I'm sourcing for so much this week it's crazy! Plus TTC's first Talk is happening this week for members.

AARP, WebMD, Medscape, Health, Shondaland, Brookdale & more.

Hi all. Before we dive in, let’s take a moment of silence for Parade Magazine’s print edition. It ran in its final issue yesterday. Sniff sniff. I’ve had so many wonderful experiences writing for them throughout the years - everything from having Nicolas Cage serenade me with a nursery rhyme to hanging with Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard while they played with hockey sticks, having Arnold Schwarzenegger teach me how to properly use the official Conan the Barbarian sword, talking that drive-in scene at Grease with Olivia Newton John, hanging with Rob Lowe and his pup at the beach (and also planning his travel itinerary for his upcoming Africa trip), having Keanu Reeves teach me about motorcycles and having to convince him to please wear anything but black and try to smile once or twice for photos, laughing with Drew Barrymore as we compared best practices from our therapists that could benefit each other, becoming momentarily bffs with Kelly Clarkson (she has that effect on people), having Matthew McConaughey perform a drum solo for me over Zoom on his desk playing with Harry Winkler’s pup in his home,and more. A few fun memories:

This was the last cover. I have a kid’s toy gift guide in there so if you submitted you may be in there. I will reach out with a PDF and it will probably also go online.

Parade will continue as an e-edition that will still go out to its bazillion of subscribers with digital newspaper subscriptions so that’s all good. So please continue to pitch me for upcoming cover stories and more. But sniff sniff on the ending of the print.

Alright, now onto some happier news:

TOP TIER CONSULTING THANKSGIVING SALE

If you haven’t heard, Jill Schildhouse and I have teamed up together to launch a media consulting business: Top Tier Consulting! Between the two of us, we have written for nearly every major publication out there and have tons of advice to dish out on how to keep landing positioning your clients for top-tier coverage. Our joint business has its very own Substack, where we share our industry insights every week.

BIG DEALS ON OUR SUBSTACK FOR OUR FRIENDSGIVING SALE:

Our weekly posts are PACKED with meaty and actionable information. Here are some of the other important topics we’ve covered recently:

8 Things You Need to Do to Prep Your Clients for Interviews

How to Help Your Clients Rock Email Interviews

Part 2: A Look Inside the Process of How Writers Handle an Inbox Full of PR Pitches

Part 1: A Look Inside the Process of How Writers Handle an Inbox Full of PR Pitches

How to Work Your Sources Into Articles Around the Holidays (it’s way more than just gift guides)

Everything You REALLY Want to Know About Pitching Gift Guides

We have 3 different subscription plans: monthly, annual and foundres.

For November, we’re offering 30% off an annual subscription: Want to read our industry insights? And all future ones? And all the ones in our archives? And would you like to attend our monthly Top Tier Talks? Now’s your chance to upgrade your subscription at a savings of 30%.

Free 1:1 consulting session for Founding Members: Our Founding Members not only get access to our weekly industry insights, archives and Top Tier Talks, but you’ll also now receive a quarterly 1:1 session with us. This session can be used for anything you’d like … perfecting pitches, asking questions, brainstorming angles/outlets to pitch to, helping with a press mailer or press trip invitation, etc. So if you’re thinking about upgrading, you’ll now get 20 minutes with both of us 1:1 each quarter!

25% off a consulting session: Want to workshop a few pitches with two top-tier writers? Try our Pitch Perfecting Session. Or how about booking an agency-wide Q&A for your entire team? We also offer customized sessions on perfecting a press trip itinerary, learning how to connect with new writers and build solid media relationships, nailing the fine art of press mailers and throwing an event that will translate into lots of coverage. You can learn more about those sessions and availability here. We’re excited to offer you 25% off for any consulting session booked during November (note: we can schedule the session for November or December). 

NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO SIGN UP BECAUSE OUR FIRST TOP TIER TALK IS COMING UP ON NOVEMBER 17TH, WHICH IS OPEN TO ALL PAYING MEMBERS OF ANY SUBSCRIPTION PLAN.

This perk is available to ALL paid subscribers (another great reason to upgrade today!).

These monthly, hourlong sessions will take a variety of forms. Some months will be an open Q&A style, and other months we might have a workshop or specific theme. Either way, you'll have direct access to us for an hour each month and walk away with valuable and actionable information that'll help you land even more coverage ... and that begins this month!!

So mark your calendars for Thursday, November 17 at 1 pm PST/4 pm EST. This November session will be an open Q&A style forum, and we’re ready for your questions!

WHAT I’M SOURCING FOR THIS WEEK

Now onto what I’m sourcing for this week. As usual, please email submissions to NCPajer@gmail.com. I do read and consider them all and will get back to you if it’s a fit. :-)

AARP

• The latest in fertility and reproductive technology: Looking to connect with MDs in this space as well as hear about all the fancy new products and technology here.

• Old Wives Tales:

  • Don’t drink milk when you have a cold

  • Feed a cold, starve a fever

  • A little dirt is good for the stomach

  • Sitting too close to the TV will make your eyesight worse

  • Joints ache when the weather is about to change

I’m looking to explore these types of wives tales and more and open to some from other countries. Is there truth to them? Are they false? Looking for MDs (not associated with brands) to help out.

SHONDALAND

• How people can give back in a more focused way.: Looking to speak to some philanthropy experts to discuss why someone could and should focus their efforts when it comes to making their own impact. Is it true that for some, our efforts may be more effective and powerful if we choose one cause (women's rights, social justice, food equity, etc.) and give that all we have rather than spreading ourselves too thin?

HEALTH.COM

• Best online therapy that takes insurance: Looking for recommendations as well as experts to help us break them down

MEDSCAPE

• Doctors who provide investment advice to other doctors. Looking for MDs who do this who have an interesting take on physicians' attitudes and issues with money. Many are not prepared for the huge amounts of student debt they end up having. Others are just intimidated by the world of investing - like a lot of us. One of the MDs kind of summed up the mindset on a podcast, "Doctors are altruistic, guided by Hippocratic oath. They assume that’s the way the world works. But it’s not."

  Per my editor: This is part of a series of personal finance stories on student debt, budgeting, side gigs, etc. So, we would like to keep this investment piece focused on that topic as much as possible and as specific to doctors as we can. This also relates to our "doctors helping doctor" theme, so it should include practical investment advice. We also want to emphasize the personal impact in terms of family finances and life decisions. 

BROOKDALE (LEADING SENIOR HOUSING COMPANY IN N.A. WITH 700+ LOCATIONS) BLOG

• 20 Healthy Snacks for Seniors: Looking for RDs, especially those with experience treating senior audiences to weigh in.

• How to Use Ride Share Apps Safely (think of an audience that may never have used them before): Looking for experts to help out here.

PARADE E-EDITION

• Upcoming cover stars: On the lookout for celebrity covers for January and beyond. Must be household names (see my examples up top in my Parade print tribute for inspo).

Timing on all of these is ASAP. So many end of month/first week of December deadlines here and need to get going on all of them so I can be Superwoman and hit deadlines.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to seeing many of you in Thursday’s 1st monthly Top Tier Talk.

Nicole