When that little voice in your head says, “That’s a good story,” listen.
Last month I took my 18-year-old to a two-day freshman orientation at the university he’ll be attending in just a few weeks. While he registered for courses, met fellow classmates and checked out the residence halls, I sat through a series of presentations for parents on the realities of college life circa 2011.
Sometime during the second day it occurred to me that a lot had changed since we sent our oldest off to school four years ago. It also got me thinking about the things parents sending a kid off to college for the first time should know but won’t get from a presentation or brochure, for example, that if your student gets sick, the campus health center won’t bill your insurance company.
The Anatomy of a Story Idea
Flash forward to the following week. I’m back in the office and getting ready to send ideas for blog posts to my editor at SecondAct, Entrepreneur Media’s website for people over 40. I considered including a pitch for a post about what parents need to know when sending a freshman off to college. But I’m not sure she’ll like it, so I don’t put it on the list. But at the last minute I tack it onto the end.
Turns out she loved the idea. I wrote this post within the week and it got good amount of tweets and comments.
Good Idea Goes Viral
That was in mid-August. A couple weeks later, I discovered that MSNBC.com, which is a SecondAct content partner, re-ran the post with a new headline and deck – you can read the updated version here. It racked up even more page views, comments, tweets and shares on other social networks.
The Washington Post‘s personal finance blogger, Michelle Singletary, spotted the post on MSNBC.com and used it as the basis for this Aug. 25 post; her post reiterates a lot of my original points, with some of her own comments.
Late last week, I found out the original post was the third highest trafficked story on SecondAct in August.
And to think, I almost didn’t pitch it.
All of this is a great example of why it pays to trust your gut. If you think you’ve got an idea that would make a great story you’re probably right. Granted, you have to know which story is right for which publication, and how to cast a story to fit a particular publication’s readership and mission. But if you write for the same publications on a regular basis, you’re probably good at that already. (That’s another reason why I’ve always advocated cultivating ongoing relationships with a handful of publications over writing for dozens).
That’s my story, but what about you: have you trusted your gut about a story and had things work out even better than expected? Share your experience by leaving a comment.
Fantastic story. Thanks for sharing. We just never know, do we?
Hi Michelle,
Solid advice and a great post. I almost didn’t pitch my first story ever, because I didn’t have journalism experience. But I kept thinking “as a business magazine, they should really have more stories about local artists…” and finally decided to take a chance. If I hadn’t stepped out of my comfort zone and gone with my instinct, I never would have realized that I wanted to change careers!
My challenge now is that I want to expand to larger markets but am having a harder time starting relationships with editors outside my region. Any advice you have on that front would be most welcome!
Ruth:
Great story. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is all it takes.
As for expanding into larger markets, you could try a couple things. Ask editors you’ve worked with if they know editors at other publications who could use someone with your specialization/experience – most realize that you can’t only write for them, and if they appreciate you as a writer, would be happy to pass your name onto their editor buddies.
I could go on but I think I’ll save my other suggestions for a Dear WordCount column – I haven’t done one for too long! Look for it a week from tomorrow (that’d be Sept. 15).
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the suggestions. I’m finding that there are certain limitations to my secondary network, possibly because of my location. But I’m choosing not going to let it get me down! First, I’m taking your suggestion and mining my LinkedIn for connections. Next, I’ll be soliciting advice from the blogosphere about the importance of location in my next blog post. Finally, I’m going to try some LOIs, an awesome idea I found in your “Greatest Hits”. Hopefully, that will open some doors too. Looking forward to that Dear WordCount column next week!
Ruth
That article really does keep on giving… Thanks for the inspiration! http://wp.me/p1bAvb-aH
Ruth
Good story, Michelle. Glad you trusted your gut. This has happened to me several times recently. Since my daughter started a new business, I’ve sold three or four stories just from having conversations with her about her industry. I’d never know these things, or think about them, if it weren’t for listening to her challenges. I’ve been trusting my gut that she’s a good source of ideas, and that I can tell a good story when I hear it.
I’m a big believer in writers needing to stay on top of what’s happening in the world around them, whether that’s listening to what the moms are saying in the school pick up lines to what farmers are selling at the farmers’ market to what TV shows and movies are getting the most buzz. You never know what could turn into a story, or what will inspire you. I’m not advocating for turning your friends & family into your story subjects – just keeping an ear to the ground for trends. If you’ve been in the business for a long time, this becomes almost second nature. But I think for less experienced writers, or someone who’s developing a specialization or switching beats, it’s harder.
Michelle
This was such an encouraging post. I am new to this freelance game. Great advice to follow your gut. The worst you can hear is No. I don’t love the word, but I can handle it.
It helps me to know you still have nerves about your writing career. I wonder if my nerves mean I’m not good for this business, sometimes, so I found this part of the post especially encouraging.
Thanks for sharing it! (I tweeted)
I always thought that I gravitated to long-term, contract type freelance work because I was a team player, specialized, yadda yadda. But maybe deep down inside it’s because I’m afraid my ideas will be rejected and this is how I deal with it. I’ve never thought about it until just now, reading your comment. I would like to write in more high-visibility publications, but it’s so much easier to say “yes” to editors who already know me when they ask if I’m available rather than pitching into the great unknown. Maybe the answer is to do a lot of one and a little bit of the other; the steady work I know I can get can be the security blanket that supports the pitches I send to markets I’ve never worked for before. Thanks for helping me see this in a new light.
Michelle