Diva's Pitch Policy

Owing to a recent spate of email (read a ton) from a number of unusually persistent (read impatient) individuals, I have finally buckled down and written that Pitch Policy I've been meaning to draft for the last year and a half.

With deepest apologies to my regular audience, I beg your indulgence while we get this bit of necessary business out of the way today. Rest assured, we'll be back to recipes later in the week.

The idea for a Pitch Policy first came to me from a post on my pal Charmian Christie's blog, Christie's Corner. Her pitch policy is witty, funny, and comprehensive all at once and I thank her for putting the idea into my head ... what now seems like ages ago. I've borrowed heavily from her format ... so, again, thanks Charmian - I couldn't have done this without you!

Let me preface my own policy with the statement that I honestly do welcome invitations of all sorts from: PR agencies, publicists, publishing houses, Chefs, restaurateurs, local businesses and product manufactures, etc. This policy is in no way intended to discourage your reaching out to me; rather, my intent is to clarify both the types of offers I will and will not accept, and the manner and method by which I will respond to your invitation.

Diva's Pitch Policy:

With a name like The Diva on a Diet, you can well imagine that my email box runneth over with offers of all sorts of diet related products ... and it does, in spades. While I may indeed, at times, be "on a diet", I have firm set of rules about that which I will and will not write.

I am open to reviewing, writing about and highlighting:

• Whole, fresh, real foods
• Organically made products and food items
• A very limited range of convenience products, such as canned broth, canned bean, canned tomatoes and the like
• Healthy meals, healthy recipes, healthy snacks whose primary ingredients fall into the above categories
• Diet and lifestyle tips, so long as they offer a well balanced approach
• Books which offer nourishing recipes, made primarily from whole fresh real foods
• Books which encourage a healthy, balanced approach to weight-loss and weight-management
• A wide variety of cookbooks, so long as they contain recipes that encourage the use of fresh foods rather than prepackaged food stuffs
• Other books which suit my tastes
• Beauty products, so long as they are trusted brands
• Alcoholic beverages which suit my tastes
• Products, brands, gadgets and kitchen equipment etc., which I already know, use and trust
• New products, brands, services and items which I deem to be of value and those which fall within the scope of my mission

My work on Beach Eats is intended to encourage readers to cook for themselves and to embrace a balanced approach to weight-management issues, where desired. Because of my commitment to cooking well, mostly from scratch ...

I will not write about:

• Diet pills, diet supplements, get-thin-quick supplements or any kind of supposed miracle weight-loss scheme
• Diet plans that involve prepackaged or pre-made foods
• Food products which contain a frighteningly long list of sugary substances and chemicals
• Books, websites, studies or weight-loss "guru" personalities that endorse radical or extreme measures of any kind. Again, no pills or supplements, including "natural" supplements, no weight-loss surgeries, no fad diets, no "meal replacement" diets, etc.
• Quick-fix, miracle-cure beauty products
• Companies, brands, products and services which do not fit within the scope of my mission, as decided by ... me

In summary and with relatively few exceptions: if I wouldn't buy it and or use it myself, I won't be endorsing it.

Diva's Mission: Eating well with an eye towards health. No gimmicks, schemes, pills, potions or magical machinations; just good cooking ... mostly from scratch.

Disclosure Policy:

I will state clearly that I have been given a book, product or item for review when and if that is the case. I have a full disclosure policy in this regard. Unless otherwise specified, it is safe to assume that if I'm writing about a book, product or item, I have bought it myself and I am writing about it because it is something I recommend.

As a general proposition, I frequently highlight brands and products that I use and enjoy. I do so without prompting. Unless otherwise stated, these recommendations are offered simply because I enjoy these products. In all cases, where a specific product has been given to me, that fact will be clearly disclosed.

I will not accept offers of money for writing about or recommending any product, service, item or restaurant.

I do accept samples and abide by the above disclosure statements in every case of such.

With the exception of an occasional guest post from a member of the Diva Family, I write this blog myself. If I agree to review your book, product, service or item, I will give my honest opinion. Period.

If I have a personal relationship with any author, publisher, manufacturer or agent, I will disclose that in my post.

Response Policy:

I like you PR people, I really like you! And I will respond to you ... eventually. My email box is somewhat out of control and it does take time for me to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. I try to set aside one day a week to respond to offers, though life being what it is, the week sometimes gets away from me. I beg your patience. If your offer falls within the above categories of that which I will consider - I will get back to you.

If, however, you're offering me some wacky pill that makes one's mouth taste like sour lemons in order to discourage one from eating (no, I am not making this up!), odds are I will not get back to you. I simply cannot respond to each and every offer and those which are decidedly outside my policy will likely go unanswered. Sorry.

If after all of this, you would still like to reach out to me - and I sincerely hope you do - you may reach me at the following address: divaonadiet[at]gmail[dot]com.

It is my pleasure to review, recommend and highlight that which falls within the scope of my mission and I look forward to working with you!

Finally, I reserve the right to edit, amend, review, revisit and revamp any portion or portions of this policy at any time.

The End.