Pitching Lessons
A few weeks ago, I pitched my very first freelance article idea. Well, not my first idea, but the first idea I actually thought had a shot at getting published. It centers on an orphanage in Tijuana that Jackie and I were introduced to over a year ago. Picture a huge, colorful two-story hostel, with 100 children filling the rooms instead of international travelers. The kids are well dressed and happy; you would never guess that most were born to prostitutes and drug addicts who left them to fend for themselves in broken homes or on the streets. The orphanage directors, Connie and Tyler Youngkin, seek kids from the worst backgrounds to live at Los Ninos de la Promesa, aka “The Purple Palace,” which provides food, shelter and paid education. Jackie and I were intrigued by the place from day one, and the more the Tijuana drug war took the spotlight in the news, the more relevant the story became.
Interior view of the Purple Palace in December 2008
A one-day Mediabistro.com course titled “Breaking into Freelancing” was helpful in teaching me how to construct my pitch letter. The seminar’s instructor and well known freelance journalist, Vince Beiser, stressed the importance of linking an idea to current events and giving it a catchy headline and lead, like a miniature version of the real story. He also emphasized establishing a relationship with the editor up front and conveying why you are the best person to write the story, as I attempted to do in my letter to the San Diego Citybeat below:
“Dear Editor Rolland,
I have been in touch with Anders Wright through our mutual editor at the @UCSD Alumni Magazine and he suggested that I contact you about the following feature article idea:
A BRIGHTER SIDE OF TIJUANA–There’s something curious happening in Tijuana’s “Red Light District” besides the sale of sex and drugs. Kids laugh, sing and play soccer; guitar chords and piano keys sound; young students are doing homework, playing computer games and studying the bible. It’s all happening behind the lavender walls of Los Niños de la Promesa (The Children of Promise), an American-run orphanage where neglected children are cared for just blocks from the crumbling, graffiti-ridden streets of La Zona Norte.
Nicknamed “The Purple Palace,” the orphanage houses nearly 100 children ages one to 19. The majority are not orphans at all, but rather the children of prostitutes, drug addicts and beggars. These kids used to roam the streets all night inhaling glue, getting in fights, lighting drunkards on fire and selling little girls to pedophiles. That is, until they were pulled from the streets and their poverty-stricken realities by Poway natives Connie and Tyler Youngkin, founders of Los Ninos de la Promesa.
Examining the unending cycle of drugs and violence in Tijuana through the prism of these children would make for a very compelling story. Born into an environment of crime and deprivation, these kids have now found shelter at the Purple Palace. However, drugs, violence and crime still infiltrate their lives (even the building they live in may be owned by the Columbian mafia.) This article is not only relevant amid the explosive spike in drug violence, but it’s also original because it shines a light on the positive side of the story — efforts to alleviate crime by getting children off the streets and into an environment that instills faith and confidence and ultimately gives children options.
The story is also fascinating because Christian Americans perform much of the child protective services in the area. Do Mexican citizens like these Americans stepping in to solve their problems? It’s even more intriguing because founder Connie Youngkin used to be an infamous pro-life activist in San Diego before working with orphans in Tijuana. She served several stints in jail for her involvement with Operation Rescue and was even sued by the physicians she regularly harassed — allegedly spurring her to sell all her possessions and focus her efforts south of the border. While her picketing days may be over, her pro-life efforts continue and now she takes care of 100 neglected kids, doing her small part to prove there are no unwanted children.
I’m a freelance writer here in San Diego and I have experience writing about Tijuana and Mexico. I have won three California College Media Association Awards in the categories of best news/feature article and best news series. I already have a good relationship with Connie and Tyler Youngkin and Fransalia, a former drug-addicted prostitute who now works as the orphanage director, where her position has allowed her to reunite with the four kids she had given up. I have also become very well acquainted with many of the children and teenagers over the past year. I am proficient in interviewing in Spanish and I have contacts from other orphanages, ministry groups, a teenage drug rehab program and Tijuana Social Services. I would be happy to discuss this idea with you further at your convenience.
Thank you very much for your time. Article clips can be found at the links below. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Serena Renner
In addition to the San Diego Citybeat, I tweaked the pitch letter for the Los Angeles Citybeat, which a friend told me was planning to run a Tijuana issue. I also tried Good, Ode and Yes! on the national front because of their dedication to humanitarian causes. (Mediabistro.com has a helpful “How to Pitch” guide for many magazines, including Good and Ode).
About a month has gone by with no response — even after phone and email follow-up attempts — dampening my hopes a bit, but so goes the life of an amateur freelance journalist, caught in the viscious cycle of having no real professional clips. To top things off, the April 2 issue of the San Diego Reader published a lengthy cover story about life in Tijuana amid the current drug violence, diminishing my chances of getting published in San Diego any time in the foreseeable future!
I solicited Vince Beiser for pitching advice, who responded a few days after I sent the pitches out with some good recommendations on restructuring the pitch (damn my impatience!)
“Hi Serena. This sounds like a great story! You’ve got everything you need in this pitch. I’d suggest though that you a. cut it down by about half and b. reorganize it some. Some of the most fascinating tidbits come toward the end, when they should be in your 1st graf. The orphanage managers jail/activist past life is a great hook, as is the former prostitute reuniting with her kids through the place. Those are both GREAT hooks; don’t bury ‘em! Also I’d find a way to put it in the context of Mexico’s drug wars more prominently and higher up. Ode and Good seem like the right places to shoot for. I’m sure one of the local SD pubs would take this too, but I’d try going national first.
You can also cut down the graf about yourself. Just a line or two is all we need- awards (no need to specify the categories), Spanish proficiency, relationship with subjects.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes.”
At least Vince Beiser thinks my letter has all the needed components for a good pitch! That’s just what I needed to lift my defeated spirits to try, try again.
Stay tuned to hear about my progress getting this article published.
