How to pitch to me, 2022 edition!
Previously: How to pitch to me, 2019; How to pitch to me, 2017; How to pitch to me, 2015; How NOT to pitch to editors; My pitch clinic; Why ERHP and I aim to commission on the ground reporters
Folks, time flies. I swore I would write another pitch guide in 2020, then I thought I would do it in 2021. And in between — well, the entire world changed.
So here we are in 2022, and I’m shifting my commissioning a little bit.
I’m now Head of Narrative and Associate Editor at The Guardian in the US, which means that I will mainly focus on deeply reported stories with a narrative arc, great characters, good dialogue, and that pesky thing called “good writing”. (Now that I think about it… it’s the same requirements as all the other years.)
I also remain on the market for really good personal essays, since they’re a favorite genre of mine, and I will still commission medium-form features - but in moderation.
I tend to prefer commissioning reporters who write about places and communities they know, although there are exceptions. I am serious about publishing writers who live in all corners of the US, from all kinds of backgrounds. (You don’t need to be an Ivy-league journalist to write long form, trust me.)
I usually welcome pitches for stories ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 words (note: I only published one story above 7,000 words this year).
I pay most pieces between $0.60 and $1/word, depending on experience and expertise; length of reporting; access negotiations; time spent researching and investigating; etc.
I used to say I’d reply to everyone, but it’s now truly impossible to do. While I aim to send a yes or no to most people, if you don’t have a reply after chasing me once or twice, presume I won’t have space for your piece. (My email: jessica.reed at theguardian dot com).
So without further ado … Here are a few pieces commissioned in the last year or so (narrative, essays, profiles) which I loved working on:
She killed her ex-husband in self-defense. Can she now find peace?
This story absolutely destroyed me. Allison Griner spent months putting this together, and it shows.
Take this detail, which still has me reeling:
“Whenever she’s asked to illustrate the hurdles of prosecuting domestic violence in Montana, Young points to one fact: it takes only two offenses for an animal abuser to qualify for a felony. For domestic abuse, it takes three.”
He was sent to prison for murder. Then his identical twin confessed
The story of a tragedy happening on many levels simultaneously. Ari Schneider knocked it out of the park, having spent a good chunk of the year assembling all of the puzzle’s pieces.
Consider this: mistaken identifications are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions, with almost 30% of the recorded convictions of innocent people influenced by inaccurate eyewitness IDs.
What personality are you? How the Myers-Briggs test took over the world
I like fun pieces too! This long read by Elle Hunt, about a craze I can’t quite get behind personally, was both entertaining and illuminating. (No, I don’t want to know if you are ENTP or whatever.)
Police killed their sons. Their unmovable friendship uncovered a system of lies
A deeply reported piece by Susan Berardi looking at how two women in Kansas City lost their sons to the police — and how their treatment differed. This story has everything: it’s both moving and full of hope, but it will also destroy your faith in humanity in no time.
Fancy hunting a kangaroo or a zebra? In Texas, you can
I am actually pro fair chase, and I didn’t realise the extent of Texas’ lax hunting laws before this year. The state’s lack of public lands, coupled with an extreme laissez-faire in matters of regulations, means that one can show up on a ranch, pay up, and harvest a ‘roo. Alexandra Villareal reported this story, and my mind was blown (the giraffes, you will be happy to know, are off limits).
Burning out: the silent crisis spreading among wildland firefighters
It takes serious skill for a reporter to intelligently and sensitively interview trauma victims. Daliah Singer did a great job on this one.
Take Llew’s story: “On fire assignments, he’d lie awake all night after sweating through 16-hour shifts, sometimes for five nights in a row, and then get up and go back to sawing trees or leading crews.” A proper hero.
‘We’re trying to re-create the lives we had’: the Somali migrants who became Maine farmers
This piece by Audra Lim was very good, and gave me a lot of hope.
“If you have land, it’s not only for farming,” said Libah. Land is also a place “where we can exercise our culture” — raucous drumming, dancing, feasting and healing ceremonies — through all the seasons. “It’s also other pieces in the community that we’re missing.”
Pale and gelatinous: I tried vegan seafood so you don’t have to
I love a good experience-based piece — in which writers take big risks in the name of journalism! (See also what Adam Gabbatt did!)
Here, one of my favorite writers, Megan Mayhew Bergman, subjected herself to vegan seafood. Spoiler: her dog liked it.
‘An abomination’: the story of the massacre that killed 216 wolves
A neat piece by Nate Blakeslee about wolves, and how they became political placeholders for people’s beliefs. In the meantime, the fury beasts are caught in a fight they shouldn’t be part of.
Who can afford to live in the American west when locals can’t?
I love Kathleen McLaughlin’s work (follow her on Twitter!). In my mind, she wrote one of the definitive piece of the year about how IMPOSSIBLE it is to find decently priced housing across the Rockies.
“In June, the median sale price for a single-family home in Bozeman — a county of 115,000 inhabitants — was $720,000, up 49% from the same month a year earlier.” Seriously?
‘The internet is about jealousy’: YouTube muse ContraPoints on cancel culture and compassion
I am in love with Contrapoints and I think she is a genius. That’s all.
I sold my eggs for an Ivy League education — but was it worth it?
I can’t take credit for this edit; deputy features editor Poppy Noor is responsible for this one. But — what a read! Exactly what a reported personal essay should be like.
What I learned from an unlikely friendship with an anti-masker
Because I think about polarization a lot, this piece by Anand Pandian gave me food for thought.
Take this quote, from someone whose views I do actually disdain: “I’ve got shit everywhere,” he said [talking about his multiple properties] with a self-deprecating laugh as he drove me around his town. “I think it comes from being poor. It’s like Monopoly — you just want to collect what you can before you lose it all.”
Hmm.
‘I’ve outlasted them all’: the spectacular life of the world’s most powerful crossword editor
I love a good profile. Love them! Especially when it’s quirky characters. This piece by J Oliver Conroy’s, about the New York Times’ crossword editor, gave me a lot of joy. (And no, no idea if he’s behind the Wordle acquisition.)
How Covid longhaulers are still fighting for recognition
People with long Covid face an uphill battle convincing skeptics their malady is real — but discrediting uncommon conditions is hardly a new phenomenon. Mike Mariani, who himself suffers from CFS, took a deep dive in a medical world where doctors still regularly gaslight vulnerable patients.
The woman who forced the US government to take UFOs seriously
Soo Youn did a cracking job with this profile. I told you I liked quirky characters ... Meanwhile, the truth is out there.
Off-road, off-grid: the modern nomads wandering America’s back country
Stevie Trujillo interviewed the man behind Nomadland — and I found it to be very moving. Consider his insight:
“If the Great Recession was a crack in the system, Covid and climate change will be the chasm,” says Bob Wells, 65.
Well, yeah, we’re screwed.
But in the meantime, we might as well produce good journalism, am I right?
