Valley PR Blog

Pitch Me: Patricia Bathurst

By Charlotte Risch on July 21st, 2008 In ValleySource

Name: Patricia Bathurst
Title: Freelance writer
Outlet: Anywhere someone needs something to be written
Phone: (602) 791-4810
Email

1. What do you do? This is simple: people ask me to write something, I write it, they pay me.
2. What kinds of stories are you looking for? I write a lot about small businesses and entrepreneurs, trends and issues in same, development, home building, interior design/architecture. I’m a sucker for a good feature idea and I flat-out love working with small business owners and entrepreneurs. I’ll often work with someone to figure out how a story could be placed or developed. I also write career-oriented stories for the Republic’s Career Page, and am always looking for work and career features. See my website for more!
3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch? E-mail, please.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals? Oh, where to begin! Maybe with, “Just because your client thinks he has a unique angle in (fill in the blank) that doesn’t necessarily make it true.” Or, perhaps, “Freelancers also work on deadlines. Then there’s “No, I’m not ‘hoping’ to place this story. I don’t write without an assignment, and that’s why I need____ from you.” Oh – wait…That was advice, not recommendations. I’d recommend reading bylines, to get a feeling for who’s writing what. I’d recommend using a little humor to catch an editor’s attention as well as mine. I’d recommend careful thought about which outlets and/or media make the most sense for a particular story or client before hitting “send” on the media release. I’d recommend keeping close track of national trends in your clients’ industries, paying attention to what’s getting written or produced in other markets because that’s a great way to develop local angles and reports. (SEE: recent spate of recession stories illustrated by the “price of a slice,” a story that’s been written in every major American news market in the last six weeks.)

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received? I don’t think I’d categorize it as a pitch, exactly…

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