Writing Coach Podcast 174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today

WCP174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today

Running out of reasons to avoid pitching? I’ve got you covered with 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today.  Many of these can be adapted to be reasons why you should not write anything else today, like the article you were assigned last week, or your book proposal, or your novel.

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Running out of reasons to avoid pitching? I’ve got you covered with 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today. 

Many of these can be adapted to be reasons why you should not write anything else today, like the article you were assigned last week, or your book proposal, or your novel.

You’ll probably recognize a few of these reasons as ones you already believe to be true. Those seem real, immutable. Pick another one that you’ve never used as a reason not to write a pitch.

I want you to experience how quickly we can take something we’ve never believed to be true, and with a little attention, can create all kinds of supporting evidence to make it real. Something we can solidly believe in. Solid like a block that we can’t pass.

Once you see how easy it is to create a synthetic writer’s block, you’ll also see more readily that you have the option not to buy into and believe the other stories you’re telling yourself that prevent you from the work you really want to be doing.

100+ reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today:

1. I don’t have any ideas.
2. I don’t know who to pitch.
3. I don’t know what to include in a pitch. [Psst … grab a copy of my free guide on how to pitch.]
4. I don’t want to risk rejection.
5. My pitches never get accepted.
6. Pitching is a waste of time.
7. My portfolio is out of date.
8. I don’t have relevant clips to include.
9. It’s going to be [holiday] soon.
10. It’s [holiday] today so they’re probably not at work or reading email.
11. It was [holiday] last week and everyone’s still catching up.
12. It’s [any day of the week] today.
13. It’s [any time of day] now, which isn’t a good time to send email.
14. I’d rather do [anything else].
15. I’ve got [anything else] to do.
16. I’ll do it [any other time in the future].
17. The last editor didn’t reply to my pitch.
18. These places don’t pay enough.
19. I don’t know how much these places pay.
20. My pitch isn’t good enough.
21. I need to research more.
22. My pitch is too long.
23. My pitch isn’t developed enough.
24. I don’t know how to develop the story idea.
25. This has already been done a million times.
26. I’m more of a wannabe writer.
27. Hitting “send” is the hardest part.
28. I have nothing new to say.
29. I hate pitching.
30. I wish clients would just come to me with the work.
31. I’m too old for this.
32. I don’t have enough experience.
33. I don’t know any editors.
34. I don’t know if I’d be able to deliver the article.
35. I’m a nobody.
36. I don’t have enough clips.
37. I don’t have recent enough clips.
38. I don’t have relevant enough clips.
39. Those clips I have were a fluke.
40. I only have those clips because that editor liked me.
41. This is too hard.
42. This is too scary.
43. This should be easy.
44. I’m too slow.
45. I should know how to do this by now.
46. I should have everything figured out by now.
47. I don’t know why nobody assigns my pitches.
48. I don’t know how to get to the point of the story.
49. This doesn’t have a good strong angle.
50. I doubt I can do this.
51. I haven’t taken the time to find publications that are a good fit.
52. I can’t decide who to pitch to.
53. This story would probably be better told than somebody other than me.
54. I don’t know how to get this editor’s attention and give them what their readers want.
55. I have a mental block against pitching.
56. I want to tweak this pitch for days without really changing anything.
57. I lack the confidence to pitch my own ideas.
58. I’d rather not pitch than risk a rejection or silence.
59. I need some motivation.
60. I need some momentum.
61. I need some experience.
62. I need some courage.
63. I need some commitment.
64. I need to narrow the focus down.
65. I need to widen the scope.
66. I don’t want to write in the same niche any more and don’t know how to break out.
67. I don’t know what to lead with.
68. Pre-reporting for a pitch is very time consuming.
69. I don’t want to keep selling myself short.
70. That editor might pinch my idea and give it to another writer.
71. I have more hope if I don’t try and fail.
72. I haven’t got it all figured out yet.
73. I’m too much of a perfectionist to send out this hot mess.
74. I’m too much of a perfectionist to get started.
75. I’ve never done this before.
76. I’ve done this too many times.
77. I keep drawing a blank.
78. Pitching makes me feel insecure and deflated.
79. I’m too insecure to sound confident in the pitch.
80. I resent doing this unpaid work that may not lead to anything.
81. I can’t figure out what the story is about until the whole thing is almost done.
82. There’s no reason why I should do this piece instead of a million other writers.
83. Editors don’t seem to get what I’m trying to do.
84. I don’t want to give away too much.
85. I don’t want to give too little.
86. I don’t give myself enough time to develop ideas to their full potential.
87. I don’t want to pitch before securing the interviews, and I don’t want to ask for an interview before securing the assignment.
88. I don’t have enough time.
89. My writing isn’t up to the standards of the places where I want to be published.
90. I’ve never written for [any publication] before.
91. I’ve never written for a [any niche] publication before.
92. I get nervous very easily. And I don’t like it.
93. I’m not a funny/serious/[any adjective] enough writer.
94. I was raised to be humble and modest and selling myself doesn’t feel good.
95. I have a bunch of other pitches out and I don’t want them to all get assigned at once.
96. I’m not sure if I want my name on this story.
97. I find it hard to express myself. I can’t find the words.
98. I need a deadline to get anything done.
99. [Any genre or interest] stories are so hard to sell these days.
100. I don’t know who my sources will be.
101. I feel inadequate and am afraid of being judged.
102. My confidence is wavering.
103. This isn’t timely.
104. Finding a hook is so hard.
105. I’m a thinker and a writer, not a salesperson.
106. If they say no I will take it as a personal rejection.
107. They’ll never say yes to this.
108. Cold pitching doesn’t work.
109. I have no social media presence.
110. My website is out of date.
111. The kitchen stove is really dirty. I better clean it first.

MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE

WCP 144 Archives Vol. V: What’s your (writing) problem?

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What should you include in a pitch to an editor?  

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