All About the Pitch—Getting Your Writing Noticed

Whether you want to write a first-person essay, how-to, reported piece or profile, a good pitch letter with a great spin on a topic, timely element, newsy connection, or an unusual personal experience will capture the attention of an assigning editor. Editors receive hundreds of pitches a day, and as a magazine editor, adjunct professor for NYU, pitching instructor for WD, widely published journalist, writing coach, and "All About the Pitch" columnist for WD, Estelle Erasmus knows how to break through the noise to elicit an editor’s interest. The first part of the session will feature pro tips and tricks—such as how to: write to the reader, spin a topic, mine for ideas and instantly pique an editor’s interest from the first sentence—all tactics Estelle and her students have used to go viral in The New York Times and The Washington Post. In the second part, she will review pitches and show what makes them work. You can also submit your pitch to her for consideration by emailing her at estellesedge2022@gmail.com and put PITCH FOR WD CONFERENCE in the subject line.

Difficulty level: beginner

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