50+ calls for journalism/writing pitches (Aug 22, 2022)
Have you ever considered charging for your work not by the word, but by ‘the effort’? It’s something I considered a few years ago when I was freelancing a lot - here’s my argument, see what you think.
Word count has become the de facto valuation tool, because it’s easy. Everything is quantifiable and therefore accountable, and each party knows what’s expected. You want 800 words, I want $800 - let’s do it.
I don’t think that works so well anymore, because:
1. The Internet is space-rich
Word counts had their place when everything was done in print. Magazines and newspapers had a certain amount of space to fill, and they needed to know that the article they got from you would fit. The Internet has changed that (within reason). As an online editor, I’m not concerned if a piece assigned out at 1,000 words comes in at 650 or 1,500. What concerns me is the quality of the piece, that it answers questions posed in the brief, that it achieves its aims. I hate seeing writers puff and pad simply to hit a word count. It’s something I won’t do as a writer, and I shouldn’t lose income as a result of my adherence to sharp, tight, quality writing.
2. Writing is nearly always the easiest part of being a journalist
Many writers, at least in non-fiction, find writing - putting words one after another in an order that conveys their thoughts reasonably accurately - easy. It’s often why they consider the job in the first place. The hard part is what comes before that - conceiving and structuring ideas, researching topics, arranging and conducting interviews, sourcing pictures, checking facts. These non-writing aspects of an article are often the most time-consuming. Word count is not an accurate measure of the time/effort that gets spent doing those things.
3. Freelancers often have to spend their own money
These days it’s rare that an assignment comes with an expense budget. Several mainstream travel publications and platforms don’t accept articles that result from press trips. Want to write about the top 10 hotels in the Maldives? Great - but research is either second-hand, done from your desk, or expensive if you decide to go. Word count again fails as an accurate measure, and the ‘effort’ I make to provide first-hand accurate info should be taken into account.
Calls for pitches below:
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I'm looking for freelance writers/journalists/photographers who can cover news, events etc in the Waukesha County area for the Waukesha Freeman Newspaper. Send a resume with writing clips to kpilarski@conleynet.com.
Karen Pilarski - https://muckrack.com/karenpilarski
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food media fam! i'm guest-editing at Delish and i'm looking for freelance writers who specialize in thai, korean, hawaiian, and pacific islander cuisine to contribute essays, recipes, and more! rates are roughly $400/story plus $250/recipe xo
Dan Q. Dao - hello@danqdao.com / https://www.danqdao.com/
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Another #freelancewriting pitch call — looking for some creative stories about dating in the Bay Area (if it's a personal essay, it's gotta be truly unique). $150-300, email me.
Dan Gentile - Dan.Gentile@sfgate.com / https://muckrack.com/dan-gentile
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Hi folks, I'm running the Independent's opinion desk ththis week and next, so send me your ideas / pitches please!
Format: a snappy headline and one para explainer only.
Looking for informative but unusual pieces about culture and politics.
Thanks!
Sunny Hundal - sunny.hundal@independent.co.uk / https://muckrack.com/sunny_hundal
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CALL FOR PITCHES 🚨 We’re commissioning freelance writers and we need YOU. Got an idea for a pacy, story-driven article? Uncovered a news scoop? Are you funny and voicy enough to create feature magic? We pay (obviously!) Email us: editor@livpost.co.uk
Standard rate is £150 for around 1500 words but we sometimes pay more for heavily investigative pieces
Dani Cole - dani@manchestermill.co.uk - https://muckrack.com/dani-cole
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Freelancers, I'm on my next commissioning hunt for SOLO, the online magazine for Flash Pack. Looking for pitches/stories to run in Sept & Oct. Rates £300 per 1,000-word article. Email content@flashpack.com. Take a look on my Twitter + SOLO for cues: https://t.co/YmVcq5tzwf
Laura Holt - info@laura-holt.com / https://muckrack.com/laura-holt
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S'up kids. Always taking pitches. Top of mind: Trends from #GenCon2022. (This is not a pitch about your game. This is a pitch, from a writer, about games. If you are a writer, you know what to do. Email me. It's in my bio.)
Charlie Hall - charlie@polygon.com / https://www.charliehallwriter.com/
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Hey freelance writer pals, anyone need a short copywriting gig?
Not games related, sounds like writing marketing copy for a podcast. Happy to pass email addresses along to the person recruiting.
Bryant Francis - bryant.francis@informa.com / https://muckrack.com/bryant-francis
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CALL FOR WRITERS
We’re looking for a writer with a fresh perspective to help the MacStories team with app and news coverage. This is a paid-per-article freelance position.
If you’re interested, send a writing sample and any links to editorial@macstories.net.
Federico Viticci - Editor-in-Chief / viticci@macstories.net
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Anyone wanna pitch me a feature about the rising tide re: Colleen Hoover books for Insider? No op-eds/personal essays—looking for feature with interviews contextualising the situation. Rate starts at $250.
Details on how to pitch: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rMCcDo5x76MC-u9FQMSwmNMw4ZDUJTOEgavpWq1CDqA/edit
Tufayel Ahmed - tahmed@insider.com
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