Pitching: The Swings, Misses, and Hits

Rejection is not only something every single one of us has experienced, it’s a universal truth for just about every living being on this planet. Chances are good that at some point in your life, you’ve been rejected for a job. Maybe Joe Perfect had a better resume than you. Maybe Cindy Sunshine had a bubblier personality during her interview. But the outcome was the same – someone was chosen over you.

It’s a fact of life, and it happens to the best of us. In jobs, in relationships, in our ideas, for our artistic creations. If you haven’t been rejected, you’ve likely spent the vast majority of your life living inside a literal cave, Neanderthal style, with no contact to the outside world. Yet even in a cave the bats might avoid you – rejected by a tiny flying mammal.

But of all those who experience the woe of rejection, it seems writers top the list of recipients more than most.

I’ve got a hefty stockpile of “Thanks but no thanks” emails from my former novel-querying and current copy-pitching days. While sifting through a folder full of endless “No’s” can be depressing, it’s also an invaluable learning tool. What works, what doesn’t work, how can my approach improve? Furthermore, it’s guaranteed admission to that darkest of circles which bonds every writer on the face of the Earth: The Circle of Rejection. I don’t care what anyone says, if your writing has been accepted on the very first try, then you ain’t a real writer. You’re some secret government experiment cooked up in an underground lab and frankly, you scare me.

Jokes aside, let’s talk about pitching, and why every writer needs to do it in spite of the inevitable influx of “Nah man I’m good” responses. The simple answer is that without pitching, you will never get anywhere as a writer. Unless your name is Domino and Lady Luck is eternally on your shoulder, opportunities won’t simply fall into your lap. You have to work for them. You have to fight for them. Translation: you HAVE to pitch.

Each “No” means you’re one step closer to getting that coveted “Yes”. You might swing, you might miss. You might bunt some that take you a few feet into the diamond but no farther. But then, you might knock one out of the park, and once you hit that one, the rest become muscle memory. It’s just a matter of knocking on the right door at the right time with the right person waiting to answer.

Never give up in your search for that.

~J.B,