Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

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Q&A: John Birdsall on Writing a Profile of James Beard

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John Birdsall on writing a profile of James BeardRecently I had the pleasure of reading The Man Who Ate Too Much, by John Birdsall, a two-time James Beard Award-winning author and a writer I’ve admired since his early days as a critic. John combined scholarly research with the skills of a novelist to create this nuanced portrait of the famous cookbook author and personality. I wanted to find out about his process and methods of writing a profile about James Beard, especially since profiles are rare in the food world. Here is our interview:

Q. Why did you want to write a profile of James Beard?

A. When I was a chef, back in the late 1980s, I cooked at a restaurant in San Francisco with a focus on regional American cooking. I became familiar with Beard’s 1972 masterpiece, James Beard’s American Cookery. That book has a particular language—the recipes, the sketches, the way it’s designed. It intrigued me.

Later, in 2013, I wrote an essay for Lucky Peach magazine titled “America, Your Food Is So Gay,” about the influence on American cooking of three closeted cookbook authors of the mid- to late-20th century: Richard Olney, Craig Claiborne, and Beard. That piece had a big impact—I won a James Beard Award for it, and many readers, chefs and others, reached out.

Beard lingered in my imagination for a few years. He seemed the most interesting of the three, someone who [Read more…] about Q&A: John Birdsall on Writing a Profile of James Beard

5 Ways to Maximize Cookbook Sales

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Maximize cookbook sales image

Some news: I recently became an affiliate of Jason’s online cookbook publishing course for bloggers, content creators, and chefs. If you decide to take his course (which I recommend — his content compliments mine), enter the code WWFF for 30 percent off! I will earn a small commission. Now, here’s his guest post about how to maximize cookbook sales. 

A guest post by Jason Logsdon

Your cookbook just came out. Congratulations! But your work isn’t done yet, you still need to sell it!  These keys to maximize cookbook sales have helped me move more than 60,000 copies of the 15 books I’ve written and published.

Many of the sales were for my self published books, where the challenge of marketing and promotion was all on my shoulders. 

Here are my five keys to maximize cookbook sales: 

1. Mention your book everywhere.

To sell lots of copies of your book, you need public exposure. And whether that exposure is a blog, podcast, tv show, social media accounts, or speaking engagements, you must constantly mention your book.

Authors tend to fall in the trap of assuming  that [Read more…] about 5 Ways to Maximize Cookbook Sales

Is 1/2 tablespoon the New Recipe Measurement?

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It doesn’t matter if they’re plastic, metal, round or rectangular. I need lots of measuring spoons when I cook and bake. And a few years ago, I bought my first set that included a 1/2 tablespoon measure.  

Huh, I thought. I haven’t seen this before. The spoons have been pretty standard until recently: 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, and sometimes 1/8 teaspoon. Then I got a second set that included 1/2 tablespoon measure. Something’s going on!

Up until now, I’ve changed recipes that call for that measurement, because we had no physical measure. Most recipe writers call for 1 1/2 teaspoons, which comes to 1/2 tablespoon. So I wondered whether there’s a revolt underway, at least from spoon manufacturers.

Should we start using this new measurement in recipes?

For an answer, I turned to copy editor Suzanne Fass, who has written for my blog in the past. She was of two minds. If a reader has a 1/2 tablespoon measure, it’s fine if the recipe calls for it. “But how prevalent is that measurement in sets?” asks Suzanne. “How long has it been available?”

“New cooks who have only just outfitted their kitchens might have one, but cooks who have been at it longer, with older equipment, may not. If that size is just gradually joining spoon sets and is not yet found everywhere, I’d guess that not very many readers will have it.

“”I fear that far too many folks don’t know that it equals 1 1/2 teaspoons,” she added.  “You don’t want to force most readers to do math. And they’ll hate you for it, or get it wrong, or both.

“I guess my bottom line is: Don’t write 1/2 tablespoon.”

What about you? Do you have this newer measure? Have you been stating 1/2 tablespoon in your recipe ingredients list? Will you now? Let’s get it straightened out.

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(Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash)

Is a Work-for-Hire Cookbook Worth It?

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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?

10 Mistakes Not to Make When Working with an Editor

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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

24 Fascinating Food Writing Links for Writers and Bloggers

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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

When the Social Media Attack Comes from Inside the House

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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