JAMES SWANWICK S CUT AND PASTE EMAIL SYSTEM FOR LANDING JOBS IN JOURNALISM Here is everything you need to get jobs in journalism. The email scripts vary by media outlet you re contacting and story idea so pick out an appropriate script, copy your ideas in a blank new email, and get writing! Remember, send to 20 media outlets. Let me know how it goes! James Swanwick www.jamesswanwick.com/howtobecomeajournalist To newspapers, magazines, websites (Email to an editor) Script Example 1: new angle on a story they ve done Script Example 2: original story idea Script Example 3: interview idea To TV shows (Email to a producer) Script Example 4: re imagine a story they ve done before Script Example 5: original story idea SCRIPT EXAMPLE 1: To a newspaper/ magazine/ website First sentence: I know you ve previously written about [insert story here], but here s a new angle I can get for you. Third sentence: I m sure your readers will find this particularly interesting because [insert Fourth sentence: I m a writer who has been published in [insert publications x, y, and z, here]. [Insert links to up to three articles here]
SCRIPT EXAMPLE 2: To a newspaper/ magazine/ website First sentence: Your article on [insert story here] was really well written. You really [insert genuine compliment here] You want to know an even better story? Third sentence: I m sure your readers will find this particularly interesting because [insert Fourth sentence: I m a writer who has worked at [insert your work history here]. Here are three examples of my work [insert links to your examples here] SCRIPT EXAMPLE 3: To a newspaper/ magazine/ website First sentence: I m interviewing [insert person you will interview here] this week about [insert what you re interviewing him / here about] and feel like your readers would love this. Second sentence: Did you know that [insert interesting fact about the person you re interviewing]? Third sentence: I m sure your viewers will find this particularly interesting because [insert Fourth sentence: I m a journalist who has written for [insert your work history here]. Here are links to three of my most recent articles. [insert links here]
SCRIPT EXAMPLE 4: To a TV show First sentence: I know you ve previously produced a story on [insert story here], but here s a new angle I can get for you. Third sentence: I m sure your viewers will find this particularly interesting because [insert Fourth sentence: I m a [insert TV reporter or producer or anchor or correspondent here] who has worked at [insert your work history at TV shows and stations here]. SCRIPT EXAMPLE 5: To a TV show First sentence: Great story on [insert story here] last night! You want to know an even better story? Third sentence: I m sure your viewers will find this particularly interesting because [insert Fourth sentence: I m a [insert TV reporter or producer or anchor or correspondent here] who has worked at [insert your work history at TV shows and stations here].
CHECKLIST: EMAIL DO S AND DON TS Before hitting send, review your email and make sure you follow these rules. DO: Think about how you are going to grab the attention of the person you are pitching Write a good headline Write a good opening sentence Keep your email under 200 words in length Illustrate you understand the newspaper you are pitching Include examples of your previous writing work Get the attention of the editor you are pitching Ensure your pitch is different for each different publication you contact Get your idea across and show you have the sources and you can make it happen DON T: Start your pitch with, My name is Make your pitch too long. No more than 200 words. Maximum. Not know anything about the publication you are pitching. Play down your accomplishments, ex: I ve only written 3 stories Tell the editor what you are going to write. The editor will decide that.
James Swanwick interviews Seth Kugel, New York Times columnist, on advice for pitching stories. James Swanwick: What is the best way to pitch a story to someone? Is there a certain script that you would encourage writers wanting to pitch their stories to put in an email to send to editors? A certain script that gets people at the New York Times thinking, OK, I want to communicate with this person? Seth Kugel: It s very, very easy to write a pitch that the editor will immediately delete. There are lots of ways that could result in that. Here are the things to totally avoid: If your pitch is too long and takes too long to get to the point. You have the subject line you will lose half the editors at the subject line. After then you have a paragraph and you lose 40% after the first paragraph. So just think how important that first paragraph is. So I suggest try putting in that first paragraph if you can the story idea and you want that idea written in the voice of that publication. This is incredibly important. If you were writing a pitch on the same story to ESPN.com or something and the Wall St. Journal, that pitch would have to sound very different for each one. And as a result as you imagine you have to read the publications. Right? It s very simple to screw this thing up. So that first paragraph has both your idea which should be written in the most exciting way possible and also your work experience. And your experience can be manipulated to make you sound more accomplished than you actually are. So if you had three articles published recently, just say you are a freelance writer, Here are a couple of my clips. You don t have to say, I ve only written a few articles and I only started writing six months ago and I didn t get paid for any of them. As long as you have something published that can show the way you write, that s good enough. That s all good enough for a first paragraph. In the subject line you have to come up with a really sharp headline. In addition to that, there are some other mistakes. Here s a mistake from a woman in New Zealand: She emailed me and said she wanted to do travel writing. And she said, How can I pitch the New York Times? I ve got a great idea for a story. I m thinking it will be 600 words. And I stopped her and I said, You ve obviously never even read the New York Times travel section because the cover stories are almost always 3000 words. You can t make mistakes like that.
I would also suggest never going into what you are specifically going to do, like, This story will cover this, this and this and it will be 1200 words. Because it is going to be whatever the editor wants it to be. You just want to get the idea across and show that you have the sources and you can make it happen and you have the experience. A maximum of three paragraphs should be enough. And just imagine that editor. I know the New York Times editors get dozens of pitches a day if not 100s and this is in addition to all their normal work. So imagine someone who has 30 minutes at the end of the day and has 200 unread emails. Don t indulge yourself and write a 7 paragraph pitch. They are just not going to get to it. Just imagine the person sitting in their cubicle and they have to get home to pick up their kids. Think, How am I going to grab their attention in the subject line and that first paragraph? James Swanwick: How many sentences and how many words? What is the limit? Seth Kugel: No more than 150 words. 200 maximum. First things first, the subject line and first sentence needs to be something that immediately gets the editor s attention. But in terms of word count, hold yourself to it. As the famous saying goes, I would have written you a shorter letter but I didn t have the time. It s much, much harder to write a shorter thing than it is a longer thing. So if you have six paragraphs, and you think, Oh, it s all so important, well, it s not so important. Because you give it to an editor they ll slash off three paragraphs to begin with. 200 words is ok. It also depends on if you have a relationship with the editor already, it can be much longer. But it shouldn t be that much longer. James Swanwick: If you don t have a relationship with an editor and this is the first time you are emailing them, should the first words be, Hello, my name is or should you get straight into it, I know you ve heard of this but here s a new angle? Seth Kugel: I definitely don t recommend saying, My name is because your name is already on the email. Right away there, you are wasting your 200 words. For more on getting your dream job in journalism, visit http://www.jamesswanwick.com/how to become a journalist. You can catch up with me on my blog and let me know how your emails go at jamesswanwick.com. Talk soon and good luck! James Swanwick