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hi there.

We’ve made it through another week.

Hopefully, you’ve been able to get back to the project you started before November 5. I’ve been chipping away at my own mystery novel project again, getting back to creating instead of just surviving.

Part of what’s inspiring me to get back to work is this spirit of Joan, louder now after reading (and re-reading) Lili Anolik’s new book, Didion & Babitz.

Confession: I have a picture of Joan Didion in my office, above my desk, where a crucifix might have once been hung. You probably know the photo. She’s wearing a maxi jersey dress and leaning against her Corvette StingRay, a cigarette smoldering in her hand. I have her there as a reminder: keep going, keep writing, keep paying attention to the details.

Anolik’s new book goes into the history of that photo — taken when Joan was 33 by Jamie Wasser — and the secret history of the intersection of literary and rock’n’roll LA with Hollywood in the last half of the 20th century. Cameos include Harrison Ford, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin, to name a few.

I’m still digesting the bigger ideas, but one of my main takeaways is how much luck plays into careers (right place, right time, right people) and how you never know who will show up in your life right when you need it. Not giving up isn’t blind optimism; it’s realism.

You just never know.

Gentle reminder: I set up a new subscription service with perks like editing discounts and instant job and/or pitch alerts on top of early delivery of this literary life. Or, you’re welcome to buy me a coffee or share this newsletter with writing friends.

Or do nothing at all but keep scrolling — I’m just happy and thankful to have you here with me every week. See you next Sunday.

— Cole

calls for pitches,
remote writing/editing jobs , + paid writing opportunities

Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.
Each opportunity is remote unless otherwise stated.

calls for pitches

Parent Stories: Julie Sparkles, Deputy Editor of Lifestyle and Entertainment at Scary Mommy, is looking for stories about parenting, sex and relationships, movies and TV, pets, home, food, and health/wellness. She is especially interested in personal stories (these are a high priority). Please, no shopping or travel pitches. Pay: $120.

Travel: Off Assignment seeks submissions for their "Letter to a Stranger," "Under the Influence," "No Equivalent," "What I Didn't Say," and "Witching Hour" columns. Only completed drafts are considered for publication. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Pay range: $100 (Witching Hour) - $300.

History Quiz: Tom Giratikanon, senior editor of The Upshot at The New York Times, is commissioning new contributors to create editions of Flashback, its weekly history quiz. Contributors would construct a quiz with nine clues, short descriptions of historical events that readers have to place on a timeline. Each clue is about 20 words long and includes sources for fact-checking. Rate: $800. E-mail pitches to flashback-contributors@nytimes.com.

Travel: For Business Insider, Paige DeFiore is looking for pitches from "frequent cruisers/former cruise employees/etc who have a great cruise tip they learned from experience or a mistake" like this piece and this one. DM on Twitter/X to pitch. Pay: $230/600 words.

Relationships: Conz Preti, editor at Business Insider, is looking for cheating stories this week. Specifically, she wants "pitches on small ways people cheat on their partners. Things like, having an emotional relationship with an old friend, liking every single story/post by someone, things that your partner/you did to undermine the relationship. Can have a happy ending or not!" The rate is not given; historically, it has been $200/600 words. E-mail pitches to cpreti@insider.com.

Food: Eater SF is open to "new ideas and new voices" with original insights, reporting, and analysis on the Bay Area's food scene. “We get the same press releases everyone else does, so strong preference will be given to story pitches that arise from your personal expertise, revelations, or finds over ideas proposed by media relations teams.” No rates were given, but historically have been $0.25/ word. E-mail pitches with a "clear angle" to sf@eater.com and include clips.

Literary Life, Culture: LitHub is always open to pitches about "literary life and culture," especially "the ways that books or their authors fit into the culture at large, and we enjoy rigorous criticism for a general audience." Send pitches (2 - 3 paragraphs outlining your idea) to info@lithub.com.

Travel: Beginning Monday, November 18, Kade Krichko will accept pitches for travel columns for Ori Magazine's Spring 2025 "Growth" issue. Specifically, they are looking for narrative-heavy "human interest/culture essays from around the world, but with particular interest in the American Midwest, American South/Southeast, and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc.)." Rate: $200 for columns, $0.50 to $1.00 for features. E-mail pitches to hello@ori-mag.com. Deadline: Dec 1.

paid creative opportunities

Poetry, Fiction: Michigan Quarterly Review is accepting submissions for its annual Jesmyn Ward Fiction Prize and Laurence Goldstein Poetry Prize. The fiction prize is awarded to one unpublished short story of 1,500-7,000 words, while the poetry prize is for unpublished poems with a total page count of no more than 10 pages. Pay: $2,000 for fiction and $1,000 for poetry; the submission fee is $25 for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: Dec 31.

Short Story: Driftwood Press is accepting submissions for its short story writing contest. The story can be 1,000-1,500 words, and there is no theme. They accept fiction only, and “a standard, 12-point font and single-spacing is preferred.” Pay: $400 and five copies of the issue, while runner-ups receive $200 and one copy of the issue. The submission fee is $30. Deadline: Jan 15.

Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry: Ploughshares at Emerson College is accepting submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction during its regular reading period. They do not consider unsolicited book reviews and criticism. Pay: $45 per printed page ($450 max per author). $3.75 service fee for online submission. Deadline: Jan 15.

Fiction, Poetry: Chestnut Review is accepting submissions of poetry, flash fiction, prose, and other content for its Spring Issue. They "are drawn to beautiful language, resonant images, and we crave narrative.” They “purchase First North American Serial, First Anthology (for the annual print anthology), First Audio rights, and the right to archive your work on our open-access platforms after publication.” Pay: $120 per piece. Deadline: Dec 31.

remote writing + editing jobs

Outside Magazine seeks a full-time associate editor who will be responsible for custom content. This will look like "working with a network of freelance and in-house writers, photographers, and social influencers to create editorial-grade custom print, digital, and social content that will resonate with our diverse audience across the Outside Inc. network and fulfill our brand partners’ objectives. The role requires proven editorial chops—the ability to take content from conception phase to publishing—and assign, edit, and write everything from gear and service copy to long-form profiles." Video production experience is a plus. Pay range: $50k - $60k.

Coda Story is looking for a part-time associate editor to work 5 - 6 hours a day for 3 months to start. You will be responsible for assisting the editor-in-chief in planning, commissioning, and producing stories across different formats, with a special focus on newsletters. You will also work closely with all editors to manage the planning and scheduling of Coda Story’s content across different platforms. You will also coordinate editorial assets and publish stories and newsletters on WordPress and Mailchimp. Pay range: $25k - $32k. Potential for permanent, full-time. To apply, e-mail your resume and cover letter to jobs@codastory.com.

opportunities from previous issues

Canadian Writers: Geist Magazine is open to submissions of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and comics until December 4. Submissions from "writers of color, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers, and writers from other intersectional and marginalized groups" are strongly encouraged. Pay range: $100 - $1000 depending on genre.

Food and culture: High Country News and Fern News are collaborating on a new project and are looking for pitches for short-form (500 - 1,500 words) essays on "food and power in the West" from a state or local perspective from AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY, or Indian Country in the western US. They are especially excited about stories focused on "how power is being reclaimed as in how it is misused. The subject matter can be diverse: water, cattle, crops, restaurants, grocery stores—any or all of the interlocking issues that fit together into a food system." Send pitches to info@thefern.org with the subject line “FERN/HCN project.” Deadline: November 20, 2024.

Food and beverage: Chris Hatler is looking for whisk(e)y pitches for Men's Journal. He's looking for hot takes and personal essays with unique opinions and snappy headlines like "Old Grand-Dad Bonded Is My Favorite Cheap Bourbon" and "I’ve Tried Hundreds of Bourbons. Bib & Tucker Double Char Is the Smoothest I've Tasted." No deadline. Rate: $250. E-mail pitches to chris.hatler@mensjournal.com.

Relationships: Nonlinear Love co-founder Ariella Steinhorn is looking for nonlinear love stories. This includes “divorces and remarriages; dating horrors or delights; lovers who cropped back up years later; or even an unexpected thing you learned from your partner within a traditional marriage or relationship structure.” The rate is $150 for 800-1,000 words. E-mail pitches to ariella@superposition-stories.com. Stories can be published anonymously.

Personal Essays: Lara Parker, Director of Lifestyle and Trending News at Buzzfeed is looking for pitches for personal essays. “Are you someone with a story to tell? Did you go through a harrowing divorce? A friend break-up that broke your heart? Or maybe you have a parenting story you want to share?” Completed essays will be 500 - 1000 words. E-mail pitches to essay-pitch@buzzfeed.com.

Writing Life: Remote Writing Jobs creator Melissa Tripp is looking for pitches for "real stories from working writers, particularly personal essays between 500-800 words that are brilliantly written and shed light on the world of writing for a living." Or "anything as it relates to your experience as a working writer." Rate: $200. E-mail pitches to rwjpatreon@gmail.com.

Interviews, Short Stories, Poems, Articles: Nonprofit Quarterly seeks articles, interviews, short stories, and poems for their print magazine's 2025 racial justice issue, “How Women of Color in the South are Reclaiming Space.” Deadline to submit: December 17. Pays: $150 - 300 (short stories, poems), $300 (interviews), and $500 (articles).

Short Story: One Story's submission window opened on 11/1 for literary fiction short stories between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Submissions will close when they reach 2,000. Published writers receive $500 and 25 contributor copies.

Travel Writing: Anthology Creative Awards is accepting submissions for their travel writing contest. This is for previously unpublished “engaging article[s] that will capture the reader’s attention, conveying a strong sense of the destination and the local culture.” Writers may submit multiple articles, but they must be separate entries. Deadline: November 30. The grand prize winner receives £500.

writing
+ marketing tips

Selling books in person isn't easy. Thankfully, author J. Alexander Greenwood shared his game plan for successful festival appearances at Writers in the Storm. Not only does he share his packing list for book festivals, but booth decorating ideas are broken down by genre and tips on interacting with visitors that help you find new super fans, not just book buyers.

Whether you're writing a reported story about somewhere you just traveled on assignment or you're writing a fantasy novel, you need a human element to your story. Book coach Nicole Pope visited Jane Friedman's Blog to explain why you should take a human-interest approach to your writing and the best ways to approach this way to storytelling.

As Janice Hardy points out on Writers in the Storm, "You can have conflict without tension, and tension without conflict. But you probably don’t want to." This week, she is diving into the biggest conflict and tension mistakes writers make and how to fix them.

Kathryn Craft contemplates beginnings and what makes a strong start this week at Writer Unboxed. Using the opening paragraph of River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, Craft breaks down what makes these 106 words so engaging.

agent updates, pitch contests,
+ new MSWL alerts

Reminder: Vet each literary agent
and/or contest before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

Literary Agent Lynette Novak of The Seymour Agency updated her MSWL this week. She is now closed to kid-lit and thriller queries and is now looking for horror, nonfiction, and romance. "I want ROMANCE!!! NA and adult contemporary, romcom, and romantasy!"

Rachelle Gardener, president of and literary agent at Gardner Literary, is looking to represent experts (with credentials to prove it) with "some kind of public platform." This means you need to be someone who is "already talking about your topic out in the world. Social media, YouTube, podcast, Substack newsletter, speaking engagements, etc." She closes to queries from Thanksgiving - New Year’s.

industry news
+ interesting reads

The Common, the award-winning literary magazine based out of Amherst College in Amherst, MA, is now taking bids for its annual Author Postcard Auction. Winners get a personalized note, drawing, or letter; participating authors have been known to go "all out" for these. All proceeds go to The Common Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to publishing and promoting art and literature from global, diverse voices. Bidding closes December 2.

recommendations

b o o k s

I promise I read more this week than just Didion + Babitz (twice).

In fiction, I’ve continued my quest for good comp titles and examples of non-police/detectives/podcasters getting involved with murder investigations. Other things I want to explore in my writing are the idea of toxic friendships and women (platonically) obsessed with other women.

One of my favorite books that checks these boxes is The Truants by Kate Weinberg. While The Truants is shorter than The Secret History, this entry into the dark academia canon packs even more of an emotional punch. Jess Walker is pulled to a small college in East Anglia for one reason: she wants to learn from Dr. Lorna Clay, author of a book that changed Jess’ life. When she falls into a group of tight-knit misfits, her quiet life takes a more interesting, darker turn.

Olivia Dowd, one of my favorite audiobook narrators, reads The Truants. Digging through more of what she’s read, I came across Platform Seven by Louise Doughty. Dowd voices the ghost of a woman trapped in the train station where she died. After watching another man’s life end at the station, she begins to work on piecing together who she was and what happened to her. This is one of the best, most realistic, non-gross examples of what coercive control — non-physical domestic abuse, emotional abuse — looks like. Read with care.

If you want to have your head messed with by a narrator, pick up Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay. Jane and Marnie have been best friends since they were small. They did everything together long into adulthood. Things start to change, though, when Marnie falls in love with a man Jane is repulsed by. To her, he’s an ugly, predatory snob — but she doesn’t tell Marnie. That’s her first lie. Seven Lies gets a special nod but also a trigger warning for a realistic example of watching a loved one suffer from an eating disorder.

Finally, I started The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead. Dark and seductive, Winstead brings the reader behind closed doors and into the (imagined) inner workings of cults that sound like a blend between Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale, nxivm, and the Sarah Lawrence cult. Shay Evans is a Whitney College alum, a progressive liberal arts college in upstate New York. She returns to campus after eight years when her former roommate is found dead after an apparent suicide. Enlisting the help of a true crime podcaster, Shay investigates how her friend died and begins to uncover a dark secret worth killing over.

p o d c a s t s

If you, too, still know all the words to Phantom Planet’s “California,” you should listen and subscribe to Alex Steed and Niko Straus’ new podcast, The OC, Again. They’re rewatching and recapping all of the episodes of The OC from start to finish.

As always, here are the podcasts I listen to and (re-listen to).

Limited Series

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