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: A Repurposing Success Story

I was too in love with this lead to let it go. So, even though this particular query failed more than once, I was eventually able to use its subject — and a variation of its first sentence — in a story on balancing a full-time job with a start-up business. Dear Ms. Editor: Not […]

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 […]