First Offer

It's all starting to make sense now.

I've been given an offer for my Tim McInnerny profile - by The Stage Magazine. At last I've broken through the icy exterior of the media industry. And it wasn't too difficult. On Wednesday night I wrote a couple of pitch letters and sent them off very late (Stranger, Cornish World, Times Culture and The Stage), in the vague hope that I might get one reply. Then went to bed feeling anxious and unsure if I was really going to get anything out of the pitches.

But when I opened my emails yesterday morning, I was ecstatic to find an email from Chris at Cornish World, saying they were interested in one of my pieces. The other email was from the editor of The Stage, Brian Attwood - saying he wanted me to make amendments to the McInnerny profile, but was definitely interested in publishing it. How unusual is that - to get such a rapid response direct from the editor, the day after a pitch, when I said I'd call him on Monday! My confidence has been re-instated, and I feel like I'm getting a good handle on the industry.

I probably won't get much money for the feature, but I don't care - I want to see my words in print. The big bucks will come later...I've got another feature I can submit to The Stage soon after this one, probably another profile. Two days after I interviewed Tim, I interviewed his partner Annie Gosney in Somerset. (She's friends with my parents and agreed to an interview at her sister's house in North Curry.) Annie is a prestigious theatre producer and set designer. She also organizes fancy parties and writes books. She was a brilliant interviewee, very forthcoming and exciting to listen to.

So, I'm thinking that I will pitch it with emphasis on her inventive skills for props and stage mud (you'll have to read the feature to find out...). Its fantastic that I've got the material for two features, just from a chance encounter at a party, but I guess it has to start somewhere.

And, I found out from Annie the day after my interview with Tim that he missed twenty minutes of a Man United match because our interview over-ran! Apparently he has season tickets and they scored three monumental goals in the first half hour...oops! Oh well, I guess it shows he's a true gentleman.