How to Overcome Pitching Burnout
The constant hustle is hard.
When you’re a writer, pitching and pitching can sometimes get exhausting. I ended up over-pitching back when I was freelancing, because I was trying to get my work published on many different sites. It turns out my ambition was a bit too much—and I eventually felt worn down and a bit overwhelmed by all of it.
If you’re feeling a bit of pitching burnout, here are some things that I found helped me.
1. Know that you’ll never please everyone—so don’t try.
Your work is not meant to be everywhere. Your work is meant to be where it fits the most—where it feels right. Not all editors will like your writing or what you’re writing about, because it’s such a subjective thing. My advice? Don’t try to fit in where it’s just not right. At one point in my freelance writing career, I decided more publications was important. So I went after as many sites as I could find. What I ended up finding was that some weren’t right for me—and deep down, I already knew that. When I really focused on just a few key publications that felt like they were the most ‘me,’ I could also focus my writing, my thoughts, my pitches, and I was able to establish good relationships with the editors at those sites.
2. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
This goes along with the first point I just made. One of the most tiresome things about pitching is when you spread yourself too thin. Rather than trying to pitch a whole bunch of stories to multiple publications, try picking a few and really focusing your efforts on them. Keep in mind how much you can physically get done, and don’t attempt to bite off more than you can chew.
3. Try to get to know an editor really well.
Even if it’s just one editor, getting to know them well and developing a relationship with them can help you immensely. Part of the writing game is networking, after all. And once you develop a relationship with one editor, the pitching process becomes much less intimidating and feels like much less work. The best part is that it can lead to steady work. I once wrote for a site that had several different verticals. I only knew one editor from one vertical—but after getting to know her and showing her what I can do, she recommended me to an editor from a different vertical, which led to regular writing jobs for me.
4. Take a break every now and again.
Self-care seems to be a trend among people (especially mothers)—and I think it applies to writers, too. If you’ve been pitching and pitching, you’re bound to get some rejections. Rejections can lead to feeling down in the dumps. It’s not a great way to feel. So, I recommend taking a short break from it every now and again. You don’t want the pitching to take the fun out of the writing, right?
That’s what I did when I found I started to get worn out, and I found it helped quite a bit. Hopefully it’ll help you, too!
And whatever you do—remember that pitching is tough! If you’d like some insight into how to pitch, click here for your step-by-step guide on how to pitch an online editor.
Oh, and one more thing… if you haven’t yet joined, click here to join Writerly—my closed Facebook group for writers. See you there!