Sometimes it feels like everyone is miles ahead of you in journalism because we don’t talk about rejection enough. Even the best journalists get pitches turned down, have bad ideas and lose out on jobs. So journos, share a rejection story and what you learned from it. #PitchedOff

@the2ndsource My goodness - where to start? Recent rejections include: “this pitch just isn’t as strong as you think it is” and “it’s a bit cringey and naive”. 😅🤣 What I learned? You can’t please ‘em all. Shrug it off and keep digging deeper.

@the2ndsource Omg where to start. If you’re a professional writer it’s precisely *because* you’ve learned to cope with rejection; roll with the punches. I know a lot of incredible writers with bylines at the very top and this applies to 100% of them.

@the2ndsource Not a specific story, but never forget that the “rejection” means much more to you than it does the editor. Its not personal, on another day you might have got the job. So don’t let it stop you going back with more ideas.

@the2ndsource It took me years to get a reply to my pitches. I remember pitching an editor I'd finally made contact with at my fave paper. They replied: 'Jasmine, I like your ideas, but this is just a stream of consciousness.' It still makes me cringe now - but I'm glad they said it

There's a pervasive idea that decent journalists never get their pitches rejected, turned down for jobs, etc... it's a load of crap! Can you reply to this @the2ndsource tweet with your rejection stories to i) help new entrants and ii) create more transparency in our industry?

@the2ndsource I laugh now about a phone call I took from a group editor once. “[Magazine] is going to need a new editor soon, and we wondered if YOU… …could recommend anyone for the role.” There have been plenty more more classic rejections in my career, but this implied one? 😘👌

@the2ndsource And - even more of a happy ending - ended up doing that job at the first company a few years later, using almost exactly the same pitch that I had put together in the past. So I don’t regret it all - you’ve got to go for what you want.

@the2ndsource BUT I also learnt by pitching it that that role was what I wanted to do, and there seemed no chance of the company supporting me doing that any time soon. So I got another job - the same one I’d pitched - at another company!

@the2ndsource I was flatly rejected and learned that it was a bad approach to suddenly ambush them with a detailed pitch they weren’t expecting (I rocked up to an annual review with a full job description and should have had a more casual conversation).

@the2ndsource I pitched for a more senior job that I wanted - that didn’t exist yet - at a company I was already working at.

Journalists, get your ticket for our event on 26th July: how to report femicide

We're organising an event from @the2ndsource after being quiet for a while and there are few subjects more important than this one. Journalists, male and female, please share and attend 🚨🚨🚨

Men are very welcome and encouraged to come!

We urge all of our supporters to attend this vital training. Please share.

This training seeks to extend the work of the Dignity for Dead Women media guidelines which you can read here:

The pandemic has seen a significant increase in domestic homicides, but reporting on them is often sensationalised and victim-blaming. This training from @AVAproject and @we_level_up will teach you to understand realities around domestic abuse and key guidelines on reporting it.

News from us: We're holding a free online event to train journalists in how to report on domestic abuse deaths, on Tuesday 26th July at 7.30pm. Register for your place here: