Description
Most writers have so many story ideas collecting dust on post it notes and in their head. But do you sometimes come across a great idea, scribble it down and forget about it? Or do you struggle to remember who you’ve pitched, and fail to follow up with editors? If so, a proper system will organise your ideas and help you get more pitches over the line. And that’s where our pitch tracker comes in.
This user-friendly Excel spreadsheet is a great way to keep track of all your pitches, from idea stage to filing stage. Interactive graphs show how many pitches you’ve sold and how many you need to follow up on. You can also jot down feedback you’ve received on a pitch and re-pitch it for a new client or publication.
Easily one of our most popular downloads, the pitch tracker guarantees you’ll never let a great story idea go to waste again. Now available in our discounted Pitch Perfect freelancer bundle!
This tool is compatible with Microsoft Excel and Google Chrome’s free Excel extension.
Extra resources when pitching stories
If you’re often pitching to editors and clients, don’t forget to take a look at the blog posts we’ve written on pitching. These are just a few that’ll get you in the mood to start hitting up editors and filling in your pitch tracker with brilliant ideas.
How to pitch (and get a yes)
No-one ever teaches you how to pitch, and editors rarely have the time to give you feedback. But I can tell you how powerful the joy of getting a great pitch is. When you get one, not only do you commission (or plan to commission) straight away. You will frequently find more work for that writer from your own pool of ideas, because you think, ‘This person gets what we’re doing’. So I thought I’d compile a list of do’s and don’ts for pitching to editors. Mainly because it’s in my interests as an editor to get great story pitches—it saves me from having to generate ideas.
My top 8 rules for pitching
Pitching is a bit of an art, no matter which corner of the creative world you’re in. Every pitch I send, I learn something. Sometimes an editor will write back and re-angle an idea of mine in a genius way I just didn’t think of, but can file away for next time. Some of my pitches are bought immediately, other stories I think are awesome never get traction. It’s a gamble. But here are my rules for getting the green light more often than not.
10 ways to generate story ideas
It’s mentally taxing to come up with ideas that will be rejected. So I’ve laid out these ten way of coming up with stories to take a bit of that cognitive load off. Following them won’t give you a list of stories that will definitely be commissioned. But it will make it easier to come up with multiple ideas and do so regularly.
Nigel Bartlett –
I absolutely love the pitch tracker. I’ve started using it today, filling it in with pitches and emails I’ve sent out in the past 10 days. It makes me realise how much I’m doing – it’s so easy to get to the end of the day and think “what have I even done today?” when actually I’ve been contacting quite a few people. Such a brilliant tool. Thank you!
jones.pm@outlook.com –
I’ve just received the updated pitch tracker from Rachels List. It’s even more useful than the old version with new features that keep the status of your pitches/story ideas front and centre – even that obscure story idea you had months ago that you didn’t action at the time and forgot about. Love it!
marina.williams@bigpond.com –
Love this! Such a handy, easy-to-use tool to keep track of ideas, pitches, time … all in one place. Would recommend. Thanks Rachel!
Amber Cortes –
You’ll never lose track of another story idea again! This pitch tracker helps you keeps tabs on all your pitches, type and status, from story idea to story filed! I feel much more in control of my pitches and ideas with this tool. The dashboard is a great way to see all your hard work come together. Thanks, Rachel!
Belinda Jackson –
Right. This is it. I’m going to get organised this year (oh wow, April already?) This pitch tracker is a little cracker, I’ve just bought the income tracker too, my accountant won’t know what hit him. Thanks for a great, budget-friendly product, Rachel!