has freelance worked out for you?
It is yet ANOTHER FRIDAY, and this is the 11th edition of Missed Pitches.
Do you have a formula to your freelance success? No, this isn’t a pitch for a get-rich-quick scheme but it’s a serious question I’ve thought about a lot in my own career.
Like, what can I do better to increase my odds of landing more work that pays better? In all my years freelancing, I honestly say I don’t have a formula. But if you do, I’d like to hear it.
Oh, and please, check out this amazing list from The Commission Hunter for places where to pitch. Go crazy.
If you would like to have your rejected story pitches shown to editors and publications looking for pitches, use this Google Form to submit your entry and have it featured in the next issue of Missed Pitches. Follow on Twitter at @MissedPitches for updates and shout-outs. Read the previous edition here. // rungomez
Contents:
Despite the hardships of 2020, there were some good memories (by Michalina Kowol)
The Great Boy Scout awakening (by Mike De Socio)
We’d be nothing without pests (by Lisa Jaffe)
Could Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty change beauty standards in Brazil? (by Nicole Froio)
Are models breaking the lavender ceiling? (by Dan Hastings Narayanin)
Freelance opportunities
Writing jobs
NOTE: The following rejected story pitches have been lightly edited for space and clarity.
Despite the hardships of 2020, there were some good memories (by Michalina Kowol, michalinakowol@gmail.com)
I live in Germany, which registered its first case of COVID on January 27, 2020. My idea was a good news piece: I wanted to ask people what positive memory do they have from this difficult year. I found potential protagonists — a young woman who adopted a dog with anxiety, a man who finally found time to paint more and even had his first exhibition, a woman who moved to Germany from El Salvador in the middle of pandemic and although she can't really enjoy the city, she says she feels safe for the first time in her life, even when she just goes for a walk. I think it is very important to keep thinking about the positives, too, especially in such difficult times, and would be happy to be able to work on this piece.
The Great Boy Scout awakening (by Mike De Socio, mike@mikedesocio.com)
The Boy Scouts of America may soon be unrecognizable. This past year has challenged the organization to morph and survive amid a pandemic, bankruptcy filing and mounting sexual abuse claims. But behind the scenes, the Boy Scouts is also undergoing a transformation that promises to reshape the organization in the image of diversity and liberal politics.
In June, the BSA announced it was developing a Diversity Merit badge (that will be required for Eagle Scout rank) and publicly announced its support for Black Lives Matter. It’s also under pressure to rethink its appropriation of Native American culture. And it has developed a number of internal affinity groups for Black, Latinx and LGBTQ Scouting employees.
If the BSA can survive the next year or two, the organization that comes out on the other side will be battered, for sure, but could also start living up to its values in a way that it never has.
We’d be nothing without pests (by Lisa Jaffe, editorial@landguppy.com)
I got stung by a yellow jacket the other day. I never really liked them before, but now, all I can think of is, “what purpose do wasps of all sorts serve aside from to be the jerks of the animal kingdom?”
In a time when there are murder hornets just three counties north of me, I wonder, what bad thing would happen if they were to become extinct? And then I think about mosquitoes. They could be gone and no one would mind. The list goes on: fire ants and rats in the animal kingdom. For plants, what about the devil spawn that is dandelion, or the ineradicable creeping buttercup. What use is ragweed?
I wonder, what could go wrong if we made some of the things that no one loves go the way of smallpox? It turns out a lot could go wrong. Would you like a story exploring the reason why we need some of the peskiest pests and worst weeds, and how without them, all hell could break loose? I would interview plant scientists, ecobiologists, and entomologists to get at just why things like murder hornets are good (in their home environment; not near me, thanks!).
Could Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty change beauty standards in Brazil? (by Nicole Froio, nicolefroio@gmail.com)
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty has changed the beauty industry to be more inclusive of non-white complexions. Could the arrival of Fenty Beauty do the same in a country like Brazil, where the beauty industry is still exclusionary and racist?
The brand was received with high expectations due to Rihanna’s pop idol status and Fenty’s brand mission, but the distributor of the brand in Brazil, Sephora Brasil, posted the first photo of the brand with a white hand and was already accused of racism. However, there are bigger issues in Brazil that completely destroy Fenty Beauty’s mission of diversity and inclusion: the prices are inaccessible for the Black and brown consumers (some products cost the equivalent of 25% of the minimum wage), and Sephora Brasil, marketed as a North American company for white wealthy Brazilians, only has stores in extremely white areas.
I would love to write a story about this and how worlds collide when brands conceived by celebrities--there’s an interesting cultural aspect where Rihanna and Fenty Beauty are really looked up to in Brazil, but the way the brand is being released in Brazil is contradicting what RiRi stands for.
Are models breaking the lavender ceiling? (by Dan Hastings Narayanin, dan.hastingss@gmail.com)
LGBTQ+ models are trending, but are they tokens or trailblazers?
Trans and disabled model Aaron Philip is in British Vogue this month. Not in an article but on a full-page ad for Moschino. It would be interesting to report on her experience or non-experience of the gay and transgender wage gap. Is she being paid the same as a cis model for the same campaign? Is she just trending or the sign of a new beginning for all trans and disabled people of color who can now choose modeling as a sustainable career?
I’m also interested in the story of Valentina Sampaio and Hari Nef. From afar, you could say they are both trailblazers having been featured in Vogue and Sports Illustrated. However, both of them passing as cis women helped their journey in the industry. In fact, them being palatable versions of trans women made them the perfect token to any brand looking for trans models. Yet did they really break the lavender ceiling that is preventing LGBTQ+ models from thriving as well as cis models?
The article would aim to focus on how much money these models are making in comparison with cis models. If we really are living in a more inclusive time, they should be earning as much as their cis counterparts.
Freelance Opportunities
via @sophiekleeman (Jan 25): if you're a parent who has (or had!) very strong feelings about taking cara babies, i am in the market for essay pitches: skleeman@insider.com
via @bobcutmag (Jan 28): We are currently working on new content for February! Want to pitch to us? Email editor@bobcutmag.com
via @ScotBAMEwriters (Jan 27): As we continue our programming for 2021, we're looking for your words! Whether you're a writer who wants to lead an online workshop or have an essay or story idea that needs to be on our blog, pitch to us. All opportunities are paid. Deadline: 14 Feb 2021
via @thelightleaks (Jan 16): We're accepting pitches! Interested in writing for us? We'd love to hear your ideas for:
• think pieces
• interviews
• feminist analysis
• genre pieces
• help guides
How to pitch to us!
via @LaurenJG5 (Jan 22): My company @BoldlyMental is an online mental health magazine that fights stigma through creative expression. If you have any submissions you'd like to send our way (this can be listicles/essays/art pieces etc), email us at info@boldlymental.com
Writing Jobs
BestReviews is hiring Freelance Writers and Editors - San Francisco
Insider, Inc is hiring a Features Reporter - Flexible Location
WeRateDogs is hiring a Freelance Writer - Los Angeles
Hidden Path Entertainment is hiring a Writer - Remote
Bucketlist Bombshells is hiring a Content Writer - Remote