My Attempt at the "30 Days of 30 Queries" Challenge

Several years ago, I came across a type of “challenge” that a writer I knew was doing. This particular writer, Natasha Khullar Relph, is one who I have networked with for some time. I have stayed connected with Natasha since first coming across her newsletter for writers, Writers Crossing. Since then, I have stayed connected with her through Absolute Write, Facebook and Twitter. I also subscribe to her newsletters and read her work any chance that I get! Natasha is a very accomplished and talented writer and she really knows her stuff! I am grateful to have crossed paths with her, albeit through the worldwide web!

 

Anyway, when Natasha mentioned she was doing “30 Days of 30 Queries,” I became curious. This experiment turned into a course she started offering to writers.

 

I never have taken the course, but I have always wondered if I could do such a thing too.

 

At the beginning of June, I decided to finally find out!

 

The problem was that, when June 1 came around, I forgot that I had forgotten how to write queries! Whoops! It has been so long since I took a break from freelance writing that I couldn’t remember how to write a query letter!

 

So, I did a bit of research. Read a whole bunch of articles on how to write a query letter, then I gave it my best shot! (I do have Angela Hoy’s book, Query Letters That Worked, and I have read it before. But…it has been some time so I guess I should give it another read!)

 

Working through nDash helped charge my memory on how to write queries, too. Of course, the pitches which I sent to brands were not in the same format as a standard query letter, but the abstracts I had to write honed my ability to be succinct, to the point, and choose my words carefully.

 

Eventually, I was able to write a query letter with ease. After a while, and with a lot of practice, the memory of how to write a query letter did come back to me. Yay!

 

When I first started sending out the queries, I had a bunch of ideas for articles to pitch. The problem was, I had a hard time finding markets for them. ARGH! Googling for the markets did not turn up much. Thankfully, I finally got a copy of the most recent edition of Writer’s Market, so that helped a lot too.

 

Then I ran out ideas for articles! There’d be days I’d be frozen at the keyboard, wondering what to pitch.

 

That was until I remembered a whole bunch of article ideas I had either saved on the computer or written down into a notebook. That helped! I also recycled pitches that had been rejected in the past, giving them a new twist. I would also pitch article or essay ideas that were rejected on nDash, where I write content for brands.

 

The next challenge was to even REMEMBER to send out a query!

 

Now, see, this is why it’s a good idea to take the course instead of trying to do it alone. I didn’t have an email from Natasha appearing in my inbox every day, reminding me to send out a query!

 

I did, however, have my To Do lists, and that did help me to remember to send out a query sometimes. But I didn’t always use my To Do list this month, because with one kid graduating from middle school and the other not only starting summer term at the university but also changing his work schedule, things were a little crazy for a while there. So on the days I didn’t use my To Do lists, I forgot to send out a query.

 

In the end, instead of sending out 30 queries for 30 days, I only ended up sending out 12 queries in the span of 30 days.  Oh, well. At least I gave this challenge a try! LOL

 

Even so, all this querying, looking for markets and jumping on opportunities to pitch markets that put out a call for pitches has gotten me hooked! That’s right: Even though the month has come to an end, I’m not going to stop sending out queries!

 

In fact, I am planning to send one out tomorrow. Maybe two.

 

That reminds me … There was one day I sent out two queries: One to a market and one to a brand on nDash. After I started working through nDash, I began to think that it wouldn’t hurt to pitch to other markets in addition to the brands I pitch to through there. I like that idea a lot and just might keep it in my routine.

 

On the other hand, I may have scored low in sending out queries this month, but I was definitely busy also sending out poetry books and short stories to contests, anthologies, magazines and websites. That’s something which I plan to continue doing as well.

 

Here are all the queries I sent out this month. Of the 12 I sent, I’m very excited I got at least one acceptance.

 

The 12 Queries I Sent in 30 Days

 

Day One: Pitched Business Insider an article idea. No response.

Day Two: Pitched Parents & Kids an article idea. No response.

Day Three: Pitched Catster about an article idea. No response.

Day Four: Pitched Longreads for an essay. Rejected.

Day Five: Pitched Oregon Coast magazine about an article idea. No response.

Day Six: Pitched Whole Life Times an article idea. No response.

Day Seven: Longreads rejected my pitch so I sent it to Mutha Magazine. They responded with a request to submit. Accepted.

Day Seventeen: Queried Bookmarks magazine about an essay. Rejected.

ALSO ON DAY SEVENTEEN: Pitched article idea on nDash. No response.

Day Eighteen: Queried Slate about an essay. No response.

Day ???: Queried WritersWeekly about an article idea. No response.

Day 30: Pitched Newsweek about an essay.

 

I am grateful for this experience. It has definitely sharpened my skills in writing a query letter (I’m glad I remembered how to do it again!). It has also gotten me interested in keeping up with it. I may not have gotten a query out every day, but I’m definitely going to keep sending them out. Always be writing! Always be pitching! That’s my new motto for the freelance writing. Who knows? Maybe I will get those 30 queries sent out 30 days in a row. What matters is that I keep tossing my name into the hat.