Hey writer friends,
One of the best parts of my week is on Wednesday when we have our Wordling Plus live weekly call.
We usually do a mix of coaching, workshops, and trainings. Sometimes I’ll run a Hot Seat call, where I help members work through specific problems. Other times I’ll do workshops where we’ll talk about a particular aspect of writing and then implement it right there on the call. I’m big on combining learning with action and so I try to bring that to every single one of our calls.
Yesterday was our Pitch Critique Workshop, where I took three pretty good pitches and helped our members see why they might not be selling.
I love calls like this because it brings to the surface issues that all writers, regardless of their experience level, come up against.
It’s so easy to think you know exactly what a story is without realizing you haven’t communicated it on the page.
That happened yesterday. When I asked a member what she most loved about her story, she got incredibly excited and talked through why the idea appealed to her. I had to point out that some of those key details had never made it into her pitch.
This is far more common than you’d think, and it’s something I have to look out for in my own pitches as well.
What is obvious to you is not necessarily obvious to your reader.
It reminded me of a coaching client I had a few years ago, who insisted he’d put important information in a pitch and got really frustrated with me when I kept repeating it wasn’t there. Eventually I asked him to email me again, this time highlighting the places where he was making those aspects of his story clear.
His next email was one of complete and utter shock. And on our next call, neither of us could stop laughing.
This client was one of the best writers I’ve ever worked with. Regardless of his frustration with me, he was open to being challenged and willing to implement my suggestions—and, as a result, ended up placing those pitches in The Economist, Financial Times, and more.
It’s so incredibly common for writers to get in our heads and believe that we’ve been clear about what we want to say—or, in agent and client relationships, about what we want or need.
Hence the advice to step away from a piece of work. To get feedback and critiques. And to practice every chance you get.
Because the more you do it, the more likely that you’ll develop the instinct for spotting inconsistencies and gaps in clarity.
Ultimately leading to more assigned stories and prestigious bylines from high-paying publications.
Cheers,
Natasha