S4 Bonus 02: The Confidence To Pitch the New York Times

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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Genius Womxn Podcast. I'm your host, Yulia, Denisyuk, an award-winning travel photographer and writer with work in some incredible publications like National Geographic, AFAR Magazine, and more. And this year you see my name in places like Conde Nast Traveler. I'm on a mission to help other women who want to grow their trouble, storytelling, careers, go after their dreams while feeling supported, worthy, and bold. If you're ready to ditch your fear and doubts to the side, step into your brilliance and take action on your dreams. You're in the right place. Let's go.

[00:00:40] Hi, everyone. All throughout December and January, we're sharing bonus episodes with you. As we're taking a little break in preparation for our upcoming season five of the podcast. In this bonus episode, I'm sharing with you a conversation we had in the. Every week in the circle, we hold a 30 minute check-in with our members that I call a vision mindset.

[00:01:03] Check-in in this conversation where discussing the ups and downs of pitching and celebrating the fact that our members are confident now to pitch the New York times. We also talk about expanding the definition. The squat being in the creative career even means for you. And just to note that every conversation from the circle that you hear as part of these bonus series is shared with permission from our members.

[00:01:29] Okay. Let's dive in. 

[00:01:32] before we start sort of, I want to hear how, all of you are feeling this week. Um, just something that popped up on my feed. Uh, Uh, this morning, you know, Facebook has one of those, um, memories or whatever. So a memory today from September 13, 20, uh, 2016, where my first pitch to afar was accepted.

[00:01:53] And I said in that note, when I was sharing that, that, you know, after months of trying finally, my first, our pitch was accepted. So. Just something to, to remind all of us that sometimes it does really take a long time. It really does, you know, but I think the question, at least the question that came up in my head this morning when I was thinking about it is, well, how bad do you really want it?

[00:02:18] You know, because I was obsessing over a farm magazine for years. Literally for years, I was still in corporate. I was. I had no idea how I could, you know, like do any of this. I, I absolutely have no line of sight to that, but I was reading their magazine and I was like, like, this is the dream, you know, I want to work with.

[00:02:39] And yeah, it took literally months of pitching and trying different ideas and figuring out what they want, what they're looking for. Right. Because that's something that we always talk about. Like even when you just read their, their guidelines, which now a lot more magazines are starting to post, you know, which is a good thing still, you might not, uh, Exactly grasp from those guidelines.

[00:03:03] What is this particular editor looking for, right. That you can only really get and hone into from interactions, right? From, from pitching them, the front ideas from seeing what they say. Hopefully they're really good at responding, right. And little by little that's how you sort of hone into, uh, you know, offering them something that will eventually buy it.

[00:03:24] And they will eventually take. Yeah, this is not for the faint of heart at for sure. Right. We don't sugar coat it. It's not, um, it's not going to be this, like, you know, the first time I pitched somebody, Hey, they took it. Although that sure happens as well. Right. Even in this group, we've already seen, uh, some people, uh, get that, but again, how good, how bad do you really want it?

[00:03:48] Ride with some of those dream stories, dream publications that you want to work with. It's going to take time. You guys. Yeah. This morning was a reminder for me that it took me months to break into a far, once I started pitching them, like. Systematically, it took me months to get a story that they, that they eventually assigned.

[00:04:08] You know? So just, just something for us to keep in mind. Cause I know it can be frustrating. Right. I, I, I hear, I hear that from all of you. You know, uh, losing momentum, not getting any responses from editors, not feeling like you don't really have ideas to pitch at the moment and then wondering, well, what, you know, what the hell am I doing?

[00:04:30] Like, I know all of this. I've, I've gone through all of this myself. I think just when you go through periods like that, just don't forget. Right. Or remember how bad do you really want it? And remember that it's going to take time and, uh, we have to be resilient in that way. And you know, if we, if we have this dream, if we have this goal, we've got to keep working at it, even when it's absolutely horrible.

[00:04:56] And absolutely you're getting no, um, feedback. Right from the universe, you could get no feedback from the universe for weeks or months at a time. And then it's in those moments really where you get tested and you're like, okay, I still have to keep going. I just have to, because how bad do I really want it?

[00:05:16] You know? Um, so anyhow, just wanted to share that with you, because popped up in my feed that afar is anniversary with my work is, you know, uh, yesterday. So. Yeah, hopefully it will help you in, in some of those challenges. 

[00:05:33] And by the way, you know, sometimes it can be really frustrating because for example, the editor that I worked with at a far she left and she loved me, man. She would, she would send me stuff to work on and, and ever since she left, I can't find an editor that I would have the same relationship.

[00:05:49] So I pitched them a couple of things and haven't been able to, uh, to place those things since, since that editor left. Right. So it's like, Again, this industry is not for the faint of heart because that can happen to right. The editor that loves you leaves. But the good thing is that editor, she went to Conde Nast traveler, which I'm not complaining about.

[00:06:12] Right. Um, but still, you know, so now at a far I don't have that relationship anymore and almost like I have to start from scratch with someone else. So that's, that's the other consideration there. Um, But, yeah. Thank you, Charlotte. Yes. Um, my fr anniversary today. Um, any thoughts, any, anything that's on your minds this week that you want to share with us?

[00:06:36] Well, I think like just what you were saying Yulia about, um, The importance of learning the publication. Like I'm kind of learning some of my mistakes a little bit. Like, you know, I, I shared in that group texts that the only thing I really got back from the wellness editor from the times was, you know, Hey, thanks so much, not us.

[00:06:57] And then I went back and I really kind of read some of those pieces and I thought, oh, like, I could kind of see how. In my opinion. I tried to make it too far reaching. And maybe if I had honed it in more, it would have been a little more than maybe not. Maybe it's still too fringe, but then like over the weekend I was researching, we'd talked about Cosmo and I was researching that for a different article and even just reading their guidelines.

[00:07:22] I haven't heard back from the New York times on that one yet, but I was like, oh my gosh, this might be better. Yeah. They're asking for personal narrative for feature length. Like I was like, that's what they want. And so that was kind of eyeopening to me that, yeah, it's good to take like that. Um, what's the word I'm looking for?

[00:07:40] Not venue or the, um, the, the, the, the publication that you want and go after it, but it also has to be well suited to what it is they want. Yeah. So I think that was kind of, I don't know, a little lesson, but I felt like that was what you were kind of saying, like, you know, you, you have to look at that too.

[00:07:56] Yeah. And frame it as a mistake. Right. Let's frame it as a lesson for sure. And you know, which actually reminds me because you and I. Uh, we were on the, on, uh, w we were during our one-on-one session. We were looking at New York times rights and we determined together that the wealth section would be good.

[00:08:14] But what, what did we do at that point? We looked at the headlines. We didn't read the actual pieces. So that's a good reminder, actually, that, okay. The headlines can say one thing, but then you have to read at least a couple of pieces to really, like you're saying, get a feel for the types of stories they do, which within doing the session.

[00:08:32] Right. Because the headlines can be misleading sometimes because you know, sometimes the headline doesn't really match with the pieces of bottle it's because headlines are often clickbait. Um, so that's a good reminder, but yeah, no, I mean, honestly, the only way you're gonna learn for sure is by doing yeah.

[00:08:54] If you didn't pitch the New York times travel, you didn't, you wouldn't even have this realization right now. And I'm sure you have a new level of understanding of how this process. By pitching them, you know? Um, so I count that as a win in my book that he pitched them, that you learned something. Yeah. You know, you got a negative response from them, but you got a response and now you have a better understanding of where that piece that you have, um, uh, is gonna, is gonna fit with.

[00:09:22] So that's, that's a win in my book. 

[00:09:24] Absolutely. I agree. And I think too, I just tried to really take a second over the weekend and let it settle in that an editor from the New York times had sent me an email, like where I was a year ago. That was so not even in the realm of my reality. And I just was like, you know what?

[00:09:38] That's cool. Like, it didn't work out here, but that's a really, I thought it was a really cool thing. 

[00:09:43] let's celebrate that. Then this is your reality. Now that the New York times that it's always responding to you where a year ago it would not have been the case. Right. I love how you framed it because that's actually, that's half of the battle right there.

[00:09:56] You framing all of the things that happen to you in a way that allows you to continue and be excited. Instead of saying, I think, you know, I didn't, they didn't accept my pitch. You'll say, wow. And that is sort of the year science respondents to me. And now I'm excited to pitch this to Cosmo or somewhere, you know?

[00:10:16] Uh, and, and that, that is half the battle right there. I think so. Congrats. That's awesome. 

[00:10:24] Thanks again for listening to our bonus episodes today. I hope you found the ideas we discussed here. Helpful as we all move into 2022 happy new year, dear friends, and I wish you all the best in the beginning of this next year of your journeys. I'll see you next week in 2022.