diannejacob

Update: Yes, You Can Still Write Off Business Meals

January 29, 2019 by diannejacob 2 Comments

image of business meal. In a 2018 blog post, I interviewed Steve Hoffman, a tax preparer and food writer, about tax issues, freelancing, and how the new tax law might affect people in our industry. Of most concern was whether we food writers could still write off business meals.

First there was bad news, but now there’s good news. Steve said he didn’t think the IRS would let us write off business meals anymore. But later in the year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) clarified the new law, to our advantage.

Here’s how Steve puts it: “The new tax law eliminated any deductions for entertainment, which most tax preparers originally interpreted to mean both meals and entertainment. Under the prior law, sole proprietors and small businesses could [Read more…] about Update: Yes, You Can Still Write Off Business Meals

5 Ways To Boost Productivity When Writing About Food on the Side

January 2, 2019 by diannejacob 2 Comments

image for post on productivity

A guest post by Sarah Burchard

Barbecue sauce turned me into a writer. After 12 years of working in restaurant kitchens, I entered the world of entrepreneurship, launching a line of barbecue sauces and spice blends with a partner. At the same time, I started writing about food on the side with my blog about barbecue, taking notes wherever I went.

After seven fruitful years, I closed up shop and headed to Hawaii to pursue new dreams. While building a new career here and working on it full-time, I’m still [Read more…] about 5 Ways To Boost Productivity When Writing About Food on the Side

Teaching Food Memoir in France

December 18, 2018 by diannejacob 8 Comments

Bonjour! It’s your jetlagged friend, just back from France, where I was teaching in Chinon with Jamie Schler and vacationing with my husband in Paris.

Both of us have written essays for years (and blog posts, which, by default, are personal essays). Usually I stick to food writing basics like [Read more…] about Teaching Food Memoir in France

5 Editor Pet Peeves About Cookbook Manuscripts

December 4, 2018 by diannejacob 6 Comments

A guest post by Jennifer Kurdyia

Every editor is different, but as a cookbook editor for The Experiment Publishing, I’ve read enough proposals and cookbook drafts to have developed a few editor pet peeves. I know where the most common shortcomings among my writers lie.

Avoiding them requires a simple but challenging mindset that most first-time writers wouldn’t ever consider: You are teaching people how to cook. Pretend they know nothing about cooking, let alone have made your recipes as many times as you have. As soon as you accept that, your editor will open your email not with butterflies in her stomach, but with a grumble, hungering for what’s inside. [Read more…] about 5 Editor Pet Peeves About Cookbook Manuscripts

What I Learned by Starting a Blog Interview Series

November 20, 2018 by diannejacob 4 Comments

A guest post by Lisa Johnson

A few years ago, I started a food interview series called “You Pick Six.” To my surprise, I have now completed 21 interviews of local food bloggers, food publicists, authors, news anchors, food entrepreneurs and others.

When I started blogging in 2006, I wrote at least one weekly post. But sometimes life gets in the way. Late 2014 into early 2015 was a blur of stress. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and our family [Read more…] about What I Learned by Starting a Blog Interview Series