This pitch letter is part of The Open Notebook’s Pitch Database, which contains 302 successful pitches to a wide range of publications. To share your own successful pitch, please fill out this form.
(Note: obviously, we changed the title during the editing process!)
Dear Jillian:
I’m writing to pitch my narrative essay, “Cappuccino’s Cosmic Correlations” for consideration by OpenMind, likely for either the Cognition or Culture sections.
My daughter informed me a few weeks ago that an entire website exists to keep tabs on a single question: is Mercury in retrograde? As someone trained in physics, astronomy, and education, I find this fact both humbling and hilarious. Humbling, because so many people continue to believe in the pseudoscience of astronomy, despite modern education’s focus on core concepts of knowing. Hilarious, because the phrase “Boy, Mercury must be in retrograde!” has all but replaced the assumption my grandmother used to say, “Boy, it must be a full moon tonight!” whenever we’d get too squirrely. Perhaps it’s a sign of progress that we’ve advanced from full moons to the complex orbital patterns of Mercury?
In my 1800-word essay “Cappuccino’s Cosmic Correlations,” I look beyond the astrological superstition regarding retrograde motion to the very simple astronomical movements of the planets. With simple examples and conversational prose, I tackle the question posed by baristas, yoga instructors, and everyday folks as they wonder whether Mercury’s sometimes-backward path across the night sky might account for their mysteriously canceled dinner date or their capricious state of mind on an otherwise ordinary day.
(Spoiler alert: Mercury is not in retrograde right now, but it will revert to that backwards motion in late April.)
I am currently a candidate for a Master of Arts in science writing degree at Johns Hopkins University; my bachelor’s degree in physics and my Master of Arts in teaching degrees are also from Hopkins. I have five years of experience in astronomical data processing and ten years in teaching high school physics.
“The Same Sky, Differently”
This pitch letter is part of The Open Notebook’s Pitch Database, which contains 302 successful pitches to a wide range of publications. To share your own successful pitch, please fill out this form.
The Story
“The Same Sky, Differently”
https://www.openmindmag.org/articles/the-same-sky-differently
by Trisha Muro
OpenMind, October 27, 2023
The Pitch
(Note: obviously, we changed the title during the editing process!)
Dear Jillian:
I’m writing to pitch my narrative essay, “Cappuccino’s Cosmic Correlations” for consideration by OpenMind, likely for either the Cognition or Culture sections.
My daughter informed me a few weeks ago that an entire website exists to keep tabs on a single question: is Mercury in retrograde? As someone trained in physics, astronomy, and education, I find this fact both humbling and hilarious. Humbling, because so many people continue to believe in the pseudoscience of astronomy, despite modern education’s focus on core concepts of knowing. Hilarious, because the phrase “Boy, Mercury must be in retrograde!” has all but replaced the assumption my grandmother used to say, “Boy, it must be a full moon tonight!” whenever we’d get too squirrely. Perhaps it’s a sign of progress that we’ve advanced from full moons to the complex orbital patterns of Mercury?
In my 1800-word essay “Cappuccino’s Cosmic Correlations,” I look beyond the astrological superstition regarding retrograde motion to the very simple astronomical movements of the planets. With simple examples and conversational prose, I tackle the question posed by baristas, yoga instructors, and everyday folks as they wonder whether Mercury’s sometimes-backward path across the night sky might account for their mysteriously canceled dinner date or their capricious state of mind on an otherwise ordinary day.
(Spoiler alert: Mercury is not in retrograde right now, but it will revert to that backwards motion in late April.)
I am currently a candidate for a Master of Arts in science writing degree at Johns Hopkins University; my bachelor’s degree in physics and my Master of Arts in teaching degrees are also from Hopkins. I have five years of experience in astronomical data processing and ten years in teaching high school physics.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Trisha