How to ensure your story idea passes the “So what?” test

I love this anecdote about the proverbial keen young journo.  He runs up to his editor saying, “I’ve got a great story idea.”

Editor: “So what?”

Keen young journo: “Well, people have reported seeing sharks in the ocean just off the local beach.”

Editor: “So what?”

Keen young journo: “Well, the beach was packed and everyone was looking out at the ocean, at this one surfer who was actually paddling towards the shark, I don’t think he heard the alarm.”  (As a wannabee ocean swimmer and keen beachgoer, I have only recently realised how often I use shark attacks in my hypothetical examples. Paranoid, much?)

Editor: “So what?”

Keen young journo: “Well, the shark actually BIT the guy’s board before the surf lifesavers turned up and somehow scared the shark away.”

Editor: “Okay, that’s getting closer to a story.”

You get my drift…When you are pitching an idea to an editor, you need to get to the point early on.  Editors really do think in “So what?”  Don’t make them read on, and on, and on to find it. If the near shark attack is so far down the page your potential editor has to literally dig through to find the interesting bit, your chances of her finding it interesting are next to nil.

Editors are time poor. They’re also inundated with pitches. So that means when you’re pitching: get to the point early.

Want a bit more detail to start improving your pitching?

Here are 7 secrets of successful story pitching.

And a reminder (via this recent post) that if your pitch is going to be successful, focus, focus, focus!

Still stuck? Book a mentoring session and I’ll help you out.