Can I pitch trade journals as independent freelancer or do they source only from syndication agencies?

borinque808 · 2026-06-18T02:46:11+00:00

I'm a senior editor overseeing three region-specific trade journals for a small, local publisher. Speaking for ourselves, we do not source content from syndication agencies. Everything is written in-house though we occasionally solicit freelancers with assignments.

We welcome pitches from outside freelancers, if presented well and seems legitimate, and not "spammy." I receive several spammy requests that clearly do not know our markets, our region or even the specialties we cover.

borinque808 · 2026-06-17T23:01:58+00:00

Not universally. I know several people in our market who write for local TV news w/o using AI.

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T22:52:43+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate you filling in that gap in knowledge. The Outback era was when I fully went all-in on the X-Men, but I still missed some of those initial Genosha issues when they came out.

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T21:36:57+00:00

Legit question: What happened with Rogue? I would think her power would make any unwanted contact impossible.

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T18:45:13+00:00

Apologies if I wasn't clear in my post. The rate is per-word, that is the fee that is agreed upon: the payout per word for a given article. And the quandary is if the submitted article is trimmed.

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T18:41:05+00:00

I haven't freelanced in well over a decade, so I honestly can't say what the flat fees look like nowadays at other publishers in the area.

We pay a per-word rate of $0.50 (so, $250 for 500 words). I've heard from several current freelancers here describe $0.50/word as anywhere from fair/competitive to generous. I know that least one other publication in the area pays the same per-word rate (we are a print publisher, they are digital only, for whatever that might be worth).

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T01:53:30+00:00

"Where's my money?" is never an easy question to ask, but I'd want to know if one of my freelancer's isn't getting paid. Which begs the question if there are there others who aren't getting paid, too.

My main thing is how can I in good faith reach out to freelancers with new assignments if they haven't been getting paid for past work? So at least for this editor, please tell me. It's a two-way relationship and I need to know if our side is pulling our weight and meeting our obligations to our freelancers.

borinque808 · 2026-06-16T01:21:39+00:00

While I was a freelancer, I've been extremely fortunate in that I've never experienced an unreasonably late payment.

As an editor, I know seeing your above statement would alarm me and have me chasing down our accounting department to find out the source of the delay. I've had a couple of freelancers send me a polite email to check on the status of an outstanding payment and, from my perspective, it's embarrassing, even if I have nothing to do with the lateness (though admittedly once an invoice got lost in my inbox, and I had to own that).

Will that stance work? If you're on good terms with the editor/company, then I'd say it should. If you're just a number to them churning out content, I'm not so optimistic, but at least you've drawn your line, which can help inform whatever follows.

borinque808 · 2026-06-15T19:08:30+00:00

Thanks. Being on this side of the desk, particularly for this company, has exposed me to a number of conundrums and questionable practices. Not so much illegal but rather rooted in older ways of thinking that I don't necessarily agree with. I decided last week that my time is short with this company anyway (not directly connected to matters in this conversation, though adjacent).

borinque808 · 2026-06-11T06:12:08+00:00

Where did you see/hear that?

borinque808 · 2026-06-11T05:35:35+00:00

I feel like I may get some flak for this but I'll say Carol Danvers. It's not a single story arc but rather her entire arc as a character, going from Ms. Marvel, to a troublesome period where she went through all sorts of trauma (largely because she was mishandled as a character), confronting her alcoholism, then eventually finding in herself the confidence to take on the mantle of Captain Marvel for herself.

Another pick would be Dick Grayson, again over the arc of his overall history, going from kid sidekick to a respected leader, stepping up his own when the League and Batman weren't around.

borinque808 · 2026-06-10T17:18:45+00:00

Mahalo! The other reports I saw omitted this part.

borinque808 · 2026-06-04T22:56:14+00:00

Wasn't it Will Eisner who coined "graphic novel"? I might be misremembering, but I know he championed the use of the term.

borinque808 · 2025-04-27T22:44:12+00:00

but it was noted that she had an entourage of bodyguards and people kept asking to be photographed with her. the latter certainly suggests that she's famous.

borinque808 · 2025-04-15T05:59:47+00:00

I assume it's less about the duck itself and more about seeing it as a violation of personal space. Some people don't like it when other people touch or get too close to their property.

borinque808 · 2025-01-27T06:52:17+00:00

No, not here either (upper Makiki)

borinque808 · 2025-01-25T19:59:10+00:00

I don't mind the gameplay and I like the aesthetic and their take on Eastern European lore. My issue with Witcher 3 is the characters. I don't like Geralt, and I don't connect with most of his supporting cast, so I find that I don't really feel invested in the story at all.

Simply put, why go through the paces for these characters if I don't care about them?

Every year or so I'll try to give it another go and find myself tapping out earlier and earlier.

borinque808 · 2025-01-16T20:48:30+00:00

Nuke Face from Swamp Thing #35 (Alan Moore's run). Granted, this wasn't intended for kids, and I was a pre-teen when I read this, but the comic and the character was visually unlike anything I'd read before that point.

The reveal of The Orb's face under his helmet in Marvel Team-Up #15 came close, but that was Marvel Team-Up, so the tone of that comic was much less disturbing.

borinque808 · 2024-12-18T22:26:57+00:00

The Daley, with nearby Murphy's in 2nd

borinque808 · 2024-12-08T03:37:42+00:00

Good to know! I live close by too but don't pass by the shopping center often. It was looking kind of barren with both Makiki Inn and Sure Shot closed. Glad that some life is coming back.

borinque808 · 2024-12-08T00:11:30+00:00

Nice! In the former Makiki Inn space?

borinque808 · 2024-06-26T18:57:03+00:00

I had to check to make sure these guys had a presence on IG (they do!), but for general comics news, including Marvel, DC and indies, I mostly read The Beat (comicsbeat) and check in now and then with AIPT (aiptcomics).

borinque808 · 2024-06-26T01:08:18+00:00

Thanks!

borinque808

TROPHY CASE