5 Ways To Fix Your Story Pitch After Being Rejected For An Assignment

You’ve been formulating a great video idea and now you just need to send it out. Whether you’re working on Storyhunter or pitching an individual editor by email, sending out your pitch is the first step towards seeing your story come to life. But what do you do if your story pitch gets declined? Here are five ways you can fix a pitch so that it is more likely to get accepted the next time around.

1. Get Feedback

Anytime you get rejected, the most important thing to figure out is why. So make sure you ask your editor to elaborate on why they didn’t give you the greenlight. They will appreciate this tremendously as it means you are trying to understand their editorial preferences. And the feedback will help you re-work your pitch — or not, since maybe the pitch is already great but just not right for that particular publication.

2. Rewrite the headline.

Even if your headline changes while you’re actually producing the story, pitching your idea with a strong headline will catch a publisher’s attention. It’s a tough, but crucial challenge. In less characters than a tweet, you need to make sure that your headline is interesting, unique, and captures the the main theme of the story you will be exploring. Don’t rush this step. Write five or six potential headlines. Say them out loud. Pitch them to friends first — you’ll know which one the winner is. If you don’t, keep writing headlines until you have something irresistible and true to the story you are pursuing.

3. Be descriptive and concise.

If your pitch is a thousand words long or one vague sentence, the story won’t be appealing to a busy publisher that needs to quickly visualize the video. Instead write a short summary that includes the location, a short description of the main character and why you’re focusing on him/her, a verb that best describes the universal theme of the story, and any conflict the protagonist faces. Make sure you clearly define the “scope”, or range of topics or concepts you will cover in the story and express a well thought out and logical plan to make it happen.

4. State why you’re the best person in the world to do it.

What special access, insight, or ability do you have to make you the best person to produce your story? Remember, editors are getting pitched all the time by lots of people. Some may even be pitching a very similar story. Tell them why you are the person or team they need to go with.

5. Update your portfolio.

Your pitch might not get accepted for an assignment because a publisher doesn’t think you will be able to deliver a good product based on your profile or sample work. This is especially true if this is the first time you’re working with an editor. If you’re lacking great video samples or information about yourself in your portfolio, update it to include your best work and a short, but thorough, bio. As freelancers you should always put your best foot forward. Stop being humble and show potential clients how great you are.

Good luck on submitting your next pitch!

By D. Simone Kovacs