Want to write for Viola Nation?

Fiorentina has a brand new owner, (reportedly) a pile of money to splash around, and a whole transfer window to make things happen. Since Viola Nation likes to mirror the club we cover as closely as possible and since we’ve got the same ownership (SB Nation of Vox Media) and same finances (lol) as ever, we’re also looking to bring some new folks aboard.

So, some details. First and foremost, this isn’t a paid position. As much as we’d like to offer writers market-rate compensation, we can’t. Offering exposure—the site earns somewhere around 40,000 views a month—is crappy and exploitative, but it’s the best we can do for now.

On the other hand, the schedule and subject matter for your writing are entirely up to you. I provide some editorial oversight, but I’d rather have fresh perspectives than have someone else hash out my thoughts. Want to write Viola-themed one-act plays? Great. Want to dig into the club’s history! Also great! Want to write about why Juve’s better than Fiorentina? We’ll catapult you into the sun!

We do have some requirements.

1. You have to be a Fiorentina fan. SB Nation’s motto is “Come fan with us,” which is a little eh but describes the ethos pretty well. We don’t break stories, really. We provide translations, opinions, analysis, and, more than anything, space in the comments for other folks to discuss things. We’re not a news site. This is a place for supporters, and to write for such a knowledgeable group as we have here, you have to be one of us.
2. You have to write English fluently. While we’ve got an incredible community here full of folks speaking English as a second, third, or eighteenth (I’m just guessing with Quattro Stelle) language, the site’s articles are in English only. While I’m happy to do some copy editing (and will communicate with you as much as possible about that process), I just don’t have the time to go over everything like a teacher and make corrections.
3. You have to abide by the site guidelines. These apply to everyone here, but to writers more than anyone. We’ve never had any problems with this as far as I know, but it’s always worth mentioning.
4. You have to be at least semi-regularly available. We get that this is an unpaid gig, so you shouldn’t feel a need to volunteer for every article. But a piece every week or two feels like a good minimum. If life gets in the way for a bit, that’s obviously okay and you should prioritize other things. But it’s probably not worth anyone’s time and energy if you can’t write more than once a month. If this sounds like you, I’d like to point you to the FanPost section of the site, which I’d love to see get more use.

That’s it. We’ll give extra consideration to folks who have enough Italian to track team news, folks who are particularly interested in ACF Fiorentina Women’s, and folks who bring a very different point of view than any currently on our roster.

To apply or ask any more questions, shoot an email with a writing sample (doesn’t have to be Fiorentina-related) to sbn.viola.nation@gmail.com; if it looks up to snuff, I’ll send you a follow-up with some questions. I’ll leave the application process open until the end of the week, but if I haven’t heard from you by Friday (5 July), I’m going to close it so I can move the process along quickly for everyone else. Hope to hear from a bunch of y’all.