want to start your own newsletter?

It's Friday all over again and we've arrived to the 10th edition of Missed Pitches.

Jan 22, 2021

Have you ever thought about launching your own newsletter to showcase your own work and build your own audience, perhaps monetize it?

I asked this question in a recent Twitter poll that stemmed from news out of Forbes as it seeks to build its own newsletter platform to let writers launch their own. Clearly we’re entering a newsletter publishing bubble where everyone has their own newsletter these days (hello!). And if newsletters are for you, what value do you think it would bring to your work? What kind of newsletter would you start? What would it be about? Would you give it for free or would you charge for it?

Share your thoughts with me on Twitter here and let’s continue this conversation.

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

How COVID has made automated food processing the new normal (by Jaclyn Krymowski)
Why do jobs make us jump hoops? (by Felicity Binns)
Who’s tending student farms during remote learning? (by Jenna Spinelle)
The Frenchman who doesn’t believe in wasted bread (by Anna Muckerman)
Push it, good: the case for granny’s wheelie bag (by Serena Coady)
Freelance opportunities
Writing jobs
Writing contests

NOTE: The following rejected story pitches have been lightly edited for space and clarity.

How COVID has made automated food processing the new normal (by Jaclyn Krymowski, jaclyn@the-herdbook.com)

COVID-19 has swept the food processing sectors particularly hard, especially those which rely on cheap, migrant labor including meatpacking and produce harvesting. This has caused many major corporations to rethink the long-term disadvantages of a fully human workforce under scarcity and strict operating protocols. I believe this would work well as a news topic.

Tyson Meats has accelerated its pursuit of increased automation in its packing plants as detailed in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Wired also ran an interesting piece detailing how the technologically superior European packers have fared in light of the pandemic. Consider how in pre-pandemic times, the U.S. capable of processing around 124,000 head of cattle per day. As of August, only about 115,000 head were getting through plants daily. Loss of labor, a faltering economy and strict public health mandates are just some contributors to these statistics.

Companies who specialize in agricultural and food processing robotics such as Root AI and Scott Technologies have seen a notable increase in interest from prospective buyers, the latter of which raised $7.2 million in seed funding as they hope to increase production. Robotic dairy facilities, which have been on the notable rise in recent years, are expected to increase as well.

For this story, I would like to interview robotic manufacturers on the edge of these trends, including the aforementioned Root AI and Scott Technologies. Reliance for economic accuracy will come from established experts such as Iowa State University’s Dr. Chad Hart and Boston University’s Dr. Arzum Akkas. I believe insight from agricultural producers would be valuable as well, and I have several connections in the industry for reliable sources.

Why do jobs make us jump hoops? (by Felicity Binns, felicity98@outlook.com)

I’m looking to explore whether there is a real need for employers to expect job applicants to fill out lengthy job applications. I’m referring to the ones that require 1000-word personal statements, multiple interviews, aptitude, and situational judgements tests.

Whilst filling out a long application for the civil service not too long ago, my mother (who is a civil servant) told me she got the job 30 years ago because the interviewer thought she had nice legs. This really got me questioning why job hunters these days are expected to jump through hoops to get entry level jobs.

Having only just left the world of job searching myself, I found this process extremely draining and I have seen posts on LinkedIn and Twitter, of others who feel the same way. I would like to share both mine and other job hunters' thoughts and feelings on this topic whilst also reaching out to employers/recruiters to ask why they believe this hiring method is necessary.

I think this article would be great because it will show readers, that are in this position, that they are not alone and will hopefully inspire them to keep going with their job search.

Who’s tending student farms during remote learning? (by Jenna Spinelle, jspinelle@gmail.com)

As the uncertainty around having students on colleges campuses because of COVID-19 continues, I’ve wondered how the student farms that seemed to be the hot new thing on campus (before COVID) are faring these days.

There are dozens of student farms across the country and I’m sure the situations look different from place to place. I envision a story that examines how these farms are operating without students on campus and what might be lost (or gained) as a result of those changes. The ramifications extend beyond the student experience, too, as student farms supply campus eateries with produce and serve college town communities as a CSA.

The Frenchman who doesn’t believe in wasted bread (by Anna Muckerman, annamuckerman@gmail.com)

France’s insatiable appetite for bread means a lot of production — and a lot of waste. The average French bakery throws away about 10 percent of its bread every day. Across France, that amounts to more than 50,000 tons of wasted bread every year.

When Franck Wallet realized the scale of France’s bread waste problem, the civil engineer left his job to create The Crumbler — a machine that grinds bread into crumbs. The dried raw material can be safely stored for several months and a baker can use it to create cookies, muffins and even more bread. This simple process allows a bakery to save up to two tons of bread every year. After the Crumbler won several innovation awards, it made its way into more than 100 bakeries around France and abroad.

I have already shot b-roll and video interviews with Wallet, a baker using his machine and a customer who chooses to purchase the “recycled products.” I’m looking for a home for what would become a 2-3 minute video piece.

Push it, good: the case for granny’s wheelie bag (by Serena Coady, serenacoady@gmail.com)

It’s time for a round of “choose your fighter: quarantine edition.”

Are you the dancing dad in a sickeningly wholesome TikTok family? Or the student tie-dying the ever-loving crap out of her wardrobe? The character I have in mind is a quieter hero. She moves slowly yet purposefully down the pavement, grey hair backlit by the sun, trolley bag at her heel.

Recently, I’ve been looking to those who have always held the answers: women aged 60 plus. Specifically those in possession of a tartan, audibly-crunch-when-you-touch-it wheeled wonder. These women rolled their way through toilet paper shortages and long store queues while the rest of us languished. We hoisted reusable bags that threatened to burst and bleed passata onto the streets, lugged tote bags that fit like, a single liter of oat milk.

In the piece, I’ll explore the unsung functionality of trolley bags and interview women who swear by them. I’ll even try one. This will involve shopping for a trolley bag — a timeless tartan or an erotic leopard print? — and testing how it impacts my grocery shopping and whatever else there is to do these days.

Freelance Opportunities

via @JohnAOchoa (Jan 21): GRAMMY.com is looking for pitches from Black and POC writers for #BlackHistoryMonth. Looking for album/event anniversary pieces, artist interviews, culture features and more. Please reach out to me with ideas and pitches at the email address listed in my bio at johnaochoafreelance@gmail.com

via @animeherald (Jan 20): It's been a minute, but the team's still on vacation for a couple more weeks. However, we are accepting #pitches for when we start back up in March, and can't wait to work with y'all. Check the form at http://hera.fyi/pitch and show us what you've got!

via @Conjecture_Mag (Jan 19): Conjecture Magazine is currently open to pitches! Please contact us at info@conjecturemagazine.com with a pitch for your article idea. Check out https://medium.com/conjecture-magazine to get a feel for the kind of themes we're interesting in exploring. We pay our writers.

via @PoetryFound (Jan 19): We're seeking several freelance writers to review poetry books and a news curator to aggregate poetry-related news for the Poetry Foundation’s blog, Harriet! Learn more about these independent contractor roles! https://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/jobs

via @ladyxscience (Jan 11): Heads up! We're back open for pitches! Interested in writing for us? Check out our pitch page to see what we like--and maybe don't quite like--when it comes to pitches. We pay. Get a jumpstart on this year's writing goals and send us your pitch! https://www.ladyscience.com/pitch