Food...editing?

[phlox]

Since everyone here is involved with food in some way and many are involved with food writing, I figured this was a good place to ask for advice.

I finished undergraduate school a couple of months ago and have been trying unsuccessfully to get a job. Well, I should say, a job that doesn't make me want to go Office Space on the contents of the supply room and beat my boss senseless with a stapler. Here's hoping he's too busy drafting passive-aggressive e-mails to me to be reading here. The listings that really appeal to me are for copyediting and/or fact checking for food magazines. I copyedited for my school paper for three years, trained as a writing tutor, bla bla bla, and, since I'm here, of course am obsessed with food. This seemingly obscure niche feels like the perfect fit for my grammar-and-food-nerd tendencies.

Any advice on how to break into this field? Do I start out in the mailroom like I've heard of people doing at the New Yorker? Respond to ads and hope for the best? (That's working like - well, like the opposite of a charm, whatever the heck that is.) Help!

Edited July 11, 2006 by phlox (log)

[MissAmy]

Sounds like someone's got a case of the Mondays!

At any rate, you might want to check and see if there are any small production companies in your area that deal with food. That's how I got my current job, and it's great because I get to cook, write, research, and test recipes in a highly collaborative environment. The ONLY reason I got such a nifty gig is because I was basically in the right place at the right time and the company is still pretty small and relatively new. I wish I could be of more help. It sucks so much to be in a job you hate. Start researching for opportunities in your area and see what happens.

[Pat Churchill]

Maybe you should start with a food blog so you've got something to show a prospective employer. Pick a topic that interests you. Research ethnic cuisines, or individual ingredients, or food history, or spices - whatever. Write an article and then rewrite it. Make sure it has clarity, is unambiguous, is easy to read, doesn't leave the reader with unanswered questions. There's more to editing than impeccable grammar. Sentences must flow.

I got into food writing/editing etc via journalism. I worked as a reporter on a metro daily in New Zealand as general reporter for several years before spending some time copy-editing and learning page layout and ending up as features editor. At that time I started writing about food for bachelors (ie most of the guys I worked with who were trying to learn how to cook edible food). When I took time off to have kids, the food writing continued with a food column for a Sunday newspaper. I also wrote a bachelor's cookbook at that time.

I duly resumed my career, as corporate relations manager for a large NZ newspaper group and along the way inherited a small publishing concern as part of my job. They just happened to publish an annual cookbook so I worked as publishing manager for a couple of those, overseeing everything from the food prep to the photography to design and publication (and still doing the corporate relations job fulltime!) I had to give up the latter job when husband moved cities, so I went back to newspaper copy editing for about six years, working in features. I got back into food writing and my column is syndicated to three NZ dailies. It was all right place, right time stuff.

These days I am semi-retired, editing and laying out a house magazine for a NZ newspaper group and doing occasional contract work. I've launched my own website www.cookingdownunder.com.

Journalism has been a great career, more so because from the early days I decided to pick up as many skills as I could (even down to buying my first computer in 1981). Funnily enough, it's the copy editing and layout skills that have kept me employable through the baby raising days when I stayed at home, to part-time work when the kids were small, onto mahogany row and now into semi-retirement. That all covers 44 years and I have never had to go looking for a job yet - apart from my first newspaper job. And boy, has it been fun! I'm never bored. How good is that?

I also had the good sense to marry a fellow journo...

[phlox]

Thanks for the replies; I really appreciate it. I already have clips from a few different publications, experience copyediting and doing layout, and a pretty wide array of references. I'm just having trouble getting my foot in the door. I'm also looking to relocate, because as much as I like Pittsburgh, it doesn't seem like there's a ton of room for advancement here.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Another place to persue for journalism jobs of all kinds (including food-related) is Media Bistro. There is a membership fee of $50.00 for "insider information" that has proven slightly more helpful to me, but may not be required.

[phlox]

I'm on mediabistro, actually, but haven't invested in the premium membership. Do you think it would be helpful for someone looking for editing work?

I'm also thinking about signing up for their seminars on food writing in September. Has anyone here been to one of these? If so, was it worth the time/money?

[russ parsons]

copy editing is among the easiest ways to break into journalism simply because there's usually less competition (most people want bylines) and also because really good copy editors are worth their weight in gold (writers are a dime a dozen).

it's been a long time since i've been in the job market and don't know anything about the value of mediabistro. if you're specifically interested in food, i do recommend toni allegra's food writing workshop at the greenbrier. a little pricey, but there are scholarships available and i think people generally find it worthwhile.

(obligatory note: while i teach regularly at greenbrier, i have no financial interest in teh program and volunteer my time there.)

[Nina C.]

I'm on mediabistro, actually, but haven't invested in the premium membership.  Do you think it would be helpful for someone looking for editing work?

I'm also thinking about signing up for their seminars on food writing in September.  Has anyone here been to one of these?  If so, was it worth the time/money?

←

So far, I haven't found the premium membership to be as valuable as I thought it would be. It does have how-to-pitch articles, but for someone just starting out, many of these aren't that relevant, or aren't on subjects I'm qualified to write about. In any case, that's not what you are interested in.

I got it because I was taking a class, and the discount for members paid for most of the membership cost. The class was enormously useful.

If I were in your shoes, I'd save my money.

You might also try applying for jobs as an assistant production editor, or an assistant to a production editor at a book publisher that publishes lots of cookbooks. (although I'm not sure where you are located, and most of these are in New York). Most people want to go into developmental editing (working with the authors) rather than production (working with copyeditors, copyediting, working with printers) so these kinds of jobs are easier to get.

[phlox]

I'm on mediabistro, actually, but haven't invested in the premium membership.  Do you think it would be helpful for someone looking for editing work?

I'm also thinking about signing up for their seminars on food writing in September.  Has anyone here been to one of these?  If so, was it worth the time/money?

←

So far, I haven't found the premium membership to be as valuable as I thought it would be. It does have how-to-pitch articles, but for someone just starting out, many of these aren't that relevant, or aren't on subjects I'm qualified to write about. In any case, that's not what you are interested in.

I got it because I was taking a class, and the discount for members paid for most of the membership cost. The class was enormously useful.

If I were in your shoes, I'd save my money.

You might also try applying for jobs as an assistant production editor, or an assistant to a production editor at a book publisher that publishes lots of cookbooks. (although I'm not sure where you are located, and most of these are in New York). Most people want to go into developmental editing (working with the authors) rather than production (working with copyeditors, copyediting, working with printers) so these kinds of jobs are easier to get.

←

Good to know. I love straight proofreading (I know, I'm a freak) and have experience using a lot of the programs these jobs require (Quark, InDesign, PageMaker), so I will look out for those descriptions as well.

I've often been told what you said, Russ, that the competition for copyediting jobs isn't as fierce, but so far, no dice. It's just frustrating, because I feel like I've done everything as an undergraduate I could have possibly done to prepare me for a career, and it's still not enough. I did an internship at a newspaper, I edited magazine-lenth features for a political magazine, I helped launch a newsletter, I helped launch an online music magazine, I worked for a literary magazine, and I worked for the uni's daily paper doing both writing and copyediting and my last year was one of the copy chiefs. Do I have to walk around NYC wearing an inflatable semi-colon suit that says 'will edit for food'?

Whew, sorry for the rant. And thanks for the helpful replies.

[russ parsons]

well, you've probably also heard that the first job is the hardest one to get. that's probably true, but in my experience, they were all pretty tough, or so it seemed at the time. it's just a matter of keeping knocking on doors, then when one opens, proving you deserve to be there. and then after a little while, you start knocking again.

[phlox]

well, you've probably also heard that the first job is the hardest one to get. that's probably true, but in my experience, they were all pretty tough, or so it seemed at the time. it's just a matter of keeping knocking on doors, then when one opens, proving you deserve to be there. and then after a little while, you start knocking again.

←

You're right, I shouldn't get so discouraged. And I've only been out of school for 8 weeks. I'm just so sick of my parents asking about it! At this point, if I get even an interview, I'll probably have it plastered onto the side of a bus, I don't know why they think I'd keep it a secret.

[MarketStEl]

You're right, I shouldn't get so discouraged.  And I've only been out of school for 8 weeks.  I'm just so sick of my parents asking about it!  At this point, if I get even an interview, I'll probably have it plastered onto the side of a bus, I don't know why they think I'd keep it a secret.

←

Eight weeks?

Boy, your parents are impatient!

I'm an experienced writer and editor, and I went nearly two years between permanent full-time gigs.

Keep your chin up and read "Dilbert" while your hunt continues. You might also want to consider offering your services on a freelance basis to graduate students with dissertations (mind-numbing though these can be) while you search to keep your chops up if your present job is lacking in tasks that make full use of your skill set and interests.

[russ parsons]

i hesitate to offer too much career and life advice (it makes me feel even older than i am ... and i get enough of that at home with my daughter), but i'd also ask you to remember that one of the best ways to get started is to work for free. in my career, patchwork and crazed as it has been, i can trace almost every good thing back to having done something just because i was fascinated by it, hang the money. don't get caught up in getting your dream job right out of the chute. get a job that enables you to pay whatever rent you have, then find your dream job and do it for free in your spare time. pretty soon, i think, the two will begin to merge (either that, or you'll find your dream job wasn't what you thought it would be and you'll feel doubly free to dump it because you're not getting paid anyway).

[Pat Churchill]

You're right, I shouldn't get so discouraged.  And I've only been out of school for 8 weeks.  I'm just so sick of my parents asking about it!  At this point, if I get even an interview, I'll probably have it plastered onto the side of a bus, I don't know why they think I'd keep it a secret.

←

Check out http://www.gildedfork.com/internships.html. Might be a start...

Good luck.