Has anyone not heard of David Lebovitz? He’s a super successful American food writer blogger living in Paris. He’s also a gorgeous photographer, author of five cookbooks and one memoir, and author and co-author of two apps.

I first met him on email in 2005, when he endorsed my book, Will Write for Food. Recently we spoke about his success and philosophy on food blogging, writing cookbooks, social media, and how he finds the time to get it all done:

Q. Why do so many people adore your blog? What is it about you and your subject matter?

A. It’s a combination of things. Part of it is I started a long time ago so I’ve had a long time to practice, to learn about blogging and build a site. Part of it is I live in Paris and that interests people. Plus I worked as a professional chef, which is part of the mix. People say they feel my blog is very personal; they know the person behind it.

My blog is largely about cultural differences because I’m a foreigner living abroad, and the longer you live somewhere, the more it gives you more credibility. And perhaps people can relate to being an “outsider.” Years ago I was more of a critic of certain aspects of French culture, but now I’m more of an observer and I try to be more neutral. The longer you live somewhere, the more you understand how people are and I’ve become more integrated, too, and understand the culture better.

Q. How has your blog changed since you started your website in 1999? What kinds of posts do you no longer do?

A. Now I microblog on Twitter (105,000+ followers) and Facebook (26,000+ followers). I used to do link round-ups on my blog, but now I’ll put links and short things on Twitter, and pictures on Flickr or Instagram.

Q. How do you decide what to put on Facebook and what to put on Twitter?

A. Facebook is more about linking. Twitter is more about thoughts. When I’m out and about I can easily tweet a social observation or a photo of a bakery. I find that when people link to too many things their Twitter stream becomes less interesting because it’s no longer about them.

Q. How many times should a blogger refer to his or her most recent post on social media?

A. Once. You’re allowed to do it twice, but only if you sincerely believe people missed it and it’s a truly exceptional, amazing post that will revolutionize the world of food blogging.

Q. What was the turning point for your blog, when you knew it was successful?

A. The day I actually ran my fingers through Michael Ruhlman’s hair.

Q. Right, I was there! It was at the Food Blogger Camp in Mexico.

A. Yes, it was. Actually, I don’t look at statistics very often. It’s kind of a waste of time. When I was selling my current book, I saw that they were looking to base the advance somewhat on my online readership so I did check then. In general, book sales have been healthy because of my site. That’s what every author wants.

Chocolate Mint Brownies (Photo by David Lebovitz)

Q. Are your posts getting longer and longer?

A. My goal is to write a post that someone can read in 3 minutes or less. Even if it seems long, there are a lot of photos that people can scroll through. But I aim to write something readable in a relatively short amount of time.

Q. What’s the most important change you’ve made on your blog in the last year?

A. Moving to WordPress and switching servers. WordPress is so much easier to use, compared to Movable Type — which is for developers, because you have to know code. I had a wonderful web guy who was a Movable Type expert and then he stopped working with clients and I couldn’t find anyone who did Movable Type work, which led me to change.

Q. Which is your first love: writing books, blogging, photography, or social media?

A. I actually like blogging. It’s more fun than writing books because I can write something and post it the same day. I like the immediate feedback. And I can go back and edit things.

Cognac press trip (Photo by David Lebovitz)

Writing a book is interesting, though, because the process is longer and I learn a lot when I’m developing recipes. It’s difficult in a small apartment to deal with the recipe paperwork and the notes, though. And, of course, all the leftovers!

Q. Do you have one post that you think is amazing?

A. My posts on food blogging, food photography, and Paris information get lots of feedback.

Q. On your post about food blogging, you suggest bloggers “find your niche.” Some people worry that they will get bored with their niche. How do they avoid that? Can you chance a blog into something else?

A. You have to start a blog about what interests you. Now I’m branching out doing more savory recipes, because there are only so many desserts. I don’t make chocolate tarts every day.

People should blog about what their life is about. You can start or stop a blog, but I never get bored with my blog so it’s not been an issue.

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream (Photo by David Lebovitz)

Q. I was at a conference recently where someone told me that recipes are meant to be shared, so what’s wrong with sharing them on a blog?

A. Music and movies are meant to be shared, too. But you can’t copy and redistribute them. If you have nothing to add to the recipe, you should just link to it. That’s sharing. Otherwise you should adapt it and write it as you made it.

Q. My sense is that you are interested in technology and often one of the first to jump on new media. Is that essential to be a food blogger or social media maven?

A. If you mean apps, my publisher provided my first app. For the Paris Pastry app, I wanted to do a pastry guidebook back in 1993 when I first moved to Paris. (It’s amusing because I still have those notes!) So when a friend who is a publisher approached me, we did it together. But in terms of being a techie, I can’t read CSS, I have no idea what it is, and I have no idea how to switch servers.

Q. Do you hire technical people?

A. Yes. They oversee my site, dealing with any technical stuff like WordPress upgrades, changing a font, cleaning up pages, or having something redesigned to be cleaner to read. I’ve hired web developers since 1999 and I think they’re a worthwhile investment.

In 2000, just after I started out, someone else who was starting out said they wanted to do it all themselves. I said, “Do it yourself and you take that time away from your baking and writing.”

Q. Let’s talk about product placement. How do you decide which trip to take or which product to feature, such as cognac or a ride on the Queen Mary? Are you bombarded with offers?

A. I only do things that I would really want do on my own, or that give me an opportunity to learn.  For example, I didn’t know much about cognac. It’s part of life in France and visiting the region makes me learn and understand more about not just the item, but the culture and terroir surrounding it. I’ve been on a few press trips, which are important in France, because it’s very hard to get access to places unless you’ve had a formal introduction. It’s much, much easier to go see a place, and meet the people, if all the arrangements have been made in advance.

As for products, if someone wants to send me a spatula to try out, I would take it if I were actually interested in it. (Especially because it’s often extremely complicated to get something delivered here.) I was interested in green non-stick pans, and the Actify fryer so I gave them a try, and put my impressions on my blog.

Most important is that there’s nothing worse than losing the trust of your readers. It’s not worth a spatula, a piece of kitchen equipment, or a bag of nuts if readers get the impression you are just trying to get freebies.

Q. How do you feel about sponsored posts?

A. I’d feel funny about having a company pay me to write something on my site. If I wanted to make a lot of money or have a lot of visitors I would do three chocolate desserts a week instead.

Q. Of all your ads, which is the best moneymaker?

A. BlogHer ads. Like the line at Costco, it’s important to stick with something for a while and not jump around to what looks to be better elsewhere. I don’t judge it from month to month. The thing I like about them is that they’re bloggers. All my interactions with them have been extremely professional.

Lime Meringue Tart (Photo by David Lebovitz.)

Q. You have other ads and affiliate programs too.

A. I have a BlogHer ad between posts, plus Amazon, Google Adsense, and Platefull in the sidebars. The ads are geotagged and only show in the US so I can’t see a lot of them. A lot of my readers are outside the US and I don’t make money from those that appear outside the US, but I love working with BlogHer.

Q. How do you carve out time to start a new project?

A. It’s very challenging. I’m starting to write a book now, and the blog takes up a lot of time, and I live in a country where there’s a heavy amount of administrative tasks. Life is a little more difficult here day to day. Things take longer. For example, if you need an orange or a sack of sugar for a recipe and it’s 9 p.m., there’s not necessarily somewhere nearby to get it. You need to wait until the next day, or when your market is open.

It’s hard to find the time, and it’s something I struggle with. For my last two books, I’ve gone out to the country for a couple of weeks where there’s no Internet access just to finish things without distractions.

I don’t have a schedule for writing. Today I started at 5:30 a.m. and I tested a recipe this morning. It took 1.5 hours to prepare and cleanup took 1 hour. It’s been in the refrigerator for 8 hours, and now it’s probably ready to taste. It’s the fourth time I’ve made it. Doing the math, you can see how long it takes to get work done!

Since I work a lot with the US, people there are waking up at 5 p.m. my time and they expect me to respond to e-mail. I have dinner at 8:30 p.m. and then I don’t want to go back to the computer, so I have to log off. Otherwise I make myself crazy.

Q. Do you think people really know you as a result of reading your blog? Or have you invented a character?

A. It’s really me. I’m writing about my life. I’m probably more open about certain things than other people are, like flushing meringue down the toilet. I’m often presenting a realist view of the city I live in. I feel like I’m pretty open and honest about everything on my site.

Q. Any final messages?

A. Food bloggers should think of themselves as part of a community. Don’t swipe material from other blogs. It’s not “passing along information.” Create your own content for your readers, and link to other people. That’s what the world wide web is all about.

You might also like:

• David’s post on Writing Your Own Cookbook
• David’s posts on Food Blog Alliance

This guy is ready to interview. He's got his headset on so his hands are free to type. He's dressed up because the interviewee can see him on a Skype video chat.

Let’s say you want to interview a chef, restaurateur, farmer or author for a Question & Answer piece. Let’s say that person is famous and you don’t want to blow it.

You won’t if you follow a few rules:

1. Don’t waste the person’s time. Recently someone asked me to put aside an hour for an interview. I thought an hour was way too long, but I didn’t say anything.

I got what I deserved.

He spent the first half hour figuring out what to interview me about. I had to walk him through it, which irritated me, and that’s how we started the interview. Talk about starting on the wrong foot.

Most people who have an online presence have a website or articles written about them that you can find as easily as searching on their names. As you research, the content will lead you to write questions based on what would interest your readers most.

2. Do a ton of research. Sift through a mountain of information about the person, because that’s how you come up with the best questions. You can even review their posts on Facebook and Twitter and their bios on Linked In, if relevant.

3. Write questions that don’t lead to yes or no answers. Questions that start with “How did you feel about..” or “Tell me more about the time…” lead to great stories or quotes.

4. Set up a time to call or meet in person. State how long you’ll need and stick to it, then get ready. Yes, it’s easier to email a list of questions, but it’s not as good. People are busy and they might write one-sentence answers, or vague or uninteresting non-answers. Then you have to ask for longer answers, which annoys people. Plus, sometimes the best content comes when an interview goes in a whole other direction. There’s no room for that in an email.

I do most of my interviews by phone or Skype, in front of my computer. I use my Plantonics headset so my hands are free to type. If I’m meeting someone, I sometimes use a tape recorder for backup if I’m taking notes by hand. I make sure I ask the most important questions before time time is up.

5. During the interview, pay attention to your interviewee. Make sure your interviewee’s not bored or giving you unsatisfying answers. Don’t be afraid to switch questions, repeat a question (phrased slightly differently), omit a question to pick up the pace, or follow a new path to see where it leads.

6. Bonus Tip: Review the answers right after the interview, then shape the story. It’s best to go over the interview immediately see how many sentences you’ve typed that make no sense (believe me, it still happens). Try to recall them exactly or delete. Don’t rewrite them, ever. Ever. Cut out duplication, obvious answers, and any answer you can capture in a link if the Q&A will run online. Don’t start your finished interview with basic questions.

There are lots of reasons to interview. Sometimes you want to answer a question. Sometimes you just want to get close to someone you admire. The key is to shape the interview so it’s about something specific, and to make it relevant to your readers. Once you think you’re done, if you can’t write a headline or sum up the interview in a sentence, you’re not there yet.

You might also like these Q&As:

• Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman on What She Learned by Writing a Cookbook
• Food Blogs Should Inspire and Surprise, says Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle Et Vanille

Photo by Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Food writing students working on writing assignments in our beautiful Honolulu teahouse.

I met Hawaiian food blogger Mariko Jackson of The Little Foodie through this blog. A year ago she was a frequent commenter, and told her I wanted to come to Hawaii. I asked if she could help me set up a class. To my surprise, she said yes. Before this point, I had only taught classes for schools, bookstores, or conferences, so I was a newbie at planning my own event.

Our strategy didn’t go smoothly at first. I thought we needed a swanky restaurant lunch to attract food writers, because that strategy had worked well in Seattle. But it cost too much, and not enough people responded. Mariko lowered the price and dumped the restaurant, and to our delight, 20 food writers and bloggers signed up.

Lots of bighearted Hawaiians and mainland Hawaii lovers helped me get the word out. Hawaiians RT’d announcements of the class on Twitter; Amy Sherman of Cooking With Amy suggested some contacts; Catherine Toth, a prominent Honolulu food writer, interviewed me; the Hawaiian president of Les Dames Escoffier told members about the class and invited me to pupus (appetizers) at a trendy

If you can get a sentence down, then a paragraph, then an essay, and maybe an entire manuscript, this is the season to be grateful. While 81 percent of the public says they want to write a book, most of them never get to that point. Because it’s hard.

At a workshop I conducted recently, one of the students said she hasn’t been able to write a blog post for the last four months. I have wrestled with my critic for more than 30 years of being published, and it is still a struggle. I can relate.

So this holiday season, I’m grateful I can produce the words. Being grateful, it turns out, is a mood changer. The other day I heard Dr. Andrew Weil discuss his new book, Spontaneous Happiness, where he talked about how inner contentment can lift depression:

“I was very surprised in writing this to discover how much scientific evidence we have for the power of gratitude to improve mood. There’s two aspects to this. It’s feeling grateful and expressing it. And the good thing here, there’s nothing in the way of doing it. All you have to do is remember to do it. You know, forgiveness also has great power, but that’s tricky. There’s a whole lot in the way of being forgiving.

But there’s nothing in the way of expressing gratitude. There’s a simple exercise from positive psychology called keeping a gratitude journal. You get a little notebook, keep it by your bed; during the day, make mental notes of things you have to be grateful for, jot them down when you go to bed. Doing that for one week can cause improvement of mood for up to six months. And that’s pretty dramatic.”

In light of his words, I’m dedicating this post to telling you how grateful I am – - to you, for making this blog such a big part of my life and so satisfying. Thank you for all the comments, conversation, education and friendships born over the past 2.5 years. This blog has been more fun and more fulfilling then I ever thought possible.

Here’s to writing more, writing longer, and putting the “Happy” in Happy Holidays.

Dianne

(Photo courtesy of maple, FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

My highest compliment: A marked up first edition of my book. (Photo by Jo Stougaard)

You’ll probably get on a plane soon, off to see grandma, friends or kids. Why not spend your plane time reading a how-to book?

No, not the ones about making money or dieting! I mean books about writing and publishing. Put your tray table down and furiously underline, fold pages over, add sticky notes, and fill pages with highlighter. The only hard part is adding a beverage without spilling.

It took me years to mark up my non-fiction books. Now I take it as the highest compliment when readers tell me they’ve violated Will Write for Food in the same way.

Although sometimes it sounds a little extreme. One reader told me she tore the book in half so she could read the unread part on a plane!

After the first edition came out in 2005, Jo of MyLastBite, a respected Los Angeles blogger, sent me the above two photos of my book, with an email about her mark-up system:

“My copy of your book is never far from reach. When I read books, my system for flagging specific pages are: 1) Flagged page on top means “great quote.” 2) Flagged page to the right means “action” or “get more info.”

“After I read your book (the first time), my husband made fun of me because almost EVERY page was marked with a flag on top, AND on the right.”

What a huge compliment. And I encourage you to do the same with whatever book you’re juggling on your tray table. How-to books are made for destruction, and we authors don’t mind.

Here are five books to improve your writing and knowledge of the publishing industry, from the classics to the newcomers:

1. Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott. I never tire of recommending this book, just as I never tire of re-reading it. And most importantly, Lamott is the one who came up with “shitty first draft.” I never tire of using that term as a writing coach and teacher, either. It always gets a laugh, but mostly because people recognize themselves and their drive for perfection.

2.Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into Literature, by Bill Roorbach. Blogging, particularly, is about personal stories and memories. Learn how to set scenes, develop characters, and do the exercises to blast into memories you hadn’t thought about in years. I’ve even marked up my hardcover edition.

3. On Writing, by Stephen King. I was prepared not to like this book, because I’m not into horror fiction. But hey, the guy has written more than 30 worldwide bestsellers, and surprise — he knows what he’s talking about. What I admired most is his dedication to his craft, and his approachable style. It’s a great read no matter how advanced of a writer you are.

4. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Book Proposals & Query Letters, by Marilyn Allen and Coleen O’Shea. I always say you have a 5 percent chance of success with a book idea. These two literary agents say it’s only 1 percent! They are hard core. But they also offer tons of practical, expert advice and guidance, with samples of proposals and query letters so you can see exactly what they mean.

5. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction — And Get it Published, by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato. Having been an editor for most of my career, I love this title. Editors decide what gets published. Here’s a book on understanding what turns them on, why they’d buy your book, and what happens once you get the contract.

And to be completely self-serving, I’d also be thrilled if you would get and mark up a copy of Will Write for Food. Send your photos to me at dj@diannej.com and I’ll publish them in a future blog post.

Happy marking and underlining! And don’t forget to pack a good snack or lunch for the flight.

Why go to a conference or workshop? I can think of a million reasons. It’s fun. It’s a great way to hear speakers you admire, or people you only know online. You’ll be energized, you could make contacts leading to more writing assignments, and you’ll definitely get out of your usual routine.

In the sessions, even if you think you’ve heard it all, you could:

• Be inspired to reach for a new goal
• Remember something important that you need to work on
• Think about a current project in a new way, breaking through clutter or obstacles
• Hear messages you’ve heard before, but this time they sink in!

Whether you’re a food writer, food blogger, or food historian, here’s a big list of upcoming food-based conferences to tempt you (and some where I’m speaking):

December 9 – 10, Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Conference. Held at the University of Las Vegas campus, this conference attracts academics who speak on agriculture industry, geography, culture and aesthetics and policies. Las Vegas, NV

January 28, 2012, Food Blog South. This year’s one-day conferences features a keynote by Kat Kinsman, managing editor of CNN’s food blog Eatocracy, and vice chair of the James Beard journalism committee. I’ll be speaking on food blog ethics, a favorite topic. Birmingham, AL

February 9 – 11, The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference. Tracks on the past, present and future of the cookbook, with panelists from the cookbook, agenting, publishing and literary worlds. New York

March 16th – 18th, Food Sense: 8th Annual MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium. This symposium investigates “how our taste for food is shaped by biological triggers, cultural norms, economic activity, and social surroundings and will examine how individuals, communities, and societies can make healthy choices about food in this context.” Columbia, MO

March 27, Creating and Selling Your Dream Cookbook, a one-day class by publishing insiders. I am one of the speakers. New York

March 30 – April 4, International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual conference. I’ve attended this conference almost every year for the last dozen years. Next year’s theme is Fashioning Food, where speakers will “examine, challenge and celebrate the ways in which the food world interacts with other cultural events.” New York

April 13, Nourished Food Blogger Conference. A one-day conference for bloggers with special diets. I’ll be teaching a writing class.

April 15 - 16, Eating, Cooking, Culture: The Politics and History of Food, University of Wisconsin. Features author Jessica Harris and distinguished food scholars. Milwaukee, WI

April 20 – 21, TechMunch. connecting 100 local bloggers with speakers in a technical format. Tampa, FL

April 23 – 28, Food Writing Workshop in Tuscany. Speakers include Barbara Fairchild, former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit, blogger David Lebovitz, and cookbook author Nancy Harmon Jenkins. Tuscany, Italy

May 4 – 6, Camp Blogaway. Not your usual hotel location, but cabins with decks in the wilds of California, and fewer than 100 attendees. Angeles Oaks, CA

May 8 – 11, Food and Love, 34th conference of the International International Commission on the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition. (ICAF) The conference will feature papers on the subjects of food and sex, nutrition and affection, and food and emotion. Daroca (Zaragoza), Spain

May 18, TechMunch, connecting 100 local bloggers with speakers in a technical format. New York

May 18 – 21, Plate to Page, food photography and writing workshop. A hands-on, 2.5-day writing and photography intensive. Somerset, England

June 8 – 9, BlogHer Food. Last year’s conference reached around 500 attendees, which makes this the mother of all food blogging conferences. Seattle, WA

June 20 – 23, Meetingsof the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS), Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), and the Society for Anthropology of Food and Nutrition. In addition to sessions on “Cities, Agriculture, and the Future of Food Systems,” this conference includes tours, such as rooftop gardens and foraging in Central Park. New York

July 6 – 8, Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, St. Catherine’s College. This year’s subject is “Wrapped and Stuffed Foods” from every culinary tradition. “Papers are invited on the cultural, practical and historical context in which these diverse preparations exist.” St. Catherine’s College, UK

August 18 – 21, 18th International Ethnological Food Research Conference, Societe International d’Ethnologie et de Folklore. Turku, Finland

August 24 – 26, International Food Blogger Conference. Brought to you by the founders of Foodista. Portland, OR

Other events where organizers have not announced dates yet:

Big Summer Potluck. Cookbook author Pam Anderson‘s summer event, held at her home in Pennsylvania with daughters Sharon and Maggy.

Eat. Drink.Blog. A conference that brings food and drink bloggers together. Australia

Eat Write Retreat. Hands-on panels include photography, food styling, and culinary workshops. US

Food Blog Forum. Regional events focused on food photography, technology, and social media. US

Food Blogger Connect. A conference for food bloggers, based on inspiring and nurturing creativity, innovation and professionalism. London

Food Blog Camp. Several days at a luxury tropical resort with blogging luminaries such as David Lebovitz, Matt Amendariz and Jaden Hair teaching photography, branding, writing and technology. Mexico

Food Buzz. “Annual Blogger Festival” for subscribers, usually held in November. San Francisco

Okanagan Food & Wine Writers’ Workshop. Held in picturesque farm and wine country. This summer event focuses on professional development and food and wine education. Penticton, Canada

The Symposium for Professional Food Writers at the Greenbrier. The grandmother of all food writing conferences is now in its 21st year. White Sulphur Springs, WV.

So, I know it’s a long list, but what did I miss? If I’ve left out other good reasons to attend conferences, please add them.

After Mary Goodbody left Cook’s Magazine (now Cook’s Illustrated) in the 1980s, she got her first opportunity to co-write a cake decorating book for a packager. She took the job and never looked back. Since becoming self-employed in 1984, the food writer and editor has collaborated on close to 50 cookbooks.

She lives in Connecticut, inherited a 200-acre sustainable farm in northwestern New Jersey with her seven brothers and sisters, and blogs about her visits there.

We spoke recently about collaborating on cookbooks and her long career. I have collaborated on a cookbook (Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas) and edited recipes for publishers. I wanted to learn more about these jobs as careers for freelance food writers:

Q. How do you define the job of a collaborator?

A. I’m the project manager. I make sure the book gets done. I’m pretty detail oriented and I work and think in a linear fashion, which helps the authors keep their deadlines. The author might do some writing, but I edit it. I keep in touch with the

I’m still mourning the death of Steve Jobs, a brilliant man who changed my life with beautifully-designed, practical products. But I’ve also been reading about the type of boss he was: bullying. Just like my own critical voice.

In the late 1980′s, I was working on a cover story for the NeXT machine, one of Job’s rare flops. The magazine’s editor-in-chief, main feature writer, and I (the executive editor) spent an afternoon interviewing Jobs about his new machine and his strategy.

I found it nerve-wracking to be around the guy. He had piercing eyes that bore into me, unblinking. He seemed to be thinking, “You are an idiot” whenever I spoke. I was simultaneously thrilled to be in his presence but couldn’t wait to get away.

Towards the end of our meeting, I suggested he appear on the cover. He scoffed and criticized me for coming up with such a boring idea. So I proposed that to make it more exciting, he appear nude, with the machine strategically placed. He didn’t even smile.

Reading about what he was like as a boss made me think about the internal editor writers have, the one that criticizes us and tells us our writing will never be good enough. Combating the internal editor comes up all the time in my work as a coach. Just last week, I convinced a blogger to write out a list of affirmations to counter the negative thoughts that keep her from finishing a book proposal. I talked a chef into creating a draft of the document a publisher asked for a month ago. And I joked with another writer about how I didn’t want her to “go to bed for three days” after I assessed her work.

Like me, all three of these women are self-employed. It’s been a good career decision for me for the last 16 years. I suppose I’m soft, I’m sensitive, and all the other things you can say about creative types, but I was not at my best while working for bosses who put me down. When you have your own negative self-talk, you don’t need more from the person you look to for approval.

Some of my memories of critical bosses surfaced when Jobs died. I even found Apple’s corporate web page of all the middle-aged white guys who reported to him, I wondered how they brushed off Job’s nastiness.

In the tributes that poured out after Jobs’ death, many people quoted from a speech he gave:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Exactly. I am working on what I think is worthwhile, outside the influence of bosses like him. They do not get to judge me. I am following my heart and intuition. And doing so makes me happy.

The world has lost Steve Jobs, a man of superior design sense, productivity, passion and determination. It’s too much to hope that I will someday lose my internal editor. At least today, if anyone is telling me I don’t measure up, it’s just me. And most of the time, I can brush the thought away.

Prolific food writer Melissa Clark writes cookbooks, freelance articles and columns, and a blog.

If you looked up the opposite of “slacker,” you’d see Melissa Clark‘s name highlighted in bold.

The prolific freelancer writes weekly recipes for the New York Times and Gilt Taste, among other freelance gigs. She has also written 32 cookbooks. Many are collaborations with chefs including Daniel Boulud, David Bouley, and White House Pastry Chef Bill Yosses. Her latest cookbook, out in October, is Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make.

Oh, and in her copious spare time, she takes care of her young daughter and writes a blog.

In an interview, she spoke about her career as a food writer, including advice for those who want to be as successful:

Q. You’d been working as a cook and a caterer in New York. What made you want to become a food writer?

A. I always wanted to be a food writer. I started a catering business when I was in grad school. Food was in everything I wrote. It was my metaphor. This was the 1990s. People knew of restaurant critics and cookbooks writers, but food writing wasn’t a viable career. I felt like I was on an uncharted path.

Q. Is a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in writing a good way to learn about freelance writing and cookbook collaboration? Would you recommend it?

A. No. It’s a good way to find your voice as a writer. People don’t think about that. It’s just as important.

Q. As a freelancer, don’t you have to write the voice of the publication?

A. If you don’t even know who you are and what your voice is, it’s really hard to figure out how to make your voice fit into other molds. Voice has to have a point of view, the perspective that the piece is coming from.

It’s really good to know how to write in different perspectives (first person, second person, third person). You learn all different perspectives when you get an MFA.

I recommend that people take writing classes. It helps stretch you as a writer. It’s really good to challenge yourself.

Q. What was your first big break as a freelance writer?

A. I wrote for websites about food, including once a month for Hearst magazines. I wrote tons of content for Cuisinenet. They paid me real money. I could support myself if I catered on the side.

I also developed recipes for IMP, which put out recipe cards that went out in the mail, where they asked people to subscribe to a recipe club. They had bought (food) photos from Sweden, and they would give me a recipe in Swedish. I made a lot of coffeecakes and French pancakes.

If I were doing it today, I would start out blogging, because that is the path. The path (I described) is gone.

Q. Regarding collaborating on cookbooks, how difficult is it to convince great chefs to let you redo their recipes for home cooks?

A. Depends on the chef and their ego level. Some cling very tightly and want their food to be made exactly the way they make it. Other chefs are wiling to let go of it. I want to work with chefs who let me work with the recipe.

Q. How did you get your regular freelance column for the New York Times, “A Good Appetite?”

A. I started writing for the Times in 1998, doing general assignment reporting.

They came to me with a column in 2007. They wanted people to see into the mind of a confident cook who finds her way, how you get from point A to dinner. They said, “Let’s try it for 10 weeks.”

Q. What’s your the best advice for someone who want to freelance?

1. Work really hard on your writing
2. Write in different voices
3. Make deadlines, have clean well-edited copy, be nice, be accommodating. Get back to them right away. That’s just as important as being a great writer
4. Take (writing and cooking) classes
5. Don’t think that people should come to you because you have a blog
6. Intern, stage, and make yourself much more valuable
7. Don’t say no. Just say yes and make it work.

Q, What would you tell someone who wants to write a cookbook?

A. It’s hard to sell a cookbook without a platform. Really work on that. (If you’re a blogger), editors care about how many readers you have and how many people comment. You have to build it.

The idea doesn’t have to be original. Everything is put through the lens of you. Really focus on your voice and market that.

I’m still learning. Every time I do a cookbook I have a new tutor.

Q. What’s the hardest thing about developing recipes?

Tips -- like why to grate a tomato -- and recipes appear on Clark's blog (Photo by Melissa Clark).

A. I’m always humbled by what I don’t know. I try to learn when there’s something that doesn’t work and I don’t know why, especially with baking. I don’t take anything for granted.

Sometimes I make something and it doesn’t blow me away. How do I make it better? It’s always a fun challenge. But it can also be humbling when it doesn’t work.

I have a little trick that I always use. I retitle the recipe. So, if I burn the pasta in a pasta dish, I call it “browned garlic pasta. “

Q. How important is it to have a background as a professional cook, to become a food writer?

A. No one’s going to read you if you’re not an authority. You need to know more than the person next to you because you’re going to teach them. It’s all about improving your skills and your knowledge.

Q. What would you like to tell someone who wants to be successful?

A. The old Einstein quote: It’s 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. I work really hard. Also, don’t be so brittle. Criticism is good. It helps you. It makes you grow.

Freelancer Cheryl Sternman Rule. She's learned how to throw darts that hit the target. (Photo by Paulette Philpot)

When I was a magazine editor, I wondered why freelance writers couldn’t figure out what I wanted. I rejected 95 percent of pitches.

Now that I’m on the other side, I see how difficult it is when you’re an independent writer, on the outside looking in.

At the recent Book Passage conference on Travel, Photography and Food Writing, food writer Cheryl Sternman Rule spoke about why pitching to publications is such an anxiety-producing process. What she said resonated with me, so I asked her to share it:

“As a freelancer since 2004, I’ve spent years both pitching and avoiding pitching,” explains Cheryl. “For me, pitching seems like a dark art. There’s black magic about it that often makes me feel like I’m throwing darts in the dark.

“Editors have editorial calendars, or ideas in their heads for what they’d like to cover. We writers are not often privy to this information. So we shoot story ideas out like darts and hope they’ll hit some mysterious, shrouded target. It’s a tough game to play, psychologically.”

That’s exactly right. You keep throwing until you strike the target, even when you get no feedback. You need a thick skin to be a freelance writer, not to mention an ability to see in the dark.

Meanwhile, Cheryl started a food blog. “If I come up with a good idea, I develop it immediately, put my own spin on it, and take it in any direction. The lights are bright, I can see the target, and I can hit it dead-on. It’s a tonic for the frustrations of freelance life, a life I love but whose secret handshake can be awfully difficult to master.”

Now she throws a few less darts, because editors she’s worked with are likely to assign more stories to her. “Over the years I’ve worked with a slew of editors with whom I have ongoing relationships. And while I still accept and seek writing assignments, I pitch less often.”

Like Cheryl, if you have tons of good ideas and you keep throwing darts at the same target — politely and professionally — sooner or later an editor will respond. A lot of writers give up without practicing their throw long enough, because it’s hard to keep going. Silence feels a lot like rejection.

Or they give up without trying a different dart. If you’ve only got one story idea, and pitch it without success, it’s time to move on and try several more ideas.You do have tons of ideas, right? Because the more darts you throw, the easier it will be to hit the bull’s eye.