that is going to keep readers invested. Or maybe they’ve already read twenty pitches about why vinyl is great this week alone.
It’s so easy to write long, clunky sentences or to submit your work at the end of a long week without proofreading it first. But there are some very easy things you can do to ensure the version of the work you submit is the best it can be:
Use spellcheck – you wouldn’t believe the number of articles I’ve received that have misspelt the name of the band or artist they’re about. There is no excuse not to use a decent spellchecking software or browser extension like Grammarly
Read your work out loud to yourself – if you’re struggling for breath then the chances are that you need more punctuation or shorter sentences (preferably the latter)
Print out your work and go through it with a coloured pen – it’s a lot easier to see mistakes on the page than it is on screen. Laura Snapes of The Guardian also advocates putting your work in bright pink size 16 Comic Sans
Go on a walk and then come back to the article with fresh eyes – ideally you would sleep on it, but time doesn’t always allow for this if you have a tight deadline. Instead, take a quick loop around the block and by the time you get back hopefully you’ll spot any mistakes that eluded you before
Ask a journalism friend to be your proofreading buddy – this is your last line of defence after you’ve done the above. The idea is you check their work for typos and clunky phrasing, and then you do the same for theirs—it’s good to pick someone who has a similar schedule to you so that they’re available to help you when you need them
My week
… in editing
This week I enjoyed editing Sian Kissock’s piece on how livestreaming is actually making live music a lot more accessible to a whole bunch of people.
… in writing
Pitches: 4 new, 2 re-pitches, 4 follow-ups
Commissions: 1
I got 1 unpaid commission, 3 rejections, and one ‘Email us again with this next year’ from The Guardian, which I’m gonna bank as a win.
Articles written: 1
Articles published: 2
I rarely share stuff from my day job in this newsletter because it’s not always relevant, however, I was rather proud of this one: ‘How to create with LGBTQ+ inclusivity in mind’. It’s the first article in a series for LGBTQ+ history month; I wanted the content to be practical and useful as I’m uber conscious that so many brands piggyback off awareness days/months.
Do you want to be a fly on the wall at the Handforth Parish Council Christmas party? Well, now you can be thanks to this piece I wrote for The Indiependent. Dress code: beige. Thanks to @TaraFair_ for her edits!
… in listening/watching
I really enjoyed speaking to Bryony, George and Oli from Jobs Bored last week about all things journalism. You can listen to my episode of their brilliant podcast here:
In personal news, I managed to convince the guy I’m dating to listen to a playlist of Taylor Swift’s best songs and give me a running commentary.
… in reading
Moya Lothian McLean’s year-long gal-dem investigation into transphobia in the gender-based violence sector was really incredible reporting
Amanda Petrusich’s ‘The Marilyn Manson reckoning’ for The New Yorker is vital reading
This review of Promising Young Woman, which says the film “brings to mind every high-profile sexual assault case of recent years” felt very poignant
I thought this was a very important piece: ‘Men, we need to have a conversation about domestic abuse’ (Rhys Thomas for High Snobiety)
I love everything Amelia Tait writes, but ‘Forget Ratatouille, here’s Ratatoing!: The rise and rise of the ‘mockbuster’’ was absolutely fantastic
Sirin Kale’s piece on her battle to beat a 27-year Diet Coke addiction was emosh
Arthur Holland Michel’s ‘There are spying eyes everywhere—and now they share a brain’ for WIRED was fascinating
This profile by Sophie Heawood for The Guardian was a really interesting read: ‘Billie Piper: ‘I know about dysfunctional relationships — what it costs to be a woman’’
Laura Mehers’ Metro piece ‘I was followed home — now I’m nervous about going outside’ is sadly relatable
Simon Kuper’s FT article ‘How to save the world from long Covid’ is glib but worth your attention
Daniel Reast’s Huck story on the rise in will writing among Gen Z and Millenials was great
I loved Adam England’s DAZED piece on ‘How Olivia Rodrigo became Disney’s first Gen Z music superstar’
Events
Last week I went to the last of Terri White’s incredible magazine masterclasses with Dan Wakeford (People), as well as part one of a brilliant ‘Coding for journalists’ event series (hosted by Newcastle University’s Civic Journalism Lab), with Leila Haddou. If you’re interested in learning more about web scraping, spreadsheets, APIs, R and other coding languages, sign up for part two on Wednesday 10 February from 5.00 - 7.00 pm.
Tonight at 8.00 pm I’m chatting to the authors Jordan Florit (Red Wine & Arepas: How football is becoming Venezuela’s religion) and Dominic Stevenson (Get Your Head In The Game: an exploration of football’s complex relationship with mental health). If football, travel or books are your thing you can join us—register for a free ticket here.
Opportunities
Aberdeen (remote): Lampsy is looking for a digital marketing and social media assistant
Bath: The University of Bath is looking for a web content editor
Birmingham: Aidem Digital has a lifestyle features writer internship available
Birmingham: Explode Social Media want a social media assistant
Bristol: The University of the West of England is looking for a social media officer
Chelmsford: Anglia Ruskin University is looking for a digital communications officer
Chesterfield: Ideal Shopping Direct is looking for an Assistant Art Editor for 9 months - 1 year of maternity cover
Colchester: Aceville Publications is looking for a content writer to join the Sew magazine team
Dundee: There’s a social media assistant and content writer role here for a plastic surgery business
Edinburgh: An asset management firm is looking for a video editor
Glasgow: A football-based social media company is looking for a TV presenter
Leeds: Highways England have a media relations manager up for grabs
Leeds: Channel 4 is looking for a digital video editor for its branded entertainment division
Leeds (remote): Lifestyle Property People is looking for a freelance copywriter
Leamington Spa: Palmer Hargreaves is looking for a B2B content writer
Manchester: The Candidate is recruiting for an experienced creative copywriter
Manchester: Engage Hub is looking for a junior copywriter
Manchester: Embryo Digital is looking for a digital PR strategist
Manchester (remote): Velvet Pink Banana is looking for a social media manager
Milton Keynes: Want to join the Mercedes-Benz content creation team? Consider this multimedia and video producer role
Newcastle: Wriggle Marketing is on the hunt for a content & social media manager
Nottingham: Reach is recruiting for a local democracy reporter to work across The Nottingham Post and Nottinghamshire Live
Nottingham: Hallam is a digital marketing agency looking for a content marketing consultant
Norwich: ITV News Anglia is looking for a production journalist
Oxford: RAW Pictures is a commercial film agency looking for a marketing and social media assistant
Reading: Newsquest is looking for a crime and court reporter
Sheffield: The SEO works is recruiting for a digital PR specialist
Sheffield (remote): Seven Hills Tuition are looking for a part-time social media assistant/marketer
Stirling: The University of Stirling is looking for a communications officer
PS) Do you like this newsletter? Feel free to tweet me and let me know @BettyKirkers or @DistrictPeaked
Brilliant newsletter, as always, and very helpful!