"The whole goal was to maybe demystify things - provide that younger me with the tool that I wish I had 15, 16 years ago. And maybe I can help other people lower the barrier of entry, let them know what is normal about rejection and rejection rates, and how to find people."
"Until you have a big body of work and you're a name and you have relationships with editors, a lot of times you're pitching cold. So you, in 500 words - or depending on the magazine maybe it's up to 1,500 words - you gotta sell yourself: Why is this story relevant? Who am I, and why am I the best person to tell it?"
"He asks writers for the original pitches they used to sell stories to publications. Then he has them break down those pitches in articles with small, embedded audio clips. He publishes monthly, free for readers."
Brendan O'Meara struggled with pitching stories as a freelance writer in 2010, lacking knowledge about editors, pitch formats, and where to begin. After building a successful career writing for publications like Writer's Digest and Trail Runner Magazine, and hosting The Creative Nonfiction Podcast for 13 years, he developed Pitch Club. This free monthly Substack publication features original pitches from writers who sold stories to publications, accompanied by detailed breakdowns and embedded audio clips. O'Meara designed Pitch Club to demystify the pitching process, lower barriers for new writers, normalize rejection, and teach the specific skill of tailoring pitches to particular outlets. The project addresses the challenge of cold pitching, where writers must convince editors in 500-1,500 words why a story matters and why they are the best person to tell it.
Read at Poynter
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