are you happy with your pay?
I ruined your inbox zero with this 13th edition of Missed Pitches. Sorry.
The results are in! And it seems most of you are not happy with your pay as a freelancer.
These are the results of a short survey some 108 of you answered over the course of the last few weeks. Proud to say there were a lot of very interesting responses. For example, when asked whether you are satisfied with your overall pay as a freelancer, 73% of you said no. Yikes!
But I can tell that, despite the pay, a good chunk of you (45%) said the hustle was “tedious but worthwhile.” And only 17% of you said you would NOT recommend freelancing to someone else, compared to the 82% of you who are split between a yes and a maybe. So, maybe it’s not that bad.
Suffice to say, I’m satisfied with these results to help guide how to evolve this newsletter so it provides a better service to you. Whether that’s by providing more contract job opportunities, editorial contacts for pitching, or networking opportunities, this newsletter is committed to serving you, the freelancer.
Enough dribble. Let’s get to the meat of this newsletter. And, as always, submit your rejected story ideas using this Google Form. Give us a follow on Twitter at @MissedPitches for updates and shout-outs. Read the previous edition here. // rungomez
Contents:
Hey Siri, you’re pronouncing my name wrong (by Hiyah Zaidi)
Discovering Martin Scorsese (by Allison Picurro)
Prison yoga and the power of redemption (by Allison Torres Burtka)
Art isn’t objective, it reflects our biases (by Jonah Goldman Kay)
Why “Company Town” was so personal to me (by Ashley Turner)
Freelance opportunities
Writing jobs
NOTE: The following rejected story pitches have been lightly edited for space and clarity.
Hey Siri, you’re pronouncing my name wrong (by Hiyah Zaidi, h.zaidi18@outlook.com)
I hope you are well, my name is Hiyah Zaidi I am emailing today to pitch an article on name pronunciation and AI.
After years of my name being wrongly pronounced by Siri, (He-i-yah instead of Hiya) I’ve realised you can simply say ‘hey siri, you’re pronouncing my name wrong’ — then you speak into the microphone with the right pronunciation. In recent news, name pronunciation has taken the world by storm since Kamala Harris was elected for Vice Presidency of the United States.
But digging further, I’ve realized other systems like Alexa and Google home do not give this option — and people are writing in phonetic versions of their name — mangling their names to fit the machine.
This concept will be the heart of my article, how we should be able to pronounce our names into systems like Alexa without needed to squeeze them into a western sense of “normality.”
Discovering Martin Scorsese (by Allison Picurro, allisonpicurro@gmail.com)
I’ve always had a complicated relationship with the films of Martin Scorsese. I admit it wasn’t all that fair, and based largely on the way his movies were spoken about by his fans, many of whom are male — as if they were works of art beyond my understanding, about and for a specific audience only.
I’d like to write about my decision to challenge one of my longest standing biases and begin a journey through Scorsese’s filmography last year, when I suddenly had time to spare and was badly in need of a distraction.
In my piece, I’d discuss how I went in expecting to have my beliefs reaffirmed — that he could not, as Meryl Streep once said, successfully write a female character, that his movies were nothing but humorless blood fests that basked in the joy of committing crimes — only to become the last person on the planet to discover how truly excellent they are. I’d touch on all the elements of his films that have resonated with me, from the simple joy of hearing a bunch of cool dudes say funny things in New Yawk accents to the surprisingly abundant queer themes to the ways he satirizes rather than celebrates traditional displays of masculinity.
I had it all wrong the whole time: His filmography has so much to say about the business of being a human and the ways people struggle just to make it through life.
Prison yoga and the power of redemption (by Allison Torres Burtka, allison@atburtka.com)
Several programs offer yoga to prison inmates, improving their mental and physical health and well-being. These programs also break down barriers and misconceptions between prisoners and the public.
Some of these programs also serve other populations, including cancer survivors, people in recovery, and victims of human trafficking. In all of these situations, the people running the programs use the physical activity of yoga to help people find peace or make peace with difficult circumstances--and to empower them to take back their lives.
I would interview people involved in a few different programs, and I would include research on the mental benefits of yoga.
Art isn’t objective, it reflects our biases (by Jonah Goldman Kay, jonahgoldmankay@gmail.com)
A reported essay about a recent study published in Nature has drawn ire for trying to use machine learning to link trustworthiness and physical appearance in European paintings—an approach that veers toward physiognomy.
I’d like to take an art historical approach to critiquing the study, exploring the limits of machine learning and what happens when scientists don't account for the historical context of their work.
The study suggests that machine learning can be used to track the growth of trustworthiness through European history using historic paintings. Twitter pundits almost immediately panned the study for its apparent embrace of physiognomy. But viewed from an art historical perspective, the study’s authors also failed to understand the aims of portraiture, as well as the intentional use of physiognomy in painting to connote personality traits. In other words, art isn’t objective—it takes in and reflects back our biases.
Why “Company Town” was so personal to me (by Ashley Turner, ashley.trnr@gmail.com)
The subject of my article is in relation to the documentary entitled, “Company Town.” It is about a company that starts manufacturing harmful chemicals next to a poor Black town and as a result, many of them are diagnosed with cancer and have not received help or recognition before this documentary started gaining traction.
The topic of Black people living with cancer and the issues we face as diagnosed individuals is close to me — my mother was diagnosed and passed away from breast cancer. Her sister has had it for more than a decade. I have become interested and involved in cancer treatment since.
I juxtapose my personal experiences dealing with my mother's breast cancer and the subject matter of the documentary. I also interviewed a Black woman doctor to help illuminate issues Black women face when getting treatment for cancer.
Freelance Opportunities
via @ogiovetti (Feb 18): If you've made it this far, my inbox is always open to pitches: olivia@van-verlag.com (pitch to @vanmusicmag)
via @capitalandmain (Feb 12): We're building up our roster of freelance writers and photographers. Send us your pitches: https://capitalandmain.com/careers#freelanceopportunities
via @ladyxscience (Feb 13): PITCH US FOR FEATURES! We're looking for more features (so think a more historical bent). We pay! Check out our pitch page to see what we are (and are not) looking for in features pitches. Send your 2-para pitches to sarah@ladyscience.com https://www.ladyscience.com/pitch
via @jehawbaker (Feb 11): Book lovers: we're going to start a monthly series of book roundups at @curatormagazine, covering 5-7 on a theme. Details to come, but if you want to pitch us an idea, email editor@curatormagazine.com
via @bitingfriends (Feb 15): Pitch call: stories on stress-related health issues (hair fall, weight fluctuations, tics and habits), experiences of buying and using sex toys in India, work-related personal essays and finance tips. Flat fee: Rs 800. Email: theladiescompartment@gmail.com
Writing Jobs
Healthline Freelance Network is hiring a Freelance Writer - Remote
The Philadelphia Inquirer is hiring an Editorial/Opinion Writer - Philadelphia
BuzzFeed is hiring a Sex Toy Writer - New York
United Way is hiring a Grant Writer - Nebraska
The Economist is hiring a Britain Writer - Britain