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Food Blogger Pro Helps You Build a Successful Blog

November 1, 2016 by diannejacob Leave a Comment

When enrolment comes around at Food Blogger Pro, I endorse it. That’s a rare thing, so I hope you’ll read on.

Food Blogger Pro is a commuity to start, grow and monetize your food blog. Bjork Ostrom is a voracious reader, tech guy, and overachiever type. He started Food Blogger Pro three years ago because [Read more…] about Food Blogger Pro Helps You Build a Successful Blog

How a Food Writer Loses Weight

October 25, 2016 by diannejacob 14 Comments

Amy Sherman before her diet began, at the end of 2015.

A guest post by Amy Sherman

It’s easy to gain weight, as a food writer and recipe developer. I often dine at restaurants, enjoying multi-course meals, sometimes several days in a row. I always try to taste as many dishes as I can. When I’m developing recipes for clients, it seems like I’m tasting all day long.

At the end of last year, I knew my consumption was up. I also had a sneaking suspicion that the more I ate, the more I wanted to eat. Science is proving this to be true.

On December 30th, 2015 I stepped on a scale for the first time in [Read more…] about How a Food Writer Loses Weight

Do You Think of Food Writing As a Business?

October 18, 2016 by diannejacob 10 Comments

Andy Schloss makes a 6-figure income as food writer despite the fact that he spends no time on social media.

Andy Schloss does. His business income has stayed steady for the last 30 years, hovering around $100,000 annually. He also thinks of his career in business terms, not as someone who works for fun, where income is secondary.

The bottom line: Andy has stayed on top financially because he shifts his food writing work as the market changes.

I had the opportunity to learn from Andy as part of a podcast panel on food writing and money. Andy moderated the panel for the Symposium for Professional Food Writers. A former chef and newspaper columnist, he is also the author of two dozen cookbooks. Plus he’s a [Read more…] about Do You Think of Food Writing As a Business?

On Writing an Award-Winning Essay

October 4, 2016 by diannejacob 29 Comments

Can you tell that I still love mangoes, the subject of my essay? My local supermarket stocks succulent Atulfos, similar to the ones my dad adored. (Photo by Owen Rubin.)

You might think that writers who win awards have natural talent and dash off their stories in an afternoon. That’s the stereotype. Yes, a story I wrote called The Meaning of Mangoes won two national awards! But I didn’t dash it off, and it took me forever.

Here’s the path of my mango essay and what I learned:

Sixteen years ago, I wrote a piece about my parents and mangoes. A start-up website published it. It happened because I sat next to a woman during an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference, and told her a few stories. The next day she [Read more…] about On Writing an Award-Winning Essay

5 Things I Learned From Selling Almost 300,000 Cookbooks

September 27, 2016 by diannejacob 6 Comments

Melissa Joulwan has sold almost 300,000 copies of her two self-published paleo cookbooks. Her newest cookbook, WellFed Weeknights, debuts in November.

A guest post by Melissa Joulwan

Five years ago, my husband Dave and I decided to self publish our first cookbook, Well Fed. We had only the vaguest idea of what we were getting ourselves into. I’d written a previous book for a major publisher and didn’t enjoy the experience, so we knew what we didn’t want. But we were naïve about all the steps it would take to move our book from “great idea” to retail bookshelves and bestseller status.

Since then, we’ve released Well Fed 2, and sold almost 300,000 copies of both books. We’re about to launch our third book, Well Fed Weeknights. I’ve learned it’s wildly rewarding to [Read more…] about 5 Things I Learned From Selling Almost 300,000 Cookbooks