How do you save face after botching an article query?

[Roey1275]

I feel like such an idiot. After months of researching various magazines, I pitched an article idea to the one magazine I did not read several back issues of-- and they just happen to have printed an article on a very similar topic back in December! I have a few ideas as to how I can respond back to the editor without making it obvious I erred in my due diligence as a freelance writer to know the publication before pitching. If you have another idea, please add it to this list. I am so mad at myself as I have several other article ideas which may be suitable for this particular magazine, but I fear I have now lost credibility with the editor

If a red flag pops up in your mind regarding any of my proposed solutions, please let me know! On the other hand, if one solution has worked for you or you believe it would be my best option, express that as well.

To get more specific, the article idea I pitched was in regard to running a feature piece covering the specifc topic of diagnosing and managing food intolerance. In my query, I referenced my children's digestive disorder-- one that prevents them from properly digesting both sugar and starch. My hope was to bring awareness to this type of food intolerance as it is rarely mentioned in any consumer reference regarding food allergies or intolerance in children. The article the magazine had recently published focused primarily on food allergies, only referenced food intolerance briefly and did not mention genetic enzyme deficiencies or the fact some children can be intolerance to starch in addition to gluten. Since I did not realize they had published the article, I failed to reference it in my original query, thus failing to mention how this article would be a wonderful follow-up article which could also include simple recipes or tips on approaching the child's pediatrician when a food intolerance is suspected.

My thought in "saving face" in order from least favorite to ideal:

1) Ignoring the editor's response and send a new query covering a different topic, in hopes she forgets my error (and my name from the previous pitch).

2) Pretend I had read the article and only erred in not referencing it in my query, all the while making the argument that my article idea is very different from the one they had already published.

3) Be completely honest, and apologize for overlooking that particular issue while I was researching publications where I felt this article would fit best. Praise the magazine and mention I had been an avid reader for many years when I first became a parent, and know how important this magazine is to other parents during the first years of their children's lives. Admit, I have slacked in keeping up in my reading since my children have grown, and let her know I have several other article topics that do not mimick recent topics and that I will be contacting her again in the near future once I complete my research. Pitch the article to a different publication after making sure they have not already published something on food intolerance or allergies in the past 6 months.

4) Admit I had overlookied that particular article and offer to change the slant a bit, listing action items for parents to do after discovering their child has food intolerance or allergies, such as batch baking specialty foods, communicating with teachers or day care providers regarding the intolerance, and recipes geared toward particular food intolerance such as dairy-free, sucrose-free, starch-free and gluten-free meals and snacks.

If you have experienced this grave error while pitching to an editor, were you able to save face using a different approach?

Any comments or suggestions would be helpful

Thanks!

BTW-- I am on my way to the library this moment to check out the last 6 issues of this magazine and to read it very carefully before sending out another query to this editor

[rosebud]

I don't have much experience in this sort of thing but I tend to like solution #4. It's honest and offers an alternative solution. I don't think it would be a good idea to overdo the explanation and this option is open to the prospect of keeping the issue in the forefront since more children are experiencing this problem. Even if they don't publish it now, it would be a good back to school article. Just my opinion.

[FBaron]

#4. Apologize for missing that article, without a lot of verbiage (reasons/explanations/butt kissing). Keep it short and professional. Then push the follow-up/expansion angle.

Honesty is darn-near always the best policy for writers, especially in our dealings with others in the industry. If you're going to develop a reputation in the freelance game, make it one of honesty and professionalism. If you marry that with good work, before long, editors will be calling you offering gigs.

[Jowen]

Honesty is darn-near always the best policy for writers, especially in our dealings with others in the industry. If you're going to develop a reputation in the freelance game, make it one of honesty and professionalism. If you marry that with good work, before long, editors will be calling you offering gigs.

I agree with FBaron. Honesty is almost always the best policy.

I would thank the editor for her response to your query and apologise for missing the December article, but not mention a follow-up article yet. They likely wouldn't publish another piece on the same subject so soon, anyway. You could pitch an article on a different subject. I would wait at least six months before querying the follow-up to the first article, then query with fresh information and a different slant, making reference to the December 2011 article (which you will now have read).

[EccentricKim]

While I do agree with number 4, I'm sure there is a market out there for your article, and if you want to change the slant that's fine, but you can pitch that one to someone else.

[Roey1275]

Thanks everyone! Here is what I ended up sending back to the editor (and I did pitch the article to a different magazine for the time being as well)...

Dear (health editor of said magazine),

I appreciate your response and can understand why covering food intolerance may adhere as a little too similar to the food allergy article. Although my intent was to present the contrasting challenges of diagnosing food intolerance as compared to food allergies--such as a much more difficult road map to diagnosis-- I am more than happy to take the idea to another publication that has not recently published a similar topic. If, however, in the future, you are interested in a follow-up article that presents recipe ideas, tips for traveling, or the topic of genetic enzyme deficiencies and how children do not outgrow these as often as allergies, please let me know.

In the meantime, I have several other article topics in the works in which I will be contacting you about in the near future.

Once again, thank you for your time and have a wonderful weekend!

Regards,

Roanne L. King

This way I am not admitting or denying that I read the article prior to my original query, remaining honest, but not looking foolish at the same time. Luckily, the published article did not actually mention food intolerance in much detail, so I was able to stick with my original topic while rewording my intent. I am hoping this will go over well with her and that she will remain open to my future queries on topics she has not recently covered

[James A. Ritchie]

Maybe I'm missing it, but exactly what did the editor say? If the editor simply rejected your article because another, similar article was published earlier, there's no need to respond at all. It happens on a daily basis at pretty much any magazine. Most often, it happens several times per day.

It's a lesson for you, and it means you should try to read the magazines you submit to, or at least get the list of article titles they've used in the last couple of years, but it's no big deal, and editors don't think twice about it. You don't need to save face, or to apologize. You just send the query to a different magazine, and send this editor a new one.

[Pat Pechon]

I'm with James on this one. I would think Editors have an amazing amount of reading, who needs all the extra? Play it like an attorney would advise.

Unless asked... Why explain? If you made a mistake drawing attention to it doesn't serve you. And keeping quiet isn't dishonest, if you're on some sort of moral stance. (I'm not sure why that comes into it anyway)

Read the magazine you're submitting to. And even if you do, is there a possibility you may have missed an issue? How does that diminish what you've written?

I wouldn't sweat the small stuff.