Where to Write for Clips, Not Money

I’m always telling people to write for pay, and to ask to be paid well. But some food writers write for self expression, or to get clips, and money is not the most important thing.

If so, these publications might be right for you. They pay anywhere from nothing to not much, but offer the satisfaction of publication:

1. The Bitter Southerner. This gorgeous start-up online magazine only recently came up with money to pay its writers, and maybe not all of them. Here are submissions guidelines.
2. Graze magazine, based in Chicago, is a semi-annual literary magazine. Here are submission guidelines. As told to the Review Review: “We’re interested in the stories that food tells about us—after all, our collective and individual human histories were nourished by the food that we made, smelled, ate, threw up, fucked up, and loved. Our audience will likely be people who are interested in reading about people—and people who are interested in reading about food. This isn’t a Martha Stewart publication—there will be no recipes, no tablescapes, no restaurant reviews. We’re not trying to commodify food; we’re trying to look at the ways food is in the background or foreground of politics, human relationships, locations, events, and so on.”
3. Punchnell’s. This general interest magazine pays $10 for stories based on cooking and recipes. Submission guidelines are here.
4. Peggy Wolff is food editor of Realize magazine, an online journal for “dynamic 50 to 70-year-olds who are un-AARP, and are determined to push harder, imagine more deeply and risk more. I am looking for contributions from food writers whose stories fit this demographic. Contact me at writewolff@aol.com.” At this point there is no payment, even for Peggy. She is also looking for book reviewers, and she will consider written pieces, not just pitches.
5. Serious Eats recently posted a piece about how to submit. In a conference call with members of the Association of Food Journalists (of which I am a member), Senior Features Editor Max Falkowitz said the site publishes four stories per day, some written in house, and he’s most interested in stories readers will share, most of all on Facebook. He likes evergreen stories, which the site uses to build a backlog of content.
6. The Writer’s Workshop Review is an online literary magazine in Seattle. They say they are looking for “travel, food and wine writing with a strong narrative element.” They pay for both stories and interviews. Submission guidelines are here.

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Bonuses:

• If you’re a professional food writer looking for new venues, Meredith corporation launched a new quarterly magazine Eat This Not That. See the website and email editors@eatthis.com with your story idea.
• Wondering what publications pay? There’s a site for that.
• If you want to freelance for British magazines, see this list of magazines.

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You might also like:

• My Year of Submissions to Literary Magazines
• “Find the Story Only You Can Write,” says Carolynn Carreño
• How to be the Writer Magazine Editors Want