freelance food writing

8 Best Tips on Writing and Pitching a Listicle

February 23, 2016 by diannejacob 10 Comments

A guest post by Sara Bir

Last year, I assigned, edited, and posted 230 listicles for my former job as food editor for the pop culture website Paste Magazine.

A listsicle, if you’re wondering, comprises a short list of 100-200 words that tells a larger story. You’ve read many of them online because they’re fast reads and often, you can’t help yourself.

I once resented listsicles for their seemingly dashed-off nature. I thought they were just articles with numbers in them. But I had to make peace with [Read more…] about 8 Best Tips on Writing and Pitching a Listicle

Submit Your Writing Now to Lucky Peach

May 26, 2015 by diannejacob 22 Comments

Looking for a paid outlet for your food writing?

Recently Lucky Peach launched a new website featuring “daily essays, recipes, restaurant recommendations, comics, and other miscellany,” says editor Chris Ying.

That means they need lots of content, which is the best news ever for freelance food writers. Here are some guidelines for submission:

1. Write for a monthly theme, tied to the [Read more…] about Submit Your Writing Now to Lucky Peach

Where to Write for Clips, Not Money

December 23, 2014 by diannejacob 9 Comments

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:

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.
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 [Read more…] about Where to Write for Clips, Not Money

17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

November 11, 2014 by diannejacob 25 Comments

Vibrant tomato sauces, captured courtesy of photographer Donna Ruhlman.

Who has time to keep up with all the tips and irresistible stories on the Internet?

Now you do! I’ve saved you hours by aggregating this tomato-sauce colored list of links about food and recipe writing, successful bloggers, book promotion, and freelance [Read more…] about 17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

Should Recipes Still be About Meals?

October 14, 2014 by diannejacob 34 Comments

Are we raising a nation of snackers?

As The New York Times reported recently, “sitting down to three square meals is going the way of the landline.” People now graze throughout the day and some 40 percent of Americans eat only snacks, not meals.

And yet, we still write cookbooks for one-pot meals and recipes for dishes meant to be consumed by more than one, sitting around a table. We still organize cookbooks by appetizers, side dishes and entrees, oblivious to this new development.

I’ve been thinking about how new cookbooks might be organized to address this trend. There would be no sections for breakfast, lunch or dinner, because [Read more…] about Should Recipes Still be About Meals?

5 New Food Magazines to Pitch

September 10, 2013 by diannejacob 21 Comments

Perhaps you’re in a rut, writing for the same publication, and it’s time to branch out? Or maybe you’re comfortable blogging but you’d like to try writing for magazines?

Whatever the reason, it’s always exciting to see a new crop of magazines. Here’s a short list of what emerged recently, followed by tips on how to pitch:

Alo. A Middle Eastern lifestyle and culture magazine with a food section.
ACQTaste (As in “Acquired Taste”). A Canadian journal of food culture and lifestyle, focusing on chefs and restaurants, not necessarily in Canada. A recent issue focused on New York food artisans and chefs.
Cherry Bombe. Here is a bi-annual magazine that celebrates women, high fashion, art and food. Issue one includes articles on food stylist Victoria Granof, pit master [Read more…] about 5 New Food Magazines to Pitch

Why This Food Writer Wears Many Hats

July 23, 2013 by diannejacob 37 Comments

Virginia Willis does a lot of jobs simultaneously to pay the bills, and because she prefers it that way. (Photo by Angie Mosier)

A guest post by Virginia Willis

A few years ago there was a great outcry when Food52’s Amanda Hesser wrote that she wouldn’t advise any one to become a food writer. At the time I disagreed, but now I find that she has a point.

To be successful as a food writer, I wear many hats. Sometimes, I do work outside food writing because I enjoy it. Sometimes that work is more lucrative. Regardless, all these hats create massive scheduling and financial challenges, but also diversity and stimulation. My small business can be feast or famine, but the jobs are tightly intertwined and I cannot imagine it any other way.

The deal is, it’s just not enough to be a food writer, even a successful one. We may not be starving artists, but very few writers are financially successful.

Here’s what I do as a food writer. It’s a lot but it’s not enough:

1. Cookbook author. My two cookbooks have received much acclaim and even some awards. Using the language of Publishers Lunch, my advances have been [Read more…] about Why This Food Writer Wears Many Hats