Fine Cooking magazine Editor Jennifer Armentrout.
A national food magazine editor said something I never thought I would hear.
Jennifer Armentrout, editor of Fine Cooking since 2011, told me, “I would love to get more pitches from food bloggers. I actually would welcome them.” She was smiling.
For years, the big food magazines have not taken food bloggers seriously (except for the Bon Appetit column by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette). Now that some food bloggers have become established cookbook authors or gained a large following, they have also gained respect.
(I’ve also never heard an editor ask for MORE pitches. Most of the time their inboxes are overwhelming.)
Now’s your chance. Here’s Jennifer’s advice about pitching an article to Fine Cooking:
“Our audience is composed of people who love to cook and entertain, in the 45 to 65 age group, with high household income, who spend money on quality appliances and ingredients.
We want authors who are experts. We usually work with chefs, cooking instructors and food writers, and we recently began commissioning articles from bloggers. In the last year, we have hired Debbie Koenig (Parents Need to Eat Too), Jamie Schler (Life’s a Feast), and Fay DeLeon (Cook Like A Jamaican), for example.
Jennifer wrote the recent cover article on flap steak, but she’s also looking for more freelance writers, including bloggers.
Stories are recipe driven. The voice of the author is very important. A typical feature starts with a 500-word intro, followed by 4 to 5 recipes. Our food runs the gamut from gourmet or “project-y” (make your own feta, ravioli from scratch) to simple everyday cooking (but with an interesting twist, such as mac and cheese with roasted chilies). Some pre-made ingredients are fine, such as canned broth, tomatoes and beans; and rotisserie chicken. Two sidebars of 200 to 300 words provide support information, such as recommended types of cornmeal for a story about polenta.
We pay $250 per recipe, plus an additional amount for text, depending on length. The fee for a typical feature is generally in the $1200 to $1500 range.
We also use freelancers for Make It Tonight, our weeknight cooking column. We commission those recipes on an individual basis at $250 each.
In your pitch, tell me why you are the expert on the topic you’re proposing to write about and the right person to write the article for Fine Cooking. Give me recipe descriptions that show your style and sensibilities. If you can give us a thorough, detailed recipe that works in our test kitchen, you’re going to be one of our favorite people.”
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You might also like:
- How to be the Writer Magazine Editors Want
- Secrets of Writing Recipes for Big Food Magazines
- So You Want to Pitch a Food Article? What to Do (and Avoid)
I’ve got to develop something! I love, love, love Fine Cooking.
Thanks for posting this 🙂
You’re welcome. Hope you’ll give it a shot, Jennifer.
Thanks Dianne for another opportunity!
I like the changes I am seeing in the food writing industry. For instance, last week an international food manufacture contacted me to develop recipes for its website and social media. It wants to switch up its online recipes from corporate to casual, easy-to-digest recipes for the home cook. Of course it helps that I recently published a new title that falls in line with its product. Still. This is a really good sign for all food writers.
And for you! Congratulations, Maureen. Publishing a book also adds to your credibility.
Such great news! Thank you for sharing Dianne!
You are welcome, Traci.
This is really wonderful news! Thanks for sharing this opportunity Dianne!
Happy to do so, Marilena.
Thanks for sharing, Dianne! Now may be a good time to pitch for when my cookbook comes out next year.
Exactly! Go for it, Pat.
An approachanle magazine editor at a great publication! Excellent!! Thanks, Dianne.
Kind of unusual, I have to say. Hope you find a good pitch for her, Susie.
Thank you so much to Jennifer for mentioning me! I love working with the wonderful people at Fine Cooking and am so proud to have my work in the pages of one of my favorite cooking magazines alongside so many illustrious chefs! I do want to add a note that when I had my first recipe published in Fine Cooking (I have a second coming out in an upcoming issue) I wasn’t just blogging – I had been writing professionally for a (short) while and had already been published in print and online, so I had the experience of working with editors as well as adapting to the needs, style, and expectations of different publications. From a writer’s standpoint, I think that makes a difference, large or small…. But the editors at Fine Cooking are just fantastic to work with!
Sorry, hit comment too soon. What I want to say is that while I did have professional experience, it was a wonderful chance for me that Fine Cooking recognized my expertise in my niche area – traditional French cuisine – even though I am not a professionally-trained chef. This is so important to us as bloggers and as non-chef writers. The work I did for them was simple yet complex and fascinating in that it pushed me to delve into the history of and the traditions around French dishes that I am so familiar with but in fact had so much to learn about. It was a priceless experience and one I hope to keep repeating!
This is inspiring to hear Jamie, for people like me. I also am not professionally trained but have a tight niche and experience in teaching! Thank you for taking the time to write a comment!
Sounds like a terrific experience Jamie. Thanks for giving us this insider’s look at what you went through to write the piece.
Also, many people who freelance for food publications are self-taught, so bloggers should not worry about that too much, as long as their recipes are solid and they know how to present and research the right informaton. In the old days many had degrees in Home Economics.
That is a good point, Jamie. These days many successful bloggers have their own cookbooks and write for publications, so they are the most sought after. They are also accustomed to being edited, turning their work in on deadline, and other things that are part of a professional working relationship.
You are generous, Dianne, when you post such opportunities 🙂
Hello Angshuman, I suppose I could keep this info all to myself and start pitching articles to Jennifer, but really, it’s such good news that it’s worth sharing with people.
Dianne,
Thank you for this! What grabbed my attention the most and made me actually write up a pitch is the statement about the audience. That’s my audience! Wish me luck!
Wow, you got right on it, Shef. I like that. Fingers crossed for you.
I don’t know how else we would hear about such opportunities. Thank you Dianne.
My pleasure, Shirl. I also put on social media that Jennifer is looking for a full-time senior editor, if you know anyone who’s qualified for that kind of job. See https://t.co/qWGb72ijvG.
Wow thanks for sharing. Just getting back into blogging and definitely going to investigate this further. Cheers!
Hi Dianne, this is pretty cool. I’ll have to keep this in mind. Nice to see food bloggers being taken more seriously.
Indeed Susan. Not by every magazine, certainly, but a great start.
Hi Dianne,
I just tried to send a pitch to this email address and it was returned undeliverable. I wrote for Fine Cooking years ago and was excited to see this opportunity as I want to get back in to that publication and was so disappointed that it didn’t go through. Thank you for sharing but do you have the correct contact info for Jennifer?
Best,
Amanda Cushman
That was an awesome post and good food bloggers been taken so seriously. Thank you, Dannie, for sharing such wonderful post.
Thank you. The editor has since been replaced, so please take that into account.