Editors
If you are trying to get something published you have to always have the editor foremost in your mind. No matter how important you think you story is, no matter how badly you want it to get published, none of it matters if the editor does not want to publish your story.
Even if you think your story will change the world, you have to go about getting it published in a way that best suits the editor. Not yourself. If you barge into his office and tell him to publish your story because it will change the world, he probably will not listen to you. He has too many other stories and things to think about.
One thing you should do before you even pitch your story is contact the editor and see if he would be interested in your story. If he is too busy with other things then it is not a likely chance that he would really look at your article. But if you contact him and find that he is not too busy and that he would like to see your story, it is better for you.
Having already contacted him would make it so that there was already a kind of connection there when he received your pitch. He would not see yours and ignore it; he would open it and read what you have to say.
Having this in place it is important then that you have a good pitch with a great headline. If you have a great headline and then a great pitch then he will be very impressed and it is just one step closer for you to getting your story published.
Editors receive a lot of story pitches and they probably do not have time to go through and read all of the ones they receive. If someone sends in a story pitch and it does not have and interesting headline they probably will not even open it and read it. They will read the ones that appear to be worth their time.
After he has received your pitch you need to know whether or not he is and editor that likes you to follow up with a phone call. Some editors do not like this and some do. If the editor you are working with does not like it then you definitely do not want to do it. You will not get your story published by irritating him.
A great way to find out about the editor and what he likes and dislikes is through a media directory. You can purchase these in book form or you can find some on the Internet. If you know what he likes and dislikes it will be much easier to work with him and get on his good side.
You always have to remember that editors have a completely separate job from you and a completely separate life and to them, you are just another person that wants his story published.
They do not have to publish your story. They have tons of other stories coming in from other people that they could choose from. They could find their own stories. All they are trying to do is find the best one so that they can do well at their job.
So what you are trying to do is provide them with the best one. Have a great headline and a great pitch, catch their attention right at first. If you do then it is a lot more likely that your story will get published and they will not just pass it right by. You have to make them interested in you because they do not need to be interested in you and won't be interested in you unless you can grab their attention.
To read more articles about editors and what to do when working with them, you can go to the following links:
http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/where_to_find_headline_ideas_that_grab_editors_att_000091.html
http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/increase_your_publication_odds_contact_the_editor_1_000040.html
http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/editors_pet_peeves_000118.html
http://101publicrelations.com/sr39.html?s=prideas&c=writing_headlines
