Science Writer

Science Buzz is a pre-launch blog that's focused on making research in the physical sciences accessible to a general audience.  

We're looking for contributors with subject matter expertise in Earth Science, Biology, Physics, Astronomy, and Chemistry (and their sub-disciplines) to produce high-quality posts on recent discoveries/research, as well as guides and outlining content for infographics.

About you:
*    You're an expert in some scientific domain.  That doesn't necessarily mean you have a Ph.D. or have worked in the field professionally; we're happy to hire passionate amateurs.  It does mean that you're familiar with the leading academic journals in the subject and have the background knowledge to understand the significance of new research.
*    You can write clearly about complex topics.  This means you know the Jargon of the field, but can communicate what is essential without relying on it.
*    You understand the elements of producing viral content and aren't averse to formulas when they work (e.g., listicles).

Pros of working with us:
*    Get paid to learn and write about something you're genuinely interested in
*    All work published under your byline
*   Flexibility:  we rarely have strict deadlines and are happy to work with people who aren't able to contribute regularly.

What we look for:
* Typical article length of 800 - 2,000 words.  We're open to longer pieces but will typically solicit them from contributors who we've worked with previously.
* Coverage of a topic that hasn't been widely reported on other blogs or in the press.
* We want to cover research that has been published in the last year,  though this is not a hard rule.
* Relevance:  our goal is to make science engaging, the primary way to do that is by illustrating how it connects to the lives of our readers.
* A sense of humor or whimsy.

Rates:  Our starting rate is $150 per published article.   Ideally, we would like contributors who can write several articles per week but are open to working with talented writers who as well.

Note:  Because of the volume of applications we receive, we aren't able to personally follow up with everyone, but we will be in touch within 48 hours if it seems like there's a good potential match.

If you have a specific story idea you would like to pitch: please include the working title, subject, and potential sources.  While we will need to see a full draft before committing to publish a piece, you can pitch an idea get our impression of whether it's a fit for us.