What’s my currency?

Why? Because editors would think it was odd if I started pitching Mother’s Day gift ideas to them. They are well aware of these annual events, often a life-line in terms of content planning (“Thank God, it’s Mother’s Day. That’s one page sorted.’). So believe me, they’ve already thought of it. And not only that, it will be their in-house teams who will do this kind of coverage, usually in the form of product pages.   

To be blunt, these calendar events are a waste of my time. A good freelance journalist needs to be pitching ideas that are not already on the agenda, that editors haven’t already thought of, and that contain something fresh, new or exclusive. It’s why, if you pitch an idea to me, I will immediately ask if this is an exclusive and which other titles and journalists you’ve pitched the idea to. If the answer is “several other editors, all of whom you write for,” then this is an idea I won’t be pitching. 

In a way, we’re doing exactly the same job. Fresh and new ideas are our currency. And where you won’t find them is on a calendar.