There’s a reason I interview editors who hire writers — beyond the obvious one, which is to get you access to gatekeepers who might publish your work. It’s because many readers haven’t written, which is vital to attracting an editor to the book you want to write. Your byline on articles highlighting your book’s topic makes you more credible and attractive to a book editor or agent.
Today I’m offering paid subscribers a special advantage, at the end of this newsletter. It’s courtesy of Amy Sherman, whom I’ve known for decades. Amy will take calls with the first five paid subscribers who email her. Paid subscribers can pitch her a story or ask about what kinds of stories she wants. As she explains below, on the food-related sites she edits, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) looms large when she and her team consider a pitch.
The San Francisco–based writer is currently the editor-in-chief of online sites Alcohol Professor, Cheese Professor, Chocolate Professor and the Olive Oil Professor. She has headed these sites for six years. Founder Adam Levy launched The Professor Media Group more than 14 years ago to support the food and drink competitions he runs. Now The Cheese and Alcohol Professor sites each have about 1 million page views each per year.
Outside of her editing job, Amy is an active freelance writer. She contributes articles to the Martha Stewart websites and 7x7, a San Francisco online publication. She has written for Afar, Architectural Digest, Fodor’s, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Tasting Table, the Food Network and so many more. She know show to pitch an editor successfully.
In the past, Amy was an early food blogger and the author three cookbooks: Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers, WinePassport: Portugal and A Microwave, A Mug, A Meal. She also wrote the new introduction to Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book and the forward to the reprint of the Betty Crocker Good & Easy Cook Book.
Q. What direction would you give a writer who wants to pitch you?
A. SEO controls so much of what gets written about. If I were starting out, I would ask an editor what kinds of stories perform best for them.
For our Professor sites, what doesn’t perform well are book reviews. Certain kinds of roundups and regional stories do well. Sometimes I email my top five stories to freelancers so they can see what performed well.
It’s not so easy to learn about SEO on your own. And it changes all the time.
Q. So if it’s not easy to learn about SEO, how does a writer figure out what kind of story editors like?
A. Have a relationship with your editor, where you can be honest with them and ask what kind of stories are doing well.
I meet for two to three hours with a SEO consultant every month to try to figure out why certain stories do well, and what we need to do differently in the future.
Q. You like to freelance on the side, despite running four sites?
Yes. I freelance for the Martha Stewart websites and 7x7, which is local to San Francisco. Both were print magazines and now are only online.
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