Chile Pepper Magazine: how not to make a deal
As many of you know, we have had a long-standing relationship with Chile Pepper Magazine. Besides being subscribers for about twelve years in which we’ve saved our magazines like some men save their Playboy issues, we have also been contributors on an increasing basis. From the early days of our own relationship when the picture of our wedding cake appeared (complete with intricate chile peppers sculpted from frosting) to various mentions of our blog as it grew to prominence within the industry.
During the reign of Gretchen VanEsselstyn as Chile Pepper’s editor, we offered our writing services to the magazine for an article in their annual “Hot Sauce” edition. This article, entitled “Love at First Spice,” was our first full-length writing project for the magazine. Since we offered to do the article, that was a labor of love. However, our next foray would take things to the next level.
A few months ago, we were approached by Chile Pepper’s newest editor (Laura Dankowski) about writing another article for the magazine…this one about the most recent Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire. Without us soliciting this, she offered us a generous fee (the amount we will not disclose) to write another article for the magazine. This article became “The Ohio Players,” and was featured in the most recent edition of Chile Pepper Magazine.
So why are we blogging about this? The answer is that Chile Pepper has strangely not paid us. Not just that, but they have strangely gone silent by not answering emails or even a recent phone call. In this way, Chile Pepper has truly fucked up erred.
At this point, it’s not totally about the money. Had it not been offered by them first (and agreed to by us), we would have not even given this a second thought. However, this level of misdirection and subterfuge is unbecoming a national publication whose respect we have had for more than a decade. We were warned, by another author who has written for Chile Pepper, that they seldom (if ever) got around to paying their writers. That said, we crossed our fingers and hope for better in our case.
It seems as though it was us who fucked up erred. Hopefully this can be reconciled nicely.
Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
Related Posts
Loading ...
![[Valid RSS]](valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
Commented at January 3, 2010- 12:14 pm
That sucks! I vow not to renew my subscription till you get paid!
Commented at January 3, 2010- 2:02 pm
Shame on you Chile Pepper Magazine.
Commented at January 3, 2010- 2:28 pm
So crying about it publicly is any better? Have you actually tried any proper payment collection procedures other than emails or a phone call? Nice journalism, intimidate by smear campaign, that’s the way to do it.
Shame on Chile Pepper Magazine yes, but also shame on you THZO.
Commented at January 3, 2010- 3:35 pm
I can’t say anything good or bad about how Chile Pepper Magazine handles their business, because I don’t know. I can say this: the power of print is steadily diminishing. Half of these specialty magazines won’t even be around in ten or twenty years. Once the vast majority of people get their information and recipes exclusively from online resources, where is Chile Pepper going to be then? They can’t even keep their website updated now.
Commented at January 3, 2010- 7:49 pm
Their website was my biggest complaint. I emailed them to ask about that because I wanted to enter online to win a Big Green Egg. Site hasn’t been updated since like April of 08. Sorry to hear they haven’t held up their end of the deal.
Commented at January 3, 2010- 8:20 pm
So true, Scott! Many major newspapers have gone down in flames for the exact same reason.
Hudd – their website could be SOOOO much better. If their print version fails, it will HAVE TO BE better or they may be in trouble.
Commented at January 3, 2010- 11:44 pm
This is an excerpt from an email we received in the last week or so. It is in response to the Fiery Foods Challenge awards. Chocolates by George and Zane and Zack’s were joint entries and were not credited properly, this was first addressed in September at the awards banquet, and yet no resolution!
“I don’t know what else I can do to correct the FFC winner listing on the website. I have sent the corrections five times to the web person, copied the emails to the Director of Sales and Production and even brought up this specific issue and the general problems with our crappy website to Jason Goodman, the owner. Everything, it seems to no avail. The only answer I get is “we’re working on it”.
I know you are frustrated because I’m right there with you. I just don’t know anything else to tell you.
The problem started with Judy, but should have been resolved long before now. All I can do is apologize again and assure you that I will continue to harp on this problem with the powers that be and hope for a resolution soon.”
I love the magazine, and they have been good to us, but it sounds like we are not the only ones that have been screwed!
Commented at January 4, 2010- 1:17 pm
Princess Bride…one of the best films ever.
Commented at January 6, 2010- 12:19 pm
I was going to subscribe to CPM, but not now. Shame on them!
Commented at January 14, 2010- 11:55 pm
The Chile Pepper Magazine lost its importance to the industry when it was purchased by people who were ONLY interested in making money and they thought they could do so by trying to cash in on the seemongly endless growth of this small, but noticeable, fiery foods industry.
When the magazine was sold the first time to a Texas consortium, the passion died. Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach were the reason, and creative designers, for the magazine’s success where Robert Spiegel, the publisher, let them create the magazine that became the community mouthpiece for the fiery foods industry.
Since then, it has changed ownership and editors numerous times, none of whom were passionately involved. Now it is so far removed from the players that it is nothing more than a vehicle for making money, and I am guessing that it is not doing well solely because of this disconnect.
Take the passion out of a business and all you have left is money. Money has no feelings.
The fiery foods industry grew because of the passion of the manufacturers. Look at the larger fiery food companies-they are corporate entities-they are not passionate-they are just about the money.
Commented at January 21, 2010- 10:11 am
Their website is down:
http://www.chilepepper.com
Hmmmm….
Commented at January 21, 2010- 11:04 am
Which fiery food companies are you referring to, Aztec Emperor?
Because when you say “larger fiery food companies”, the ones who come to my mind are Blair and Dave. And suggesting that either one has lost their passion and become just about the money, kinda makes me wonder; because I don’t see that, at all.
One needs to take care in using “global labels” to describe who they are talking about for fear of tarring all comers with the same brush.
Just saying.
Commented at January 22, 2010- 12:55 pm
Dave and Blair are not large corporate entities-they may be big fish in a small pond of specialty manufacturers, but are only small fish in the big pond of national and international distribution…using this as your lead-in to leave a comment about “global labels” is NOT on point… Campbell’s who owns PACE, PET Foods who own Old El Paso, B & G Foods who own Ortega, Reckitt-Benckiser who owns Frank’s RedHot, McIlhenny’s TABASCO, La Preferida, Goya Foods, Del Monte, Herdez, etc. are large multi-national corporate entities who dominate the mainline grocery distribution for pepper sauce and salsa. markets.
Commented at January 23, 2010- 7:02 am
Hello. This is kind of an “unconventional” question , but have other visitors asked you how get the menu bar to look like you’ve got it? I also have a blog and am really looking to alter around the theme, however am scared to death to mess with it for fear of the search engines punishing me. I am very new to all of this …so i am just not positive exactly how to try to to it all yet. I’ll just keep working on it one day at a time Thanks for any help you can offer here
Commented at January 23, 2010- 9:08 pm
Tatto Paper, I’m the one who did the theme for the site. Please contact me at scott at scottrobertsweb.com if you have any questions.
Commented at March 8, 2010- 4:26 pm
They owe me $500 … they did owe me $1300 but managed to send $800. I have called repeatedly and always left messages on email and voicemail regarding payment. Nothing was ever returned or responded to.
When I finally got Laura Dankowski on the phone, she made me feel as though I were beating a dead horse, saying things like “We just don’t have the money right now to pay our writers”
I pointed out that they were still printing the magazine (my invoice for $500 is over a year overdue at this point), and that the magazine they were still publishing was full of ads. I told her she and her staff ought to be ashamed of themselves for collecting a paycheck and still calling freelancers like me (and like you guys) and soliciting stories when they knew they couldn’t pay.
I’ve called the magazine again this morning. Terrible treatment of writers. I’m upset by it, and I feel your pain!
Commented at June 24, 2010- 6:53 pm
Just got my latest of Chile Pepper magazine in the mail today. It is barely thick enough to be perfect bound. Soon it will be saddlestitched (staped together instead of glued). Not only are they short on advertisers, they’re short on articles.
Commented at June 26, 2010- 8:20 am
Wow, my fiance’ has mentioned that he’d like to get this magazine cause he is a major chile head and remembered that this mag was out there. I remembered his mentioning of it and decided to do a search and came across your site here.
Now I am certainly rethinking getting him a subscription after reading your story and others comments. Sure hope your situation improves and you get paid along with others who are waiting.
Too bad sounds like their mag is losing ground and getting thinner…..I think I will wait to see if the situation improves before shelling out money for a subscription that may be less than expected.
Commented at June 28, 2010- 9:45 pm
I have been losing faith in this magazine for a while..the issue’s have been arriving later and later..I just received the May issue in late June..who know’s when I’ll see the July issue..can reach anyone and the website is messed up.
It’s a shame that all of this is happening with Chile…
Commented at June 29, 2010- 10:49 am
Chile Pepper should have made the transition to web years ago. My prediction is that their website WON’T ever get updated.
Commented at July 14, 2010- 9:16 am
I’m going on two years of payment being overdue….$500. My emails/messages are generally ignored. Occasionally I’ll hear back from Laura saying that they’re just really slow in paying. Really, really slow.
Commented at August 6, 2010- 12:03 pm
Is the magazine still operating? It is Aug 6th and I still have not received the July/Aug issue. To bad, I did enjoy reading the many articles.
Commented at August 9, 2010- 1:42 pm
Chile Pepper was my first introduction to meat rubs over ten years ago. It’s sad that it has come to this but I think Chile Pepper is simply stalling the inevitable. I read a blog from one of the writers and they think that all the signs point to the magazine’s closure. I enjoyed it while it lasted.
Commented at August 11, 2010- 10:41 am
My problems started with the November 2009 issue being late, and it has become an ever increasing problem. I’ve called the number listed in the magazine and received replacement issues, but this is becoming tiresome. Calls to the publisher have gone unreturned. As a long-time subscriber I hate to see them go under, but something is hugely amiss there. Still no July issue and this is August 11. RIP Chile Pepper Magazine?
Commented at August 12, 2010- 11:38 pm
Still no July issue here either Ron..I figure it may come by the end of August..it’s been that late since last years Nov issue also. Stinks since I renewed last October for another year..I hope they do something!I have not been able to reach anyone..no calls back..Even the Barnes and Nobles here doesn’t have it anymore..they just said it didn’t come.
Commented at August 25, 2010- 4:24 pm
Just FYI, I bought the July issue of CP on the newsstand, so it has been published. The issue seems to be with subscribers. This could be the result of several things, but as a publisher, I know these problems nearly always come down to money–not paying your circulation people, not paying 2nd class postage to USPS, that sort of thing.
Commented at August 27, 2010- 7:01 am
I haven’t received my July issue either. It’s too bad if they do go under. Besides interesting articles and learnng about a lot of different kitchen, grilling gadgets and chile paraphernalia out there, the recipes alone were worth the price of admission. I have every issue I ever received and have another year on my subscription. I too wonder if I will renew………..
Commented at September 30, 2010- 3:47 pm
Well, crap. I was about to head to the post office with my query… just doing a quick spell check on the editor’s name. Now I am thinking about pitching my story somewhere else. Back to the drawing board. Any suggestions?
Commented at October 2, 2010- 10:50 am
Leslie, contact me privately regarding your question. My email addy is on my website.
Commented at October 3, 2010- 11:54 am
So, does anyone have the elusive final word on CP magazine’s fate?
I have been a subscriber since the early 90′s and had to purchase the most recent edition at the news stand! Now, to hear that the amazing writers have difficulty getting paid and the website is basically gone. WTH happened to my favorite magazine?!?
“Say it ain’t so Joe!”
Commented at October 8, 2010- 4:42 pm
After suffering dt’s for the last 3-4 months, I finally received my Sept. issue today, “Tailgating Issue”. Though I never received the July issue.
Commented at October 9, 2010- 1:26 pm
Pig it’s the same here..never got July..Sept came today along with a renewal notice..there were several months this past year that I had to buy from the newsstand because I never received the issue.
Not only July. I got May, but not March. I got January in February after I had purchased it from the newsstand also. I believe I am due a credit but I don’t know who to contact about it.
Commented at October 11, 2010- 6:42 pm
If it helps, Pig and Sandi, I could have been knocked over with a feather when I got my new issue in the mail this Saturday, too. Not a peep about getting the July issue, or any mention in the magazine about the delay.
(I used to work for science fiction magazines, and this sort of behavior is SOP for dying magazines. There’s always money to pay the staff, but the freelancers don’t get anything answered, and everyone pretends that nothing’s wrong. If this follows tradition, the magazine will shut down, you’ll see one vague note on the Web site about offering refunds to subscribers, and amazingly that address won’t get any response, either. Heck, I got shafted by one magazine where the editor was still cashing subscription checks three years after he’d announced his “hiatus”.)
Commented at October 20, 2010- 12:07 am
They not only can’t ship issues, they don’t want you renewing subscriptions either. I got the Sept issue and a renewal notice, and after trying 5 different web browsers on three different computers, I can’t find a single one that will actually display the subscription part of their website. There isn’t an email contact address anyplace I can see either, so there is no way to tell them how busted the website is.
So much for my subscription, I’m not throwing money at a magazine that seems to be in its death spiral.
Commented at October 26, 2010- 2:56 pm
I never got the July issue. When I looked online I found, for example, Kara Newman’s blog suggesting that CP was dying (although someone told her “no”). I was surprised when I received the September issue. I visited the nearly defunct website and found Dankowski’s email listed on the ZestFest page. I wrote her about getting the July back issue and have had no reply to date. It’s hard to tell just what’s going on at CP.
Commented at November 9, 2010- 7:13 pm
According to subscription services, someones buying Chile Pepper. Supposed to be a publisher with 30yr experience. Deal to to complete by Jan ’11. They told me I’m SOL about the July issue. Maybe the new guy’s will get the archive as well.
Commented at November 10, 2010- 10:08 pm
So I wonder if there will be a November issue before they are taken over or if those of us with a subscription are just SOL as well. Should be interesting to see what happens.
Commented at November 18, 2010- 7:01 pm
The Holiday issue arrived today!
Still sucks about July
Commented at November 29, 2010- 3:04 pm
Mine came Saturday too! I really figured it wouldn’t make it until the new year. I’m really happy it came!!
Commented at January 20, 2011- 8:09 pm
Did you know they have new (reputable) owners??
Commented at February 3, 2011- 7:46 pm
Scott, it appears that Chile Pepper Mag is a zombie. Maybe it’ll make a comeback, maybe not. Their main location at site.chilepepper.com is a parking page (hosted by GoDaddy). If you go to /HomePage.html inside there you can get into the site, but there isn’t much to see anymore. There’s a picture of the January 2011 issue, but I haven’t found a vendor in central Texas who has seen it; the last one on the newsstands here was November 2010. Off the record, a couple of publication managers at some big-box bookstores hereabouts said they thought maybe CP was a goner.
I wonder what this does to ZestFest 2011? Their site (zestfest2011.com) still shows CP as a major sponsor…
Enjoy the Heat!
Commented at February 3, 2011- 7:58 pm
I wonder where I got “Scott” from? Mea culpa… CD
Commented at March 2, 2011- 3:42 pm
Hi,
I’m a freelance recipe developer and food writer. Chile Pepper contracted me to create a feature for their forthcoming Cajun issue (supposed to be Feb 2011). After completing the assignment and forwarding an invoice, I have not heard back. According to the contract they created, I should have received payment within 30 days. Well, that 30 days has since passed, and after emailing the few contacts I have over there, no one has replied. They owe me a nice chunk of change,that as a full time freelancer I depend on. On top of that I spent $100 of my own money for food costs since they do not reimburse. In 15 years as a writer, I have never been in this position. Not sure where to go from here especially if the mag is dead and the issue never hits the stands.
Commented at March 5, 2011- 12:44 pm
Funny that you say your article was supposed to be in the Feb issue..Chile mag had no problem taking my money (check cashed December 20th) for renewal.Yet I still haven’t seen the Feb issue..wonder if I’ll ever get one.
Commented at March 6, 2011- 4:15 am
Sandi, at North Market we met the guy (can’t remember his name right off) who’s taken over Chile Pepper mag. He said that they are in the process of making changes and getting the mag back on track. Also that the first issue will be a double issue and it should be ready soon. There’s going to be a North Market write up in it as well. The icing on the cake is that anyone that entered any of the competitions will receive a years subscription free! Hopefully anyone that’s renewed will be taken care of as well.
Commented at March 6, 2011- 4:20 am
Rick McMillan is the guy from Chile Pepper magazine. Very nice man!
Commented at March 7, 2011- 4:32 pm
Thanks for the info, Hudd. Hopefully the issue will be out soon. Looking forward to it!
Commented at March 17, 2011- 3:10 pm
Spoke with circulation today because I have not received any copy since November. They said the the closing on the sale of the business to a new owner had been delayed, but that the February issue would be mailed out in Late March or early April, once the ownership transfer is complete. At least they are still answering the phones, but there is no phone number listed on their [primative]website.
Commented at April 2, 2011- 1:27 pm
Dave DeWitt already filled this aching gap. His new online mag is called Burn! Check it out. http://www.burn-magazine.com/
Commented at April 5, 2011- 2:12 pm
Thank our lucky stars that Dave has our best interest at heart. What would the Chile community be without him? How much is the subscription, $15/person who reads it?
Commented at April 8, 2011- 1:00 pm
I know for a fact that at the end the old owners didn’t pay quite a few people. Don’t feel bad, I think Rick is going to be a new and better owner.
Commented at April 9, 2011- 9:26 am
My Chile mag came yesterday! It seems like the new owners have it back on track.
Commented at June 16, 2011- 9:28 am
So did you ever get your issue resolved with them?? I know this is an old post but I’m interested to know what went down with this.
D