How to get editors to seek you, not flee you: A guide for freelancers

Editors love having freelancers they can turn to when they need a piece written well and quickly. And on the writer's side, freelancing is smoother and more productive when editors not only welcome their pitches but contact them with commissions. Building this kind of fruitful and long-term working relationship is a two-way street, however. Both freelancers and editors have obligations to each other. This workshop will focus on the writer's side of the relationship. We’ll go over what editors are looking for, from pitch to publication, what practices set off warning bells, and how best to deal with challenges that might arise along the way. The purpose of the workshop is to help you hone your freelancing skills, so when you send a pitch to an editor, they feel enthusiasm, not dread, at the sight of your email in their inbox.

Rebecca Bratten Weiss is a writer and editor who focuses on the intersection of religion and culture. She is digital editor at U.S. Catholic magazine, co-host of the Glad You Asked podcast, and a contributor to the National Catholic Reporter. Her byline has also appeared in The Christian Century, Commonweal, America Magazine, The Tablet, and Image Journal. She is the author of The Books That Made Us: Deconstructing the Modern Christian Classics (Orbis Books).