Hello from Siem Reap, where I’ve just finished teaching at a food writing and photography workshop. At Mie Cafe, Cambodian chef and owner Pola Siv served us this glorious beef tartare.
My job is to make your life easier. Did you know that? One of the ways I do so is to pass on must-read links on food writing and blogging. Now you don’t have to have FOMO because I have curated this terrific content for you.
Usually I put these links in my bi-monthly newsletter (sign up there or on the right). Later, I put a bunch in a blog post like this so you can see what you’ve missed.
And now, pull up a chair. Here are my must-read links:
- The New, New Economy: How the World of Online Publishing is Changing, and Why You Should Care. A thoughtful look at online trends and how your approach might be outdated.
- If You Are What You Eat, America Is Allrecipes. The sad reality between what people cook and what we think they should cook.
- Why does sugar in cornbread divide races in the South? Not just the South! I’m on the side that thinks sugar in cornbread = cake.
- Need to get away to do some writing? Check out FundsforWriters. My favorite section is the writing retreats.
- Food Photographer of the Year 2016. Gorgeous photos. You’re welcome.
- Ever think about opening a restaurant? These food bloggers didn’t, necessarily, but somehow it happened. Can a Successful Food Blog Translate Into a Successful Restaurant?
- Like to pitch freelance articles? Read Editors Tell All: What Subject Lines Work Best?
- 11 Years Of Food Blogging, Losing The Joy Of Food And Reconnecting. This blogger turned down cookbook deals because she wants to just keep blogging.
- Do you understand your eating behaviors? Read Want to eat well? Forget about willpower.
- Here’s Anne Lamott on Writing and Why Perfectionism Kills Creativity, a beautiful meditation on how perfectionism is “the voice of the oppressor.”
- Too many cookbooks, not enough broth. In this essay, a writer for The Guardian argues that despite vast cookbook sales, people still don’t cook.
- Jacques Pépin says following a recipe can lead to disaster. That’s because they are just guidelines and only cooks can make them into great food. A different take but the same point as the article above.
- How to Overcome And Cure Writer’s Block Fast with 101 Proven Strategies. Lots of good ideas.
- How one restaurant critic took on the food fables we’ve all been fed. A terrific analysis of how Laura Reiley at the Tampa Bay Times uncovered a big story and why it broke records for traffic.
- Carbonara Purists Can’t Stop the Pasta Revolution. Purists rebelled against a easy recipe for carbonara. Either you will want to make it immediately, or the recipe will offend you.
- Instagram Feeding Frenzy: How ‘Influencers’ Are Changing the Food Scene. How people on Instagram have made a business from their feeds.
- Sara Moulton, still cooking and teaching — with a smile. A long profile about the career of a protege of Julia Child’s.
- The Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition. Great advice on messaging, branding and whom to target.
Great stuff, right? Sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter (click on the link or sign up on the right) to get more every two weeks. Thanks.
Diane….thank you for all the most interesting links for food bloggers and food writers…. but, could I ask you to have a darker print in your newsletters…….I find it a little difficult to read…
When I first stated my blog…I used the same light print …and had people comment that they could not read as well….
Thank you…
Maria
Maria Springer
Maja’s Kitchen
http://www.majaskitchen.com
Thank you Maria. I will look into this. Maybe it looks different on other people’s computers, so I will have to take that into consideration.
The only problem with this post, Dianne,
Is that I want to read every last one. When will I have time to work? I look forward to digging in.
Hah hah, Katie. I will take that as a supreme commpliment.
A most excellent list! Katie’s caveat notwithstanding, I too look forward to reading every one of them. Plus, I did not know about FOMO, so thank you for expanding my acronym vocabulary!
I love that expression. It captures so much about our anxiety on keeping up with everything online.
Aw! I’m so proud that my cornbread story was included. Thank you, Dianne.
I loved that story. My favorite was the piece for the Bitter Southener. I included that one in a previous newsletter, I believe. Have you been to that conference for humor writers? http://humorwriters.org/
Hi Dianne,
I actually have a question that is not directly related to this post but I really wanted to see your opinion on it. I’m wondering: in this very saturated market of food blogs, saturated with VERY GOOD food blogs and recipes at that, what makes a new blog stand out? What makes one successful (like Chelsea’s Messy Apron becoming majorly successful in the first year) and another can go along for years without gaining any traction? Do these people dump money into advertising?
I’m sure this may have been discussed or written about elsewhere, but it’s just something that’s been on my mind and I can’t really pin down.
In any case, I love your blog and thank you so much!
Hi Allie, that is a very good question. As a reader who still goes for the written over the flash, I’d say: voice. There are many people writing about the same topics so this is the only way to stand out unless you have incredible tech and marketing skills.
Ohmigawd, thank you!
I was sitting at my desk close to thunking (is that a word? Oh, who knows…) my forehead on the keyboard, trying to come up with a sexy way to write about omlets.
And then I decided to check this post out. (Yassssss).
That tartare makes me want to walk away from my laptop, turn around and take a running jump into my monitor so I can land on it face-first and spread-eagle.
But, no. I promise I will not let the tartare, or how funny you are, distract me, while I go through all the links.
You are the only person who noticed what was in the photo, it seems! So thank you, Amrita. I don’t usually eat the stuff, but this one was heavenly.