About HeyHungry: (http://heyhungry.com)
We offer free deals in your city for cool things to eat, do and see.
Freelancers are the ronins of the writing world, splitting the skulls of readers with word-swords wielded for the highest bidder. HeyHungry's editorial department is looking for a few writers with the hardened souls of mercenaries and the tender diction of secret diarists.
The one and only qualification for this gig is that you can write well, and help us develop our own voice. We don't want to be the Onion or the Daily Bugle. We want a tongue-in-cheek style that works, and need writers who can achieve it effortlessly. If you are not familiar with that style, see the bottom of this post.
On the logistical side, writers who are vetted into our freelancing pool have a steady stream of work and can work remotely from anywhere. Depending on the workload they choose, freelancers will earn between $150 and $300 per week compensated at $22 per write-up.
The successful candidate will demonstrate a knack for our voice in his or her sample, and will also be able to point to hard evidence of the ability to self-direct and work under deadline.
To apply, compose a write-up (1 paragraph for the "The Lowdown" section and 2-3 paragraphs for the "In Depth" section). The deal is 50% Off at Queen City Grill (http://www.yelp.com/biz/queen-city-grill-seattle) (max $15 discount).
Please make sure your writeup is well written, with compelling details and our style of absurd humor sprinkled throughout.
Eight Style Essentials To Get You Started
1. Include all of the information you feel separates this business from any of its competitors.
2. Focus on describing this as a great experience, not a great deal.
3. Avoid marketing clichés such as:
- Got X problem? This deal is your answer!
- exclamation points
- slogans, branding language from the featured business's website
- broad, unsubstantiated claims (superlatives, etc)
5. For humor, use absurd, unexpected imagery that reacts to actual details.
6. Avoid humor that relies on pop culture, topical, or celebrity references.
7. Avoid calling out humor with devices such as quotes, parentheses, and adding language that draws attention to the joke.
8. Shoot for 80% informative content and 20% creative content.
Sample writeup:
The Lowdown: It may be tucked betwixt a nail salon and a Jersey Mike's Sub Shop in a nondescript strip at the corner of Howell Mill and Collier Road, but for the past ten years, Alexander Palacios' Salsa Havana has been quietly building itself into a warm, welcoming destination for lovers of Latin food of all stripes. Palacios is reluctant to call it “fusion,” and for good reason—it's not fusion like you might be used to, with elements of seemingly disparate cuisines blended into whole new, trendy things. Instead, the menu is a mix of all sorts of influences that don't call any one place home, all sitting comfortably together despite their regional and culinary differences. Cuban Mojo chicken, meet Argentinian churrasco. Chips and salsa, meet Catalan-style duck confit. Oh look, y'all are getting along just fine!
The Story: For Palacios, fusion isn't about trends—it's just his life. Born in Tampa, his Spanish mother ran a restaurant and instilled in him his early love of food, but he was nudged into earning two degrees at Georgia Tech and working at IBM for upwards of a decade by his Colombian father, an engineer himself. The young Palacios upped the numbers of cultures and professions he was straddling when he lived in France for a year after college, where he worked at a bistro to make ends meet. The chef there took him under his wing and his love of cooking, which never really went away, was fully rekindled.
It would be a few more years—plus a move back to the States, a marriage and three kids—before he cashed out all of his stocks and opened Salsa Havana in a small spot in that Howell Mill strip mall. And since then, it's been his main focus. Drawn in by the promise of fresh, flavorful dishes like Ecuadorian ceviche con cameron (succulent shrimp hooked around the lip of an ice-cream sundae glass filled with sweet and tangy lime salsa, served with chips), mix-and-match taco plates (the slow-cooked meat selections are especially popular among BBQ-loving Southerners, Palacios notes) and seafood paella (a wide, flat pan full of saffron rice, chorizo and steamy mussels). Last year, a month-long sabbatical in Spain (on which he took along his wife and their four kids) inspired Palacios to incorporate more seafood into his menu, which he's trying to do as sustainably and locally-focused as possible.
After developing a bit of a local following (Food Network host Alton Brown drops in often, as does local thriftyman Clark Howard), Palacios had a few holes knocked in the walls and expanded to the unit next door, doubling Salsa Havana's size and dividing it into a spacious, homey main dining room (for families and kids) and a dimmer, more intimate bar and lounge area (perfect for dates, with a more “grownup” crowd sliding in around 8 each night). A full bar serves up cold brews, nightly specials and a few specialty drinks—including the house margarita—all made with real fruit juices, no mixes. Every Friday night, local instrumentalist/singer Mauricio Amaya sets up and plays Latin music to the room. He's a performer by night, but a professional chemist all day—so he knows all about fusion, too.
Location: Seattle
Compensation: 22/writeup
More information here.
