An editor’s take on why queries fail, and how to get them right

It’s been 18 months since I started working as a freelance editor of InsideEdge, a startup online finance website created by American Express and Federated Media. So far, I’ve edited close to 120 features and have a couple dozen more in some state of being assigned, reviewed or packaged for publication.

The process has put me on the receiving end of a lot of queries, which has given me a new appreciation for what editors go through when it comes to that part of the story process.

Based on my experience, I believe more than ever that writing the perfect query is difficult. Not impossible, but definitely hard. A query can be great on many levels, fantastic even, and yet be rejected for failing to meet one or two essential criteria.

Here are some of the typical reasons why freelance queries fail, and what a writer can do to get things right.

1. The timing’s off. Pitch a tax story on April 15 or a Christmas story on Dec. 24 and chances are they’ll be rejected. That’s pretty obvious. But because publications have different publishing cycles, it can be hard to know how far in advance to pitch a tax or Christmas story. Women’s magazines are well-known for working on issues six or more months in advance. A regional business magazine I know works on features three to four months out. Some publications that publish every day or week consider story ideas at a story budget meeting that’s held at the same time each day or week. Finding out a publication’s publishing cycle and pitching accordingly can take the guesswork out of knowing when to pitch. Or look for the yearly editorial calendars some publications post on their websites to gauge when to send in pitches for a particular issue or month. If a publication doesn’t have one posted call and ask.

2. The subject isn’t something the publication covers. A pitch could be on a timely, popular subject and you could have sources lined up and ready to talk. But if it’s about a topic that falls outside of a publication’s editorial mission, it’s going to get rejected. That’s the main reason one of the most common pieces of advice editors give is – read the publication. The more you read the better feel you’ll have for what a publication covers. Many publications have posted their mission statement somewhere online – inside their media kit is a common place – spelling out the subjects they cover. Read it.

3. The subject isn’t relevant to the publication’s readers. As with No. 2, some queries are great, just not relevant to the publication’s readers. This happens a lot at magazines that serve specific niches – the editor of a magazine for parents of children up to 2 years old aren’t going to accept a pitch for a story about sending your sweetie off to kindergarten. Likewise, the editor of a website covering Fortune 1000 companies isn’t going to want a pitch for a story on how to get financing for your start-up business. Again, a great place to find out how a publication defines its readership is its media kit. Better yet, look online or call and ask for writer’s guidelines, which editors sometimes put together to take some of the guesswork out of pitching.

4. The publication recently ran  something similar or has something in the works. You could pitch a story that’s a perfect fit – a great angle on a subject the publication covers. But if the publication already has a story in the works or just run or assigned something, chances are they won’t buy it. As a writer, these kinds of rejections are hardest for me because it means I was right on – but another writer beat me to it. When this happens, try querying a publication’s competitors (if those publications haven’t already run something similar) – though that’s tricky because it could mess up whatever relationship you have with the first publication. Or use the opportunity to ask the editor if there are subjects that haven’t been covered as much he or she would like to see pitches for.

5. The query is too short. Some queries have so little detail they’re more of an idea than a pitch. Sometimes that’s OK. If I work with a writer enough to know they understand the publication, I’m OK getting pitched in a line or two. That way if I’m not interested I can say “No thanks” right away and neither the writer nor I have spent much time on the process. If it’s something I’m interested in, I’ll ask them to send me a more fleshed-out pitch. But if you’re querying a publication you’ve never worked with before, the editor will use your pitch, along with your resume and clips, to go on to decide whether you’ve got what it takes to deliver the story. So make it count. On the other hand….

6. The query’s too long. ….don’t write a query that’s as long as the piece. Some editors  like – even encourage – lengthy pitches. I’m not one of them. A writer should be able to state the subject of the query, why now’s a good time to write about it, who they’d interview, what other research or reporting they’d do and why they’re the one to do it and contain all of that information within the space of one computer screen, maybe slightly longer if they’re pitching a lengthy feature. Queries that go on too long are a good indication – at least to me – that a writer can’t be concise, can’t summarize, can’t distinguish between important details and details that could be left out, all important storytelling skills. As the old saying goes, when it doubt leave it out.

What query tactics do you swear by?