JCarrot Contributor Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in writing for the Jew and the Carrot!

We really hope that Jew and the Carrot will be the center of the internet conversation on Jews, food, and contemporary life. As such, we have created a set of guidelines that helps to ensure that pieces meet that goal. Please take a few minutes to read through them as they will make the editorial process much smoother.

For more information about writing for the Jew and the Carrot, and to pitch story ideas, please email: editor@jcarrot.org

Content:

Food – First and foremost, the Jew and the Carrot is a food blog. All posts must directly discuss food in some way.
Jews – There are lots of blogs out there that talk about these issues, and the thing that sets us apart is that we look at issues through a Jewish lens. How you plan on focusing that lens is an important consideration when writing your piece.
Focus – The focus of your post should appear in the beginning, ideally in the first paragraph. Posts that are focused on a specific topic will be richer and more interesting to our readers.
Depth vs. Breadth – We are looking for pieces that focus on specific topics. Our readers are more interested in learning about kosher wine from France, than a survey of every bottle of kosher wine from around the world.
Promoting Events & Products – We can not ask our readers to donate money, register for events, or purchase products, we can only report on what’s happening. If you are writing about an event or cause that you want people to be involved in, consider your post as a news report on the event or cause.
Disclosure – If you’re personally involved in what you’re writing about (or have been in the past) it’s important to tell readers that up front.
Holidays – It is important for us to have comprehensive coverage of holidays and other Jewish events. However, we can only have so many articles on latkes or etrogim each year. As such, we reserve the right to accept story ideas based on the needs of our publication calendar. We will do our best to solicit holiday articles at least 1-2 months in advance to ensure comprehensive and unique coverage. Holiday stories will only be published before or during the holiday; the best hamentashen recipe isn’t very useful the week after Purim.
Repeat Coverage – Similarly to the above paragraph on holidays, we must be cautious about having too many articles that talk about the same subject. Please be aware that we might not run an article if we feel that the topic has been covered already. If there is a new angle on the topic, it might make sense to run an article on the subject.
Cross-Posting – Posts for the Jew and the Carrot should be original content. If you wish to cross post to something you have written for your personal blog please send us a version of the post that gives JCarrot readers the highlights of your story. Also, if you are planning on submitting your story to another publication, you must let us know in advance.

Format

Length – Posts should be between 700 and 800 words. If the post contains a recipe, that is not included in the word count. (So a post with a 700 word story and a 200 word recipe is fine).
Time Frame – We try to work at least a week or two in advance, in order to have enough lead time to edit and post pieces. Our publication calendar is planned out even farther in advance. To ensure that your pieces are posted in a timely manner, please inform us of your topic at least 2 weeks in advance. We cannot guarantee that posts submitted on the fly will be posted.
File Format – Please submit your posts as a word document (.doc).
Links – Posts should include links to references from websites, newspapers, or other blog posts about the topic if they exist. It is easiest if you [bracket] the words you want linked and put the URL in (parenthesis) with no space between the parenthesis and the brackets. Ex. [Hazon](http://hazon.org) works to create healthy and sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.
Bio – Please conclude your post with a short bio, no more than two lines.

Photographs:

Each of our posts should include photographs or other images to make the page more interesting. However, we need to make sure we have permission to use the photos.

Recipe posts – Take your own photos of homemade recipes! We recommend taking a couple so there are some options. The photos usually turn out best taken in a naturally bright room (natural light is better than flash).
Book Reviews – Please ask the publicist or publishing company of the book for permission to use the cover art or other images with your post. You can contact a publicist by searching for the publisher’s main phone number and asking the operator for the publicist’s contact info.
Q and A – If you are doing an interview with please ask them for a headshot or a picture or two of their project/work.
Others – For any general photos, we can use images from Flickr’s Creative Commons section or from WikiCommons. Please include a few photo suggestions with your post.

Samples:

Here are some suggestions of posts that exemplify what we are looking for.

Holidays: