• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About Me
    • Bio
    • Freelance Writing
    • Media Mentions
    • Teaching and Speaking
    • Contact Me
  • Services
    • Coaching and Editing
    • Clients
    • FAQ
    • Testimonials
  • Books
    • Will Write For Food
    • The United States of Pizza
    • Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas
    • The Good Pantry
  • Events
  • Categories
    • Awards
    • Cookbooks
    • Career
    • Contests
    • Ethics
    • Food Blogging
    • Freelancing
    • Literary Agents
    • My workshops and conferences
    • Personal Stuff
    • Photography
    • Promotion
    • Proposals
    • Radio interviews and writing
    • Recipe Writing
    • Restaurant Reviewing
    • Self Publishing
    • Social Media
    • Travel Writing
    • Uncategorized
    • Useful Links
    • Writing
    • Memoir
    • Writing Apps
  • Resources
  • My Free Newsletter
  • Blog

diannejacob

Is a Work-for-Hire Cookbook Worth It?

January 19, 2021 by diannejacob 7 Comments

image for post about writing a work-for-hire cookbookBy Aneesha Gupta

In January, 2020, my husband asked me what were my top goals for the year. Instinctively, I said, “I want to write a cookbook.” At the time, I didn’t know that would mean a work-for-hire cookbook.

A few weeks later, I received a cookbook offer from Callisto Media. The editor wanted a cookbook on world curries made easy, using an electric pressure cooker. Here was a topic that fit my interests and aligned with the recipes on my blog.

I had heard about Callisto from [Read more…] about Is a Work-for-Hire Cookbook Worth It?

Filed Under: Food Blogging, Self Publishing Tagged With: Callisto cookbook offers, cookbook work for hire, self-publishing a cookbook

10 Mistakes Not to Make When Working with an Editor

January 5, 2021 by diannejacob 5 Comments

image for working with an editor postBy Amy Sherman

Writers have mixed feelings about working with an editor. As a freelance writer, I get it. When I started writing about food in 2003, I didn’t have an editor because I was writing for my own site. Even when I blogged for outlets such as Epicurious, KQED and Frommer’s, my editors were hands off. As my career progressed and I wrote articles for consumer, trade and academic publications, my editors became more involved. I learned that an editor could make my writing much better.

But sometimes working with an editor was just plain frustrating. I struggled with vague assignments and a lack of clear feedback. Other times I read a final story and barely recognized it, because [Read more…] about 10 Mistakes Not to Make When Working with an Editor

Filed Under: Freelancing Tagged With: getting freelance stories accepted, pitching editors freelance stories, working with an editor

24 Fascinating Food Writing Links for Writers and Bloggers

December 22, 2020 by diannejacob 5 Comments

image for 24 fascinating food writing linksI hope it’s been a good year for you. It might have been a little harder than usual to concentrate. That’s why a list of great food writing links could be just what you need right now. As we approach the holidays,  [Read more…] about 24 Fascinating Food Writing Links for Writers and Bloggers

Filed Under: Useful Links Tagged With: food blogging trends, food writing news, food writing trends

When the Social Media Attack Comes from Inside the House

December 8, 2020 by diannejacob 2 Comments

gif for post about social media attackBy Deborah Reid

Count your blessings if you’ve never been the target of a social media attack. I’ve been through that fire. Because sometimes I write about sexism and bros culture in the restaurant business, I expect it to happen again. “No one with a public platform and an opinion is doing his or her job effectively if they are not being attacked from time to time,” writes songwriter Nick Cave in his brilliant weekly Q&A newsletter, The Red Hand Files.

The universality of the experience can be hard to recall in the middle of an online ambush by strangers. It all feels so personal. But when it comes from a [Read more…] about When the Social Media Attack Comes from Inside the House

Filed Under: Career, Ethics Tagged With: Alicia Kennedy, muted on social media, shunned on social media, social media attacks

Win a Copy of Diners, Dudes & Diets, about Food and Gender

November 24, 2020 by diannejacob 20 Comments

image for book about food and gener issuesDid you know that some food products are marketed by gender? Power bars and diet sodas are for women, and meat is for men, of course. Where did this food and gender issue start? 

Professor Emily J. H. Contois studied the collision of food and gender in Diners, Dudes & Diets, a provocative new book. Contois shows us how the gendered world of [Read more…] about Win a Copy of Diners, Dudes & Diets, about Food and Gender

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: dudes, food and gender, gender stereotypes, Guy Fieri

4 Who Beat the Odds to Publish a Cookbook

November 10, 2020 by diannejacob 9 Comments

Imge for 4 who beat the odds to publish a cookbookSince the pandemic, I’ve been teaching Zoom classes about how to publish a cookbook. Once I explain how difficult it is, some hopeful authors decide to self-publish, and others give up.
 
If you’re a prospective cookbook writer, you should know that there are always exceptions to the rule in traditional publishing. So here are the experiences of four authors who beat the odds to publish a cookbook or food-based book. (Two books are forthcoming, and another is a collection of essays with recipes).
 
I’ve asked the authors to talk about their experience in their own words. Their stories are refreshing, because there is so much pressure these days to build a big social media following, if you want a cookbook. But none of them had a big platform when they approached their publisher. 
 

Here are 4 authors who beat the odds to publish a cookbook:  

[Read more…] about 4 Who Beat the Odds to Publish a Cookbook

Filed Under: Cookbooks Tagged With: food writing, Melinda Smith-Sullivan, Publish a cookbook, Reem Kassis, Scott Warner, Susan Miller

5 Tips for Successful Social Videos

October 27, 2020 by diannejacob 3 Comments

image for successful social videosBy Virginia Willis

According to Forbes.com, about half of consumers report they watch 5+ social videos online a day. As a visual species, humans are hard-wired to find videos more memorable and more popular than any other type of content.

Video as a means of storytelling and advertising is no longer simply an option for food professionals — it is an absolute necessity. If you’re a culinary professional, chef, blogger, cooking teacher, and/or cookbook author, social video gives you the opportunity to market not only yourself, but also cookbooks, blogs, products and cooking classes.

And people love to watch cooking videos and tips. Digital marketer Hubspot reports that YouTube survey participants say they primarily watch videos in order to “relax and unwind.” The number #2 reason is “to learn something new.” That couldn’t be more perfect for culinary professionals. [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Successful Social Videos

Filed Under: Promotion Tagged With: cooking videos, Facebook Live, Instagram Reels, social videos, Virginia Willis, YouTube

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 89
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Get Blog Posts by Email

My Books








Awards and Honors


2020


Best Essay 2016


2016 Grand Prize
MFK Fisher Award


2016


2016


2010


2007


2005

Member

Secondary Sidebar

Get my free bi-monthly newsletter on food writing by signing up here. Once you confirm you’ll get my free e-book on writing recipes.

Food Blogger Pro Ad

Categories

  • Awards (17)
  • Career (72)
  • Contests (23)
  • Cookbooks (112)
  • Ethics (58)
  • Food Blogging (227)
  • Freelancing (53)
  • Literary Agents (12)
  • My workshops and conferences (34)
  • Personal Stuff (19)
  • Photography (6)
  • Promotion (24)
  • Proposals (10)
  • Recipe Writing (67)
  • Restaurant Reviewing (22)
  • Self Publishing (18)
  • Social Media (21)
  • Travel Writing (2)
  • Useful Links (23)
  • Writing (137)
    • Memoir (15)
  • Writing Apps (3)

Archives

Most Popular Posts

  • New FTC Rules on Writing Reviews, Affiliations, and Sponsored Posts 266 comments
  • Adapting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours 263 comments
  • Is Food Blogging Too Much Work? 237 comments
  • Are You Making These 3 Mistakes on Your About Page? 206 comments
  • 5 Notes to Self for Coping with Conference Anxiety 203 comments
  • Food Bloggers Fight Firestorm of Abusive Facebook Pages 200 comments
  • Should Bloggers be Praised for Recipes They Don't Write? 198 comments

Copyright © 2021 · Dianne Jacob      Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Genesis Sample Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Enter your name and email to get my newsletter... it's FREE!
Sign up now and receive my free e-book: "The 15 Biggest Errors to Avoid When Writing Recipes"
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. You may unsubscribe at any time.