I completely agree with Catherine about editor rudness...It takes TIME (unpaid) to write a good pitch letter, and to know that most of my pitches are just tossed into a heap is completely insulting.

While many editors are sitting in their ivory towers, we freelancers are living real lives in real places...we have so much to offer, so many ideas, and we are often treated very, very badly.

If you don't like the idea that I worked on for 8 hours when you were having brunch at Balthazar and shopping in NoLita, then how about sending me (or e-mailing me) a short "no thank you" letter?

Oh, you grand editor, you... I used to be on your side of the desk, and I never, ever ignored a freelance pitch. Just tell us something: "Yes", "No", "Maybe".

Don't be rude. One day, you, too, may be a freelancer and you'll remember the pitch letters you never took time to read. Karma comes around.