WOW. That’s a good way to burn a bridge! I wonder if he realizes that his idiot behavior is not only juvenile, but destructive to his career? Something tells me he doesn’t care. Or is employed elsewhere.

Good seeing you here, Leigh. 🙂

Devon, your tangents are always welcome here. I agree with you on all counts, my friend.

I’ve done the same — pitched to a topic or pub outside of my wheelhouse. But I tend to show the editors how my background can enhance the slant they’re looking for. Like you, sometimes it works, sometimes not. It’s a gamble, but one worth trying if you truly think you can address the topic adequately.

Wow, so someone is already trying to bank on the need to transition out of Twitter? Not hard — find a different platform, work it. LOL

I taught a class on submission guidelines once, and some of the students argued about “not wanting to do it that way” and I said, “Well, then you won’t be accepted by that particular publication” and they were angry that the publication wouldn’t change to fit their whims. That’s not how it works, people.

If I see things in an ad that I don’t like, hey, I don’t pitch!

I admit, sometimes I’ve pitched myself in arenas out of my wheelhouse, but I state that I haven’t worked in that field, but this is why I think skills I’ve demonstrated in an adjacent field would translate. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. But I know it’s a stretch/risk going in.

Also, the panic from former clients from whom I did marketing work with the demise of Twitter is astonishing. They want to “know” what will work going forward. I keep telling them, none of us know. WE’re making it up and seeing which factions wind up on which platform, and then we can figure it out. I’ve seen a couple of people positioning themselves as Social Media Marketing Transition Gurus and I’m like WTF?

It’s like those “six figure freelancers” who make their 6 figures by taking money from baby freelancers trying to find a magic formula.

Tangent, sorry.

Yep, right to my third point, Jenn. If they can’t pay attention to the details, they’ve already lost. Cannot tell you how many marketing people send me article pitches, how many send pitches for experts or topics I’ve no intention of using or covering, how many will bog my inbox down with useless crap that is so far off the mark they’d need a GPS to get there ….

Listening and comprehending IS the first requirement of running a freelance writing business.

I frequently have people who subscribe for emailed leads from my job board email me directly. They don’t understand what a job board is and think I’m the hiring party. So I see a lot of lousy pitches.

They range from demanding I tell them more (Dude, there’s a link right in there to more details and telling you how to apply.) to people asking how they can start “posting” (on my site, which is in no way related to the job ads they’re responding to).

It’s exhausting. And I ignore them at this point. If you can’t handle reading and following basic applicant instructions, I’m certainly not interested in hiring you, nor would I ever recommend or wish you on another potential client.