Chip Away

I've been sending out queries this week to newspaper editors across the country. Most of them have gone unanswered. I expected that. Cold calling is the toughest, but without a personal recommendation, it's often the only option.
I had a few in Alabama that I felt good about. I sent out emails earlier in the week and two of them responded.
I exchanged a few emails but the digital conversation lagged.
Yesterday, I slipped out of bed, started the coffee brewing, and slid into the chair at my desk. It squeaked under my weight and it sounded much louder in the silent house.
I'd woke up early thinking about what to write. When I started, the email flowed. I tried to be as honest as I could. I wrote that one concern that editors have had, was that I was a "Local Writer" whose work might not work in places away from my hometown.
I tried to address this concern by telling the editor that I've been blogging since 2005 and have followers all across the planet.
I wrote that my work seems to resonate with the 40 + crowd and that even though I don't have numbers to prove it, I think that crowd is the one that still buys and reads newspapers instead of getting their news on an iPhone.
I fretted a little after clicking on the send button. My fears were in vain because in less than 30 minutes, the editor sent me a note back saying they'd try my column for three months to see if it fit.
If he'd been close enough, I would have hugged his neck.
As it turns out, I picked up a second paper today too. Grand total for this week, three new newspapers now running my column.
Tomorrow, I have another group of emails going out to papers in Ohio, Iowa, and Arizona.
Chip away.