WRITER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please read these guidelines in their entirety to be published successfully with us.

SPEC SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We welcome pre-written articles; however, spec submissions we receive under the following terms of the agreement:

The story is not being considered or under development in another publication, and the editors have the exclusive right to review the material for three months. If we decide to publish it, we insist on exclusivity for three to eight months, depending on the publication, after the time when we publish the article.
If we ask for edits from you to better prepare the article to achieve Travel Gourmet Media Inc.’s publication standards, the article is still deemed to be on spec. The writer undertakes edits to the article under the agreement that the story is still under spec consideration and publication is not guaranteed.

If after edits and re-writes the editorial team decides for any reason that the story will not be published in Grand Rapids Food, we will inform the writer within three months of receipt of the submission and the writer is free to submit it elsewhere.
We will not pay a kill fee to articles we have considered and rejected under spec submissions.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Before you send a query, please read at least one issue of Grand Rapids Food Magazine so you can tell us which section or department you’re targeting. Go to Grand Rapids Food Magazine Facebook page to find out where you can get a copy or read online.
Please bear in mind that we have a 10-week lead-time.

The query should explain your idea for the story and how you plan to proceed with the research/reporting. It should include your approach, tone, and style, as well as your qualifications to write on the subject plus sources you intend to use. You must be able to provide detailed documentation for fact-checking purposes. Samples of your published writing should accompany first queries.

About us: GR Food Magazine is an online and print magazine that is dedicated to exploring the food and drink culture of West Michigan. In-depth restaurant reviews, chef profiles, profiles of food and drink products made here in West Michigan, the list of what we can cover is endless.

We are looking for front/ back of the book items as well as feature pieces. Front/ back of the book sections are:  Best of,  Eat (in-depth restaurant reviews), Experience (things to do), Journey (places to see). Features should be 1,200 to 3,000 words in length,  Front/ Back of book should be600 to 700 words.  Feel free to include suggestions for breakout sidebars, as well as service information detailing the how-to’s, where-to’s and even websites relating to the topic.

Writers should submit fact-checking information (source names and phone numbers, clippings, URLs, etc.) at the end of the story. • Accuracy is crucial.

About your submission: When shaping an article for us, consider first that it must be firmly rooted in our region. The lack of this foundation element is one of the biggest reasons for our rejecting material. If you send us a piece about peaches, even if it does an admirable job of relaying the history of peaches, their medicinal qualities, their nutritional magnificence and so on, we are likely to reject it if it doesn’t include local farms as a reference point.  In a nutshell, your article must contain a West Michigan food and drink culture presence to be considered for publication.

We want features to have entry points. As we use it, the term includes sidebars and extended captions designed to bring in a reader not enticed by the main subject. Using peaches again as an example, if we wanted 2,500 words, perhaps 1,800 words would be devoted to the main body, 300 words would cover U-Pick places; 250 words would cover the technicalities of peach processing, and 150 words would be dedicated to a recipe.

When submitting, please let us know if your article is for the print or online magazines. We do not print fiction so also provide a “fact check sheet” with names and contact numbers of persons within your article.

 To get an idea of what we print: Think of GR Food Magazine as the best of Edible Communities, Saveur, Food and Wine, Food and Travel Magazines.

Our region: We cover the West Michigan Area; this includes, Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan, Lake, Barry, Calhoun, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Van Buren, Berrien, Branch, Cass, St Joseph counties.

About photos: When submitting, please let us know if you can provide images and if it is for online or print. When sending pictures, please attach them as a jpeg/ Jpg file. To be considered they need to be high quality at 300dpi.

 Compensation:  We pay  40 cents per word for all freelance magazine submissions. Payment of 30 cents per word for freelance articles published on our website. Freelance writers will be paid on the 15th of the month following publication release date.

Note: Travel Gourmet Media Inc. does not accept queries that are currently being considered by other publications or submissions of previously published work. Travel Gourmet Media Inc. retains perpetual rights to publish editorial online in context without additional licensing. The writer retains copyright;  Travel Gourmet Media Inc. will not supply editorial to any third-party.

Writers can contact us here. Please put Query ( along with the title of your proposed article) in the subject line.