From Pitch to Print: Behind the Scenes of a Magazine Story

Plus, Paris recs!

I’m incredibly honored to have a story in the April issue of Food & Wine magazine, on newsstands now. If you see an issue, please tag me! Print is really such a unique medium so I thought I’d share a behind the scenes look at how the article came together. If you have any further questions, you can leave them in the comments or reply to this email.

I also want to be honest: this week I got rejected for something I really wanted. Being self employed and freelancing is full of highs and lows, often in a single week (or hour). I’m celebrating this story and very proud of it, but life is not all celebrations.

Now, how did this article go from an emailed pitch to a print story? I’ll tell you (it took 10 months)

Step 1: The Pitch

This is my third story for Food & Wine so I already had a contact and relationship with an editor there, the talented Oset Babür-Winter, who edited the Obsessions section. My previous Obsessions story was about glassware so I knew very visual pieces would do best in the front of book (these are stories at the beginning of the magazine that are meant to draw you in). My first Food & Wine story was a profile with a different editor so that process was a little different but the general timing was similar. I sent an email in early June of 2021 with several ideas (one was about the resurgence of flavored cream cheeses) including this one, which I am including below. It was originally pitched for the March 2022 issue but wound up in April. I also included some potential brands to feature, which I had tried, most of which wound up in the final story.

1. Margarita Salts Go Beyond the Basic

A Tajin rim has long made a good margarita a great one, with a burst of heat and a touch of sweetness. With the boom of artisanal salts (I currently have so many at home), spice and salt companies are turning to the rim. These salts go beyond cocktails—use them to season roasted vegetables, meats, and of course, rim glasses for drinks, alcoholic or not. I could also add a sidebar of Mexican owned tequila and mezcal companies to use for cocktails.