no. 4
note: this was delivered to subscribers on 27 October.
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hi there.
Welcome to another week of writing.
This week, I brainstormed new ways to better serve the members of the Blue Line Editing Co. community. I developed a new subscription service that I hope will give you useful perks.
The newsletter will never be behind a paywall as long as I write it. Personally, I hate when people put job opportunities behind paywalls. If people are looking for jobs, chances are they’re not making money.
There are several different tiers, starting at $5/month and scaling up to $50/month. You’re also welcome to buy me a coffee once instead of automatically once a month. Or just keep reading without tossing a single coin to your writer. I know things are tough for everyone right now.
— Cole
calls for pitches,
jobs for writers/editors,
+ paid writing opportunities
Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.
Each opportunity is remote unless otherwise stated.
calls for pitches
Any Emily in Paris fans who want to eat like the main character for a day and write about it for The Kitchn? If so, email paulina@thekitchn.com with relevant clips by EOW. Rate is $300!
Deputy Editor Conz Preti is looking for pitches from Gen Xers and Boomers for Business Insider on their biggest regrets in life. They can be big-deal things (not having kids) or small-deal things (not getting that tattoo), but they must be big regrets. She is also looking for stories about how being childfree by choice has impacted your relationships, about parenting teens, and about American families moving abroad (especially South America). Email pitches to cpreti@insider.com
Matador Network is seeking freelance pitches across a broad range of topics. Please spend some time browsing the various categories on our site to see what types of stories and topics we do and do not cover. Rates range from $200 to $300 depending on the depth of research and interviews, writer experience, and photo availability.
Thrillist is open to travel pitches. Editorial director Joe Erbentraut says they are “looking for travel pitches with a point of view. Stories that make a strong, clear argument. Stories that are narrative-driven with a central tension. We are looking for pitches for our All X Everything, destination guides told through the eyes of a specific community by a local/frequent visitor who identifies as a member of said community. Like this All South Asian London guide. We are also looking to hear about your favorite Main Characters of Travel, like this air traffic controller who's also a DJ. We'd also love to hear your destination guide pitches for small towns abroad, international airport guides, winter outdoor adventure stories, pop culture, and seasonal tie-ins with travel.”
Grace Degraaf is looking for magazine-style analyses, reported explainers, and personal essays that make an argument on topics like business, tech, the economy, retail, work, and money for Business Insider. Currently, she is particularly interested in stories about personal experiences with scams, frustrating bureaucracy, or consumer issues. Examples include situations where paperwork is overwhelming, or companies refuse to honor their policies. DeGraaf seeks pitches that shed light on these complexities of modern life. Rates range from $0.50 to $1 per word, depending on scope and experience. Pitches can be sent to gdegraaf@insider.com.
A new publication from former Pitchfork staffers, Hearing Things is looking for pitches of features, essays, reviews, reporting, and profiles on "music and the culture around it." The rates start at $350 for at least 800 words and $1,000 for “longer, written-out stories (at least 2,000 words). Send pitches to pitch@hearingthings.co.
Tessa McLean is looking for pitches for SF Gate about all things California. "Think: History, Trends, Housing/Real Estate, Climate, Weird interesting stuff!" DM on X or e-mail tessa.mclean@sfgate.com.
The Islandia Journal is looking for a variety of pitches having to do with Miami Vice. They want personal essays about relatives who played a bit part in the show; criticism about a specific episode; poems about fast boats, Carrera sunglasses, and members-only jackets; short fiction set on a Stiltsville house during a drug drop; illustrations and graphics depicting Miami in 1984. Pay: poems ($50), short stories ($100), visual art ($100 - $500), reviews, essays, + hidden histories ($100). E-mail pitches to islandiajournal@gmail.com. Deadline: Nov 18.
Erin Vivid Riley is looking for pitches of personal essays on "the economic impact of National Forests and Grasslands and the communities that rely on them" for Light & Seed. Pay: $1000. Deadline: Nov 18.
Freethink is looking for feature story pitches. If you're passionate about exploring the intersection of tech, business, and society, they want to hear from you. Reach out with your ideas here: https://forms.gle/267ANctdPkEL7Ft98 Pay rate: 1k to 3k words - $1,000; 4k to 6k words - $2,000.
ICFJ is looking for pitches for tips + tricks to share with journalists. Pays $200/article.
Meagan Lucas, the new editor-in-chief of Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine, is looking for pitches for articles that answer questions about parenting (newborn through middle school); historically underrepresented voices; or if you have expertise, whether occupational or personal experience, that a pregnant person or new parent might have a question about (i.e., firefighters, chefs, realtors, teachers of young children, therapists, landscape architects, nutritionists, etc.). Send pitches to meagan@pnmag.com. Pay: $.03 - $.08/word, max 1500 words.
The Hustle is looking for pitches for short and long feature stories on business and the economy. Send pitches to mdent05@gmail.com. Pay: $0.80-$1/word.
paid creative opportunities
Mud Season Review closes its submission window for fiction, nonfiction, flash fiction, poetry, and art on October 31. Pay: $50.
The window to get your CNF, poetry, short stories, and flash fiction submitted to The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts closes on December 15. Pay: $50.
Boulevard Magazine invites writers to submit short essays of up to 1,000 words on the role of silences or absences in art for their next Boulevard symposium. Send entries to nonfiction@boulevardmagazine.org. Pay: $100.
writing + editing jobs
Gannett seeks a web copywriter to join their team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for creating compelling web copy that drives engagement and, ultimately, conversions. They should be able to grasp project requirements quickly and offer valuable insight. The pay range is between $12.55 and $25.48 per hour.
Mercor is recruiting journalists to conduct comprehensive online research on market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscapes. You will also be responsible for developing journalism tasks for AI that represent real-world challenges. No AI experience required. Pay: $50/hr.
Pirate Wires is looking for an associate editor who will act as the managing editor's righthand and assist with the editorial strategy, pipeline, workflow, sourcing new writers, developing story ideas, and pitching/writing your own pieces. Editor should be willing to be on-call during off hours for breaking news.
Pirate Wires is also looking for a managing editor to steer the editorial director of the company's media brands, working closely with the editor-in-chief. You will be responsible for producing a "demanding volume" of high-quality, deeply researched content, assisting EIC and senior editors in writing and producing newsletters on strict deadlines, and shaping the editorial calendar. Experience as editor preferred but not required.
Current affairs magazine The Week seeks an audience editor for the digital edition. You will be responsible for developing a content search strategy to attract and convert new audiences, monitor article performance and Google algorithm updates, support and suggest content for social media editors, and suggest articles to increase traffic. You should have 5 years of experience and a proven track record in audience growth. Benefits include unlimited holidays, a corporate ClassPass account, and 401k matching. Pay: $70k - $75k.
Space.com is looking for a weekend writer who will be responsible for writing 3 - 4 stories per weekend and general editorial duties. Pay: $20 - $25/hr.
Live Science is looking for a weekend writer who will be responsible for writing 3 - 4 stories per weekend and general editorial duties. Pay: $20 - $24/hr.
Live Science is looking for a staff writer to join their team. You will be responsible for 20 articles a month, covering everything from breaking news to features. You should be comfortable with interviewing leading experts/sources. Pay: $55k - $65k /yr.
Space.com and Live Science are looking for a weekend editor to monitor both sites on Saturday and Sunday. You will be responsible for making sure breaking news is covered, performance metrics are reached, and managing the weekend writers. Pay: $25 - $33/hr.
Static Media is looking for food feature writers for a number of its outlets, including Chowhound, Daily Meal, Tasting Table, and The Takeout. Pay: $.08/word.
Observer seeks an assistant editor to work 20-25 hours per week, working on various types of articles across all sections of the site (Business, Arts, Entertainment, and Lifestyle), including reviews, opinions/essays, research, analysis, and more. Editors must be able to attend team meetings each weekday from 10:00 to 10:20 a.m. EST to develop an awareness of the day’s stories and broader editorial calendar and share updates on the articles under your management. Pay: $30/hr.
Kiddom is looking for a full-time editorial writer. For someone with 3 - 5 years of project management experience and a strong empathy for educators. Benefits include 10 paid sick days, paid vacation days, and paid family leave. Pay: $20-$25/hr.
The Mary Sue seeks online culture writers who get their intersectional feminist perspective and have significant knowledge of, and passion for, geek culture, internet culture, streamers, YouTubers, web series, social media platforms, The Discourse™, fandom, weird internet memes, politics, and more! Strong candidates should especially be plugged into the 24/7 news cycle.
The Mary Sue is also looking for freelance news and politics writers who will know how to put an emphasis on quickly and informatively keeping our readers up to date on what's going on in the world around them, whether it's an important House vote, a Supreme Court decision, or the slow collapse of a social media network. Pay rate: Ranges from $15 to $38 USD, depending on the length and type of story.
Lonely Planet wants to add more French Destination experts to their roster for 2025. “Writers based in France and with destination expertise outside Paris particularly welcome. Native French speakers are also encouraged to apply, but note all assignments will be in English.” The rates start at $350 for digital articles and $1,500 for guidebooks but “are hugely dependent on workload, research, etc.” Apply by November 1.
GAMURS Group is seeking lead editors and content managers across various verticals. They require a cover letter that tells them the following: "what topics/beats you currently specialize in or have in-depth knowledge of (video games, TV, politics, online personalities, memes & internet news, celebrity culture, etc.), as well as providing specifics within that topic (or topics) - for example, if you're comfortable writing about video games, it's useful for us to know which games, franchises, companies, consoles, etc. you're most knowledgeable about."
Digital Camera World is looking for a full-time editor who will be responsible for organizing a content plan, writing multiple news stories a day, ranging from news stories to features, and updating high-traffic SEO "how to" articles and buying guides. Benefits include unlimited holidays, health insurance, and 401k match. Pay $60k - $70k/yr.
writing
+ marketing tips
Victoria Strauss, creator of Writer's Beware, shared her favorite resources for writers on Writer's Unboxed. What wasn't already on the Blue Line Editing Co. resource page has now been added. New resources include Funds for Writers; The Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Check forum at Absolute Write; Book Publishing Glossary; Duotrope; and Publishing with Integreity.
If you're not chasing dreams of a big book advance, Jillian Forsberg highly recommends trying to get published by a small press. She gives a rundown of her relationship with her publisher, History Through Fiction, and the steps that went into the publishing process at Writer Unboxed.
Everything we create, whether a book, an essay, or a podcast episode, begins having a life of its own once you hit publish. Kristin Hacken South is on Writer's Unboxed, discussing the promises we make to readers on the page and how much control we have over their interpretation of what we're trying to say.
One of the things that sets stories about murder apart is the fact that the setting directly impacts how the murder and investigation are carried out. Sydney Graves (aka Kate Christensen) stopped by CrimeReads to discuss the differences between crime stories in Scandinavia, Britain, California, and Arizona.
Elisa Gabbert explores the intersection of architecture and essay writing, and the architecture of essay writing, in the Georgia Review.
So much weight is put into the first line of a book. However, writers should focus on making sure the first few paragraphs and pages accomplish specific goals for setting up their stories and getting their readers hooked. Tiffany Yates Martin explores what makes for powerful first paragraphs and first pages in manuscripts.
Poetic prose can move readers deeply through a combination of how the writer uses sound, rhythm, and sense imagery. Ellen Buikema does a deep dive into the different elements of poetic prose and gives tips on how to successfully master this writing style on Writers in the Storm.
agent updates, contests
+ new MSWL alerts
Reminder: Vet each literary agent and/or contest before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.
Literary Agent Ariella Feiner of United Agents looking for "exciting new authors" to represent.
Literary Agent Louise Buckley of Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency will be opening to queries on Friday (11/1) for one week and then will be closed until February 1. She has a big backlog of queries already that she is trying to work through and cautions patience if you query her.
Literary Agent Liv Maidment of Madeline Milburn Agency has updated her MSWL. "If you’re a writer of literary/upmarket/book club fiction, I’d love to hear from you!"
Literary Agent Jenissa Graham of Book Ends Literary will be closing to queries on 11/1 for the remainder of the year. She is open to various genres across the middle grade, YA, and adult age categories, including high-concept fantasy, mysteries/thrillers, horror, and sci-fi.
industry news
+ interesting reads
ICYMI, there was a scathing New York Magazine article earlier this week calling out the new generation of journalists for being too soft. Chris Lehmann stops by The Nation to argue why these media elites are precisely the wrong people to be commenting on the state of journalism today.
On NPR's All Things Considered this week, historian, writer, and horror enthusiast David Goudsward discussed H.P. Lovecraft, the writer's love of Massachusetts, and the impact the visits to Newburyport, Haverhill, and other towns had on Lovecraft's writing.
In a year when requests to ban over 1,000 books from schools have been made, impacting students in every grade from elementary school through high school, The Cut spoke with members of Grandparents For Truth, an anti-censorship collective created in direct response to Moms for Liberty.
In The Anti-Abelist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu (a book that went from deadline to advanced reader's copies in four months) mentions NY Times reporter Liz Jackson called disabled people "the original life hackers." Jackson adds context to this quote and pulls apart more hypocrisies on Lit Hub.
As Mrs. Lovett sings in Sweeney Todd, "No denying times is hard, sir." So, how can we really expect our mental health to handle tragedies right now? Carleigh Baker is on Hazlitt discussing why reading tragedies, especially right now, is good for you.
Food bloggers today boil their experience down to a 45-second TikTok video, giving quick, pithy overviews, letting the video talk for them. This is a far cry from the 1,000-word restaurant reviews when writers would go into painstaking, full-sensory detail of everything from walking into the restaurant to the taste of the last bite of their dessert. Cathy Chaplin digs into the evolution of the food review, from the golden age of blogging to today, for Eater LA.
No, it's not just you; some paperbacks right now really are low quality. Drew Broussard investigates for Lit Hub, sinking into the murky world of print-on-demand, aka the "fast fashion" of publishing.
recommendations
I’m still in full DIY MFA mode, which means devouring new-to-me books and revisiting old favorites I know are strong examples of something I want to pull off in my new book.
This week, I started to revisit The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz. This psychological thriller features an investigation done by a thirty-something childless civilian who—since it’s been a minute since I read the book—I can’t remember is an unreliable narrator or not. Twenty minutes into the audiobook, the narrator and I are both doubting her memory of what happened the night of her friend’s death.
I’m just as hooked now as I was when I read the book when it first came out a few years ago.
I also devoured My Nemesis by Charmaine Craig (author of Miss Burma), another Libby find. My most literary read in a while, I got sucked into the chemistry between memoirist Tessa, her husband, Marvin, and Charlie, a history professor that sends Tessa a letter one day after reading an essay she published.
Written confession reminiscent of Tana French and Alex Michaeledes, Tessa admits she and her husband have met an intellectual peer in Charlie, but as their connection intensifies, Tessa begins feeling resentful of Charlie’s own wife, who is also a writer but is more focused on domestic life than Tessa or Charlie approve of.
p o d c a s t s
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