The biggest no-no is calling up a media contact and asking, “Did you get my pitch? Or, did you get my book?” Journalists are very busy. A better tactic is to follow up without following up. Gather some more information tied to breaking news or an event, like an article you found or a show segment, that’s relevant to what you sent them before. You have to give them something of value in the follow-up, not just another question to answer.