Freelancing FAQ

yes and the frustration of missing things bcz outlet x takes a while to get back (where "a while" can be extremely variable)

i guess there's a judgment here about what "quicker" is? if i wait until a potential new outlet gives me a definitive no i may be waiting forever -- and some projects are much more time-tied than others. i've missed things before because my first choice outlet was (in my opinion) more sluggish than they should have been.

i guess based on my own reply etiquette i'd say a fortnight is long enough to assume a monthly is not going to reply (yr project is lost in their unread email sludge) but is a week me being too impatient?

Oh, a week to ten days really is the max, that's not you being impatient imo. Assuming you know yr shit (you do) and sent it to the right person etc. It's a tricky thing to figure out though, no doubt, and I don't think there's a golden rule of thumb.

Thinking about it now, and this sounds very un-2020 but, an approach that usually gets me a result (= a commission) is to speak to someone on the phone first, run my idea by them, and then agree to send a detailed rundown of the idea via email. This way you'll get to wind them around your finger and unleash your massive charm, and also get an idea if they'll bite or not. But you have to feel comfortable doing that (and sort of know if the other party does not hate phone calls, in which case, don't call them lol).

Another good trick is to figure out as best you can what their production cycle is and pitch as soon as they've sent an issue to press, when they can absolutely devote time and attention to your pitch (as opposed to mid-cycle, when everyone's frantic and non-essential emails are deleted unread en masse).

lol i am highly phonephobic LBI and wd certainly anxiously chatter any coldcall target into rejecting an idea that i can probably woo them with on (e)paper

unperson, yes absolutely, good tactic

an unexpectedly pleasing aspect of this moment is that many of my peers are retiring and commissioning editors are from a successor generation: i get less "ffs this weirdo again, tell him no" and more "omg the legendary (if weird) mark s, tell him no" haha