Freelancing

Get More Assignments from Editors

May 3, 2022 by diannejacob 3 Comments

Over the last dozen years, I have received scores of assignments from editors of print magazines and online websites. I especially cherish those relationships that have spanned years and feel like collaborations.

When editors appreciate my work and trust me, my job gets easier. Instead of a formal pitch, editors will accept just a few lines for a story idea. Even nicer is when they come up with story ideas specifically for me.

It’s not difficult to build this kind of mutually respectful relationship. You will get more assignments. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Timeliness is next to godliness.

Turn in your stories on time or early. It seems obvious, but this is the number one thing that pleases or puts off an editor. One magazine I write for has deadlines etched in stone. The editor coordinates so much at [Read more…] about Get More Assignments from Editors

Writing to Help Struggling Restaurants

June 22, 2021 by diannejacob 4 Comments

A guest post by Anna Mindess

Like many freelance writers, I lost work when the pandemic hit. My articles were cancelled or postponed. A magazine that I contributed to regularly went out of business. There was so much uncertainty. I felt useless. But today, it’s different. I feel inspired and empowered. I’ve put myself on a path to help struggling restaurants. This focus has become one of the most satisfying projects I have ever undertaken as a writer.

It started when I saw award-winning cookbook author Grace Young’s Instagram challenge in conjunction with the James Beard Foundation, called #SaveChineseRestaurants. Given the dismal picture of scores of Chinese restaurants closing, especially mom and pop spots, Young asked followers to [Read more…] about Writing to Help Struggling Restaurants

10 Mistakes Not to Make When Working with an Editor

January 5, 2021 by diannejacob 5 Comments

image for working with an editor post By Amy Sherman

Writers have mixed feelings about working with an editor. As a freelance writer, I get it. When I started writing about food in 2003, I didn’t have an editor because I was writing for my own site. Even when I blogged for outlets such as Epicurious, KQED and Frommer’s, my editors were hands off. As my career progressed and I wrote articles for consumer, trade and academic publications, my editors became more involved. I learned that an editor could make my writing much better.

But sometimes working with an editor was just plain frustrating. I struggled with vague assignments and a lack of clear feedback. Other times I read a final story and barely recognized it, because [Read more…] about 10 Mistakes Not to Make When Working with an Editor

Pitch It Until it Sells

February 18, 2020 by diannejacob 7 Comments

A guest post by Kristen Hartke

I’m always surprised when writers ask me for tips about being a “successful” freelance writer. That’s because, like most writers, I live in a world where rejection is the norm. I do, however, have my work published somewhat regularly. It could be due to [Read more…] about Pitch It Until it Sells

Submit Your Writing to a New Food Writing Anthology

December 10, 2019 by diannejacob 7 Comments

image for submitting your writing to an anthology There’s a big new game in town, and you can play. Before, Best Food Writing, an anthology compiled by freelance writer Holly Hughes, came out every year. You would submit your writing, and she decided what to accept. That run ended in 2017.

It’s probably because a new The Best American Food Writing debuted in 2018, published by [Read more…] about Submit Your Writing to a New Food Writing Anthology

Why I Started an Indie Food Zine

July 3, 2018 by diannejacob 7 Comments

A Guest Post by Anna Brones

As a writer, I’m always thinking of new projects, which is why I started an indie food zine. Even when I don’t have something concrete in mind, ideas end up marinating in the back of my brain. That’s how Comestible came to be.

Comestible is a bi-annual publication I started self publishing in 2016. I never know exactly what to call it, but it’s somewhere between a zine, a periodical, a journal, and a magazine. It’s 64 pages long and illustrated in black and white. It features stories and artwork about food, the places food comes from and the people who produce it. Comestible also uses food as a lens for looking at other larger issues, like gender, economics, and sustainability. [Read more…] about Why I Started an Indie Food Zine

How I Will Stay Sane in a Shifting Freelance Climate

April 10, 2018 by diannejacob 12 Comments

A guest post by Jaime Lewis

I love the writing life but I’m done gaming this shifting freelance climate.

The last 10 years of my career, I’ve devoted myself to hunting down, pitching, landing and writing stories for [Read more…] about How I Will Stay Sane in a Shifting Freelance Climate