Failed Queries: Don’t Give Up on a Good Story

Here is another failed query that worked — after two years of trying. My profile based on this pitch, originally drafted in 2012, is scheduled for publication later this month. Its subject is working on a second cookbook, which made for an ideal opportunity to revisit the query and send an updated version to markets […]

Failed Queries: Here’s one that worked — after a few tries

Since this month boasts five Tuesdays, I offer a query that actually worked in place of the usual Failed Queries feature — albeit not at the first publication I pitched. So, don’t trash a query after the first rejection. And, for freelancers who are curious about how a query might translate into a full-length piece, […]

Failed Queries: Take it from turtles and keep truckin’

Here is yet another entry in the Failed Queries category. Good thing I take the same approach as turtles. We may be turned away at times, but slow and steady really can win the race. Dear Ms. Editor: Turtles haven’t changed much in the last 210 million years, and their genes prove slow and steady […]

Failed Query: Timely Research Can Kill a Query

This failed query illustrates the dangers of using research (in this case, a survey from November 2012) that may be considered time sensitive as the crux of a pitch to a monthly magazine that could have a six-month lead time. Dear Ms. Editor: A survey released in November shows an increasing number of shoppers are […]

Failed Queries: Local Business, Freelancer Fall on Hard Times

This month’s failed query comes to you a week early because I am excited to announce next Tuesday will mark my first-ever post from a guest blogger. Please check back then for a post on writing flash fiction by J, creator of Don’t Delete Me and fellow Blogging 201 alum. Meanwhile, here’s a failed query […]