Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

Useful Tips, Interviews, and Stories to Inspire Food Writers and Bloggers

Search Results for: all the hats we wear

Why This Food Writer Wears Many Hats

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Virginia Willis does a lot of jobs simultaneously to pay the bills, and because she prefers it that way. (Photo by Angie Mosier)

A guest post by Virginia Willis

A few years ago there was a great outcry when Food52’s Amanda Hesser wrote that she wouldn’t advise any one to become a food writer. At the time I disagreed, but now I find that she has a point.

To be successful as a food writer, I wear many hats. Sometimes, I do work outside food writing because I enjoy it. Sometimes that work is more lucrative. Regardless, all these hats create massive scheduling and financial challenges, but also diversity and stimulation. My small business can be feast or famine, but the jobs are tightly intertwined and I cannot imagine it any other way.

The deal is, it’s just not enough to be a food writer, even a successful one. We may not be starving artists, but very few writers are financially successful.

Here’s what I do as a food writer. It’s a lot but it’s not enough:

1. Cookbook author. My two cookbooks have received much acclaim and even some awards. Using the language of Publishers Lunch, my advances have been [Read more…] about Why This Food Writer Wears Many Hats

Create More Content for Your Food Blog in 2022

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A guest post by Alexa Peduzzi of Food Blogger Pro

If you’ve been in the blogging industry for more than a few minutes, you’ve probably heard a very common catchphrase –– “Content is king.” At the new year, you may have set some goals for your blog. If they’re anything like mine, they revolve around creating more content.

And, of course, that’s easier said than done. I’m coming off a year where I took eight months off from posting on my blog (more on that here). Now I’m excited to head into this year with a plan to help me actually achieve my goals.

Here are the five strategies to create more (and better) content this year:

1. Batch your blog posts.

Content batching allows you to make a bunch of content all at the same time. It is all about planning, working ahead and making the most of your limited time. For example, you may decide to content batch a month’s worth of [Read more…] about Create More Content for Your Food Blog in 2022

Giveaway: Jeff Herman’s Guide to Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents

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If you wonder how to find an agent for your next book, you might want this book! It provides up-to-date information about 125 powerful agents, including those who represent cookbooks, memoir, how-to, and travel books.

Now in its 28th edition, Herman’s Guide to Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents includes insider details about agents and editors too, explaining how they work and differentiating between the Big 5 publishers and independent publishers.

Jeff Herman’s literary agency has ushered nearly 1000 books into print. Jeff graciously agreed to an interview to answer some common questions I get from potential authors. If you’d like to win a copy of his book, leave a comment below.

Update: I chose a winner using Random.org. Thanks to everyone who entered. 

Here’s Herman on the agenting business, how publishing works, and how writers can keep motivated despite the challenges:

Q. What is the number one thing writers don’t understand about agents?

A. I find a lack of knowledge about the crucial role agents play. Traditional publishers don’t have time or energy to screen unsolicited submissions, which are non-flatteringly referred to as “slush.” This is understandable. An editor might have to crunch [Read more…] about Giveaway: Jeff Herman’s Guide to Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents

Agent Prefers First-Time Book Authors

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Literary Agent Danielle Svetcov

Literary agents are notoriously coy about interviews. So it was a pleasure to meet Danielle Svetcov, a San Francisco-based cookbook agent who’s part of a New York agency, Levine Greenberg Rostan, who welcomed the opportunity.

Here’s what she has to say about why she became an agent, what she’s looking for in a new author, and what’s new in cookbook publishing:

Q. So you’re a journalist, a professionally-trained chef, and you have an MFA. How did this massive education lead to you becoming an agent?

An agent wears a lot of hats: editor, writer, reader, critic, life coach, translator, therapist, news-junkie, diplomat, lifeboat driver — you need a lot of degrees for those jobs!

Here’s the actual path: age 13, request Sunset Magazine subscription, discover bologna has a fancier cousin, prosciutto; 18, fancy self a journalist and [Read more…] about Agent Prefers First-Time Book Authors