That’s what I found when I started a freelance editing gig, and what I heard from other editors after I wrote that post on the subject not long ago.

So, one freelancer wrote in after reading the post, is there anything that would get an editor to respond to me right away?

Good question. I asked some editor friends for their opinions on what it takes to get them to reply immediately to a writer’s letter of introduction, pitch or completed manuscript.

One says the best way to get a fast response from her is to have a killer story pitch, one “that’s so perfectly honed to the editor’s needs it’s irresistible.” Unfortunately, she doesn’t encounter those very often. “Pitches like that are like snow leopards: hard to spot and in danger of extinction,” she says. “But I get them from time to time, usually from people….who completely understand what the publication needs, and with whom I’ve already had discussions that narrow the topic range.”

Fast Cash Freelance addressed the same topic in this recent post, saying it takes more than a good idea for an editor to bite. According to the post, writers are most likely to hear back from editors if they have access to hard-to-reach sources (think celebrities or CEOs), expertise or first-hand knowledge of a particular topic, or can demonstrate their ability to do tough research to back up a pitch. Dependability, clever word crafting, speed and a contrarian streak aren’t bad either.

In the recent past, I’ve had editors say “yes” to pitches in less than 24 hours on several occasions. Once I started following a high-profile management expert and business columnist on Twitter right before the pub date of her latest business book. After she followed me back, I introduced myself and inquired whether she’d make herself available for an interview about the book and herself. When she said yes, I immediately pitched a Q&A to an editor at a business publication I’d started to write for, and got a yes within a day.

Another time I started following a publisher on Twitter, she followed me back, and based on something I’d seen her tweet, I asked if she’d be interested in a pitch on a related subject. She said yes and DM’d me the name and email of an editor to pitch. I sent a query the same day, and wound up with an assignment less than 24 hours later.

There’s something to be said with being in the right place at the right time, or responding quickly when you get even the smallest opening. But that only works if you understand the publication you’re pitching to, or the subject matter, or preferably both. In other words, do your homework. Then follow through by filing your story on time and error free – so the next time that editor sees an email with your name on it in their inbox, they’ll make the time to look at it and reply right away.

To help get the query juices flowing, I’ve compiled some of the most popular posts I’ve written about queries – what to do, what not to do and where to go for ideas.

But before you get started, think about how much time and effort you put into the queries you do. A beginning freelancer asked a LinkedIn writers’ group I belong to whether it was better to do a lot of research before crafting a query or just a little.

My answer: it depends. For a few regular clients I do little or no research ahead of time because they’ll greenlight a project without it based on my work history. In other cases, I’ll tack a question or two onto the end of an interview I’m doing for an already assigned story to ask “What else are you working on?” or “What else did you learn at that convention?” If they’ve got something good, I’ve got the “research” I need to put a pitch together. If you’ve ever worked as a beat reporter for a newspaper, newsweekly or news Website/blog, this becomes second nature.

Some queries I develop from an original idea and then reach out to one or two potential sources to find out if they’d make themselves available for an interview. Then I can write a query and say “For this story I would interview XXX” and name the source(s) I’ve lined up.

Now go work those queries!

How to write queries that sell

10 great places writers can find story ideas

Don’t let this freelance faux pas happen to you

Why freelance queries get rejected

I got dumped recently for the first time in a while, and looking back on the experience I should have known better. I sent what I thought was a carefully crafted pitch to an editor whose name had been forwarded to me by a colleague. The editor liked the pitch enough to call me, but wanted a slightly different angle that required me to do more research. Four lengthy interviews later, I emailed my revised pitch, then waited. When the editor finally got back to me it was to say, sorry, it’s still not exactly what we’re looking for.

I moped, then did what I should have done in the first place – asked the editor for a short phone conference. The next week he spent 15 minutes explaining to me in explicit detail the types of stories he’s looking for and the audience the publication is trying to hook. Will I sell my next pitch? I can’t say for sure, but at least I have a better idea of what to shoot for.

Ron Kovach, senior editor of The Writer, has some great information on this very topic in a new article called “Why queries get rejected,” on the magazine’s Website.

According to Kovach, pitches for stories that aren’t a perfect fit – like mine – are one reason queries get rejected. Others:

• The publication has already run a number of stories on the topic and is giving it a rest for a while.
• The pitch is good but the writer has relatively weak credentials compared to other freelancers the magazine usually works with.
• The writer pitched 10 stories in one letter, which is about eight stories too many.

Read the whole story here.