work that pays $.50 per word

This is the eighth edition of Missed Pitches, which tbh, has a nice ring to the name.

Jan 08, 2021

Welcome to the new year and the first edition of 2021. Last month, I ran a quick Twitter poll asking you what’s the minimum word pay rate you would accept from a publication. And it appears that the sweet spot is $.50 per word, which I think it’s still a little low. But if you’re just starting out and a smaller publication is willing to pay that, that is a good way to earn a little side income.

But the reality of freelancing is that no one pays you for the time and effort spent on finding and landing new work. Which is why, as part of this newsletter’s service to you, I personally forward this newsletter to editors and publications that might be interested in publishing your piece. I don’t always succeed but I’m also not ready to give up. So, let’s keep trying.

Use this Google Form to submit your entry. Follow on Twitter at @MissedPitches for updates and shout-outs. Read the previous edition here. // rungomez

How Pennywise's “Bro Hymn” became one of the most iconic goal songs in the NHL (by Anthony Ciardelli)
The three cringiest tropes in Wonder Woman 1984 (by K.J. Aiello)
GLOW and the women who sell wrestling (by Scarlett Harris)
The cinematic sacrifices of the single mom (by Courtney Tenz)
The year I missed movie theaters (by Paige Lyman)
Freelance opportunities
Writing jobs
Writing contests

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

How Pennywise's “Bro Hymn” became one of the most iconic goal songs in the NHL (by Anthony Ciardelli, ciardellia@gmail.com)

Have you ever wondered why a professional sports team becomes associated with a specific song? For the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and their goal song, Pennywise’s “Bro Hymn,” it started because the band is local, and the chorus is easy to sing along with.

But, 15 years after selecting the song, the Ducks still use it to celebrate every home goal they score. In that time, it’s become more than just a song. It’s become a cherished tradition for Ducks fans and even some players.

For this feature, I explore how the song became such an integral part of the Ducks experience. I have interviewed the band’s lead singer, Jim Lindberg, who grew up in Southern California but is a fan of the Ducks’ rival the Los Angeles Kings. I’ve also spoken to a Ducks executive who helped select the song and members of Anaheim’s 2007 Stanley Cup-winning team on what the song means to them.

The three cringiest tropes in Wonder Woman 1984 (by K.J. Aiello, contact@kjaiello.ca)

I am an epic nerd-fan of Wonder Woman. I was before the Wonder Woman movie came out in 2017 and was excited to watch Patty Jenkins’ second installment. Then I watched it and I wish I hadn’t.

Three tropes in particular stood out and once you see them, you can’t unsee them. Cringe.

The first: the outdated assumption that childhood trauma makes a megalomanic villain. No, please stop. The second: men want power, women want to be sexy and liked. Please, I’m begging. And third, the real doozy: if Steve Trevor inhabited a random guy’s body, who did Diana had sex with? Wow. No. Isn’t this illegal? Magic can’t explain this away.

I’d love to write an op-ed covering these three issues (maybe with a mild begging tone to please stop, just stop using these). As WW1984 is fresh, this would be an opinion that is timely.

GLOW and the women who sell wrestling (by Scarlett Harris, scarlett.harris@y7mail.com)

This pitch is for a piece tied to the October cancellation of GLOW on Netflix, about women-led wrestling promotions. I will peg the piece to Debbie’s (Betty Gilpin) turn as a wrestling promoter in what is now the final episode of the show, reaching out to real-life women behind the scenes of wrestling companies such as Brandi Rhodes at All Elite Wrestling, Allison Danger, the co-founder of Shimmer Women Athletes, and Stephanie McMahon at World Wrestling Entertainment.

This piece will serve as a sort of “what could have been” for Debbie and what the future of women’s wrestling looks like now.

The cinematic sacrifices of the single mom (by Courtney Tenz, courtneytenz@gmail.com)

The movie Mermaids, starring Cher alongside Winona Ryder and Cristina Ricci, is one of those movies that feels like the perfect snapshot in time. Yet in its portrayal of a single mother in small-town America in the 1960s, Mermaids captures a mood that still reflects the cultural dialogue today. While the sanctity of motherhood is deeply ingrained in Western thought, the virtuous view of motherhood is most afforded to married white women. But what about single mothers? Where do they fit into our broader culture narrative?

Rewatching Mermaids 30 years after its initial release, the one thing that sticks out is how little that narrative has changed. Lead actress Cher portrays a man-hungry, neglectful, nomadic mom without a single housewife bone in her body. If we were to believe the Heritage Foundation, a woman like Cher parenting her two daughters alone are more likely to live in poverty and raise children who experience violence. In my experience and in the movie, that's true (there are few Lorelai Gilmores with wealthy parents waiting in the wings).

Yet single mothers earn less money not because we work less hard but because the majority of our labor is unpaid. Our children may be more likely to experience violence not because of their mothers’ role in violence but more as a result of the mothers having been subject to violence themselves. And that's what comes out in the movie, which showcases the human consequences and impact of societal reproach for single motherhood.

I'd love to take a critical look at the movie on its anniversary for you.

The year I missed movie theaters (by Paige Lyman, plyman1995@gmail.com)

Movie theaters have been an integral part of my life since I was young. But they became an even more important part of my life by the time I was in high school and college. Going to the movies with one of my best friends, for matinees on the weekends and midnight releases for titles we were practically jumping to see, was a staple of my teen years.

I’d like to write on how movie theaters really became a refuge for me and how they generally shaped my appreciation for movies, both as a writer and just a general fan. This piece would take shape by exploring some movie screenings that stand out, the emotions tied up with them, and the overall effect that just soaking in all of these movies had on me as a writer. Seeing stories splashed across the screen made all the difference, especially by how much of a deep dive I often took into the making of the movies too.

There is the potential to preface the more personal narrative with a short look at how the pandemic has affected theaters for most of 2020 as well.

Freelance Opportunities

via @markyarm (Jan 5): And now for the details you've been waiting for: We pay .50/word & up, depending on the idea, the writer's experience, difficulty of execution, etc. Happy to answer DMs, but pitch me at mark.yarm@team.inputmag.com. I'll attempt to give you a yes/no/maybe within 2 biz days.

via @partonandpearl (Jan 5): We are accepting pitches! Writers are invited to pitch stories, reviews, artist profiles and essays in the realm of country music and comedy. These are paid opportunities. https://www.partonandpearl.com/about

via @AngryBlackLady (Jan 4): Attention BIPOC freelancers (particularly women, trans, nb): I’m Senior Editor of Law & Policy at @RewireNewsGroup and I’d really love to find some new writers of color to write about ABORTION and POWER. If that’s you and you want to work with me, email me pitches please gandy.imani@rewire.news

via @therealrealTMZ (Jan 5): Canadian writers: I'm looking for pitches to our (too often overlooked!) culture column @thismagazine. If you have something to say about the real estate/home reno shows or something else housing/home related, bonus points. // But I'm open to anything cultural: talking about genres, tropes; books, TV, music, movies, etc. We like to look at how culture is changing, why we consume what we do, and more. Thursday deadline (if you need more time, please email). editor@this.org is me.

via @thedrift_mag (Jan 4): Pitch us!! We like daring ideas, ambitious arguments, and longform cultural criticism more generally. The majority of pieces we publish start out as cold pitches, and we read and respond to every email we receive. editors@thedriftmag.com