The Golden Rule of Professionals: Be Specific & Ask Good Questions
By Jane Friedman | July 23, 2010 |
You can sabotage your writing career if you frequently engage in these two behaviors:
- Pitching yourself to strangers in a vague or long-winded way
- Asking questions of such a broad nature that you nearly disrespect the person called upon to answer
Let’s tackle the pitching scenario first. Important: While I will specifically reference editors and publications, these principles apply no matter what kind of gig you’re after. You might be trying to land a speaking engagement, a book signing, a guest blog post, a contributor role, a reviewer position. This applies to it all!
Pitching Specific Ideas vs. Being “Available”
I’d like to lay down some principles that I’ve found to be the hallmark of a professional.
Pitch Principle #1. If you have no relationship (yet) with the editor, pitch something very specific. That’s because you’re approaching cold, you’re an unknown quantity, and the onus is on you to quickly show what’s in it for them. How does your idea, concept, or product benefit the person or organization, and why will it be successful?
It’s a bad idea to assume that you yourself are so impressive (in terms of your bio or your abilities) that the editor or organization will bend over backward to find a way to work with you. You have to make it easy for them to say yes by actively demonstrating how you understand their needs.
Even if the editor or publication can’t accept your pitch or proposal, if she is impressed by your approach, she may want to keep in contact, or consider you in the future (though you should definitely ask when you should follow up, and how).
Caveat: It rarely works in your favor to criticize someone’s work as a hook for your pitch. E.g., “I noticed you have a lot of typos this month in your publication, so I thought you could use my proofreading services.”
Pitch Principle #2. The bigger the publication or company (in terms of size or fame), the more specific and succinct you should be in your pitch or proposal. No one has time to help you figure out what you should be doing. Sometimes smaller or regional publications/organizations are more willing to be conversational with you on the phone or via e-mail about how you can work together—but don’t count on it.
Caveat: If there’s an open call for freelance/writing help, then follow whatever directions are stated in that call. Don’t worry about specifics just yet. (If you start asking for specifics before you even throw your hat in the ring, you will likely annoy people.)
Pitch Principle #3. The more well-known or trusted you are by the publication or organization (or the more experience you have), the more loose you can be in contacting them for “available work.”
Everything works differently when you have established relationships, or a long-term collaborative history with a person or a publication. But you shouldn’t treat cold contacts the same way.
Caveat: Don’t underestimate the power of specificity when you approach even an established, long-term contact.
For example, many people I know ask if they can speak at a Writer’s Digest event or contribute to the magazine. But they don’t exhibit knowledge of past programming or editorial content—or pitch specific ideas. That makes my job a lot harder (particularly when it’s via e-mail), because now I have to take time to educate that person or help him brainstorm how he ought to contribute. Never assume someone has the time to do this. Plus, if it’s not obvious to you how you should contribute, it might not be obvious to them, either.
When in doubt, give your contact something specific to say “yes” or “no” to. I guarantee it will result in more frequent (and faster) responses.
Asking Good, Specific Questions
For those who read the Brazen Careerist, I am beating a dead horse, but the better questions you ask (in any situation), the more you will learn, and the more quality and helpful responses you will get. Here’s an overview on why:
- Five Tips on Asking Better Questions
- Four Types of Questions Get Us in Trouble
- How to Ask for Mentoring
When people e-mail or call me asking broad questions like:
“How can I get published?”
“How do I market my book?”
“I keep getting rejected. Tell me what to do next?”
“Should I self-publish?”
It makes me wonder what kind of response is expected, since hundreds—if not thousands—of instruction books, courses, and videos are available on these very topics!
Such questions cannot be answered in a reasonable length e-mail or phone call, and posing such questions risks disrespecting the person you’re asking. (It calls for a significant investment of time, expertise, and energy.)
So, find out everything you can on your own—go as far as you possibly can through online and offline research. Then, when you hit a real brick wall or dilemma, ask a very specific question that will help you take the next step.
That’s the way to ask a question that respects a person’s expertise.
Finally—especially when you ask for anything that would be a favor—you need to spell out exactly what you are looking for. Don’t generally ask, “Can you help me out in any way?” Ask specifically for what you want. People who are doing the favors shouldn’t be expected to come up with what they should give you. Outline (even in a bulleted list!) things that they can quickly say “yes” or “no” to, without thinking hard about it … Because most people want to be helpful, but as soon as it becomes a complex task, they’ll save their energy for something that has far more power to impact them—like the demands of their boss or job.
Hat tip to Patricia V. Davis of Harlots’ Sauce for inspiring this post.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s aloshbennett
Jane Friedman has more than 20 years in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. She’s the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors. You can find out more about her consulting services and online classes at her website, JaneFriedman.com.
Jane, I really appreciate your posts because it sets the bar for me, prepares me for when I know I have a well-crafted story to pitch. I often find your advice to be a lifeline–I feel like such a newbie when it comes to the professional side of writing. Thanks so much.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dee Nash and CurtissAnn Matlock, Todd Rutherford. Todd Rutherford said: The Golden Rule of Professionals: Be Specific & Ask Good Questions https://bit.ly/b2qoK9 […]
@Sarah – Humbled by your comment! Thanks so much for taking the time to offer feedback.
Thank you so much for this post! It’s full of very practical advice.
I’m a big fan of asking questions in bullet point form. I like receiving e-mails like that and I’ve had great success when sending them to others. Professionals are busy people. Make the e-mail easy to scan and you’re more likely to get a thorough response.
Great point. Generally speaking, generalization is the enemy of the writer. (Har dee har har.)
No seriously. One of my favorite professors once said (much more eloquently than this) that the best way to get a reader to feel connected to your story is to make it very specific, not broad. Counterintuitive, but true. If you say, “I was sad because I’d lost someone very important to me,” that won’t have nearly the impact of saying, “My Nana passed away, alone in her nursing home, on Tuesday afternoon. I spent all of Tuesday night curled up under my father’s desk, weeping silently.”
(Just an example off the top of my head.)
Anyway, to your point, the same holds true for pitches or advice. The more specific, the better. :)
I always look forward to your posts, Jane. So informative and clear. Thank you!
Thanks for the tips!
I, too, like the idea of itemizing the list in a bullet format.
Patricia
https://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
Always look forward to your tweets and posts. The section here on the 4 types of questions that get us in trouble was especially insightful. Thanks.
Your point about the types of questions that get us into trouble underscores what I’ve always suspected: there ARE such things as bad questions.
If the question’s too vague, it seems to indicate that the person hasn’t thought through the issue enough, and isn’t respecting the other person’s expertise and time. If the question has already been answered a thousand-and-one times in other places, it seems to indicate that the person hasn’t taken the time to research the issue on their own.
Thank you for helping to educate us (me, in particular) on this crucial aspect of the publishing business.
This is great advice. So simple but so profound. It applies not only to the professional side of writing, but also the craft. Thank you!
Jane,
I’ve often thought that some of my questions get unanswered because they didn’t stand out in the text of the email. Bulleted lists are now my way to go. Thanks for the great info.
great advice.
It’s much the same skill as getting a job.
Jane,
I found myself uttering, “Thank you!” as I read this post. This advice is applicable in many ways for writers. For instance, as a member of Boulder Media Women, I find that I rarely reply to colleagues who send emails to the list asking for everything we know about independent publishing, marketing, querie letters, or anything else. Too much real estate to cover and not enough time to reply. But there is an underlying annoyance factor for me, too, and you’ve nailed it. Such general inquiries suggest that the person has not done their homework and/or are clueless about how much of your time they are asking for. Additionally, for those of us who work as freelance editors and writing coaches, there is an implied request for hours of help for free (or in trade) when those being asked for the help are trying to make a living by providing such help.
I offer a great deal of help, support, and encouragement and support to my BMW colleagues . . . and the more specific the request, the easier to give that help.
As a freelance editor, I am also surprised by queries from writers who want to know how much it will cost to edit their 250 page book–no electronic file of the manuscript for me to look at, no specificity on the kind of editing they think they need, no apparent sense that the cost is intimately connected with the quality of their work.
Okay, I believe this has been a rant. Ahhhhhh. Thanks for that. And thanks for this post!
Walk in Beauty
Melanie Mulhall
Great advice for professionals! Must follow the golden rule or else!