Two Points You Must Make
Even if you have done a letter-perfect job of including all the pertinent sections of the standard query letter, your story may get rejected. Sometimes this will be because your idea just wasn't right for the magazine you pitched. Sometimes it will be because the magazine already has a story in the works that is quite similar to the idea you are suggesting.
Many times, though, you will get rejected if you fail to communicate the two most important things an editor wants to hear: that your story idea is great, and that there is nobody in the world but you who can write it.
It's a Great Story Idea
It can be tough to make an editor understand just how terrific your story idea is, especially since you can't very well gush out a sentence like, “This is a great story idea!” The key to communicating this fact in your query letter is using your lead and supporting paragraphs to tell the editor something he doesn't already know, and to say it in a way that he hasn't heard before.
One helpful tool in this challenging task is basic knowledge of the publication that you are pitching. If you know, for instance, that a travel magazine has not covered the island of Jamaica in more than a year, then your supporting paragraphs might include something like this: “
If you have written a story for a competing magazine that is similar to the piece you are pitching in your query letter, don't mention the competing magazine piece. Even if it ran in one of the best-known titles in the world, you don't want your editor to feel that you are recycling “hand-me-downs,” even if you're putting an entirely new spin on your reporting.
You Are the Person to Write It
You would be surprised how many query letters pitch essentially the same story ideas to the same editors. The average travel magazine editor, for instance, receives countless queries that read: “I've always liked the Caribbean and would be interested in writing a travel story for your readers.” The writer has no qualifications beyond a desire to see the Caribbean. That's not making a good case for landing the writing assignment.
When you are outlining your qualifications to be the story's writer, be sure that you don't just tell the editor that you are
In some cases, your personal qualifications will be a function of the story. After all, if you're the only person ever to come out of hiking in Jamaica's Blue Mountains in one piece, then you are certainly the only person who can tell the story of that experience. Other types of stories are harder to pin down, though, such as how-to stories that anyone with general expertise may be able to write. The same is true of profile features that anyone with good interviewing skills could pull off.
There's no denying that a handful of unscrupulous editors steal magazine writers' ideas from query letters and give them to staff members to write free of charge. This is unethical and certainly uncommon at most legitimate magazines, but you can protect yourself against it by pitching stories that you, and only you, are qualified to write.
Should your idea fall into the latter category, simply do your best to tell the editor why you should be the one to tell the particular story. Sometimes, your best bet is simply to write something like, “I think my idea is perfect for your travel magazine, which is why I am pitching it to you first.” In other words, if all you have on your side is timing and flattery, you have to use them to the best advantage possible.
