Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

diannejacob

When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

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Dianne-Jacob-Pizza

Fitting dough to a pizza screen for one of around 80 pizzas I made for  a pizza cookbook — including one with a questionable ingredient. (Photo by Kris Montgomery)

Based on all the great feedback and discussion on last week’s post about recipe copy-editing, I’m asking about writing recipes with non-standard ingredient sizes.

Case in point: How big is a lamb sausage?

One of the USA of Pizza’s recipes called for “1 lamb sausage link” (not merguez). I purchased the link at a butcher. It weighed 5 1/2 ounces.

The copy editor asked if it should be 6 ounces.

Okay, I thought. Maybe 6 ounces is a standard size. But I didn’t know for sure, so I researched it. I Googled “lamb sausage” and clicked on images. I found [Read more…] about When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

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Smoked-salmon-pizza

This smoked salmon pizza in The United States of Pizza  includes sliced red onion. This was a source of contention!

If a copy editor has ever touched your cookbook manuscript, you will relate.

And if you haven’t had the experience yet, you will be intrigued — and possibly worried.

Before I start this discussion, however, I want to be clear. I’m grateful for all the goofs our very capable copy editor caught in chef Craig Priebe’s and my new pizza book (The USA of Pizza, October, 2015) manuscript.

But man, some of the queries made us scratch our heads. Here are three  [Read more…] about Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

Start and Grow Your Food Blog with Food Blogger Pro

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LIndsay-and-Bjork-Olstrom

Pinch of Yum’s LIndsay and Bjork Ostrom report earnings each month of up to $30,000+.

Like thousands of other young women, Lindsay Ostrom started food blogging in 2010 with Pinch of Yum. She was in charge of the content and photography. Her husband Bjork, a techie, took charge of the tech issues and business.

Here’s what’s different: Four years later, the site receives more than 2 million page views per month. The couple has created a lucrative business that sometimes grosses more than $30,000 per month.

As the blog grew, the couple got questions on everything from food photography to starting a blog, so they started Food Blogger Pro, for food bloggers who want to  [Read more…] about Start and Grow Your Food Blog with Food Blogger Pro

17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

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Tomato sauces @540

Vibrant tomato sauces, captured courtesy of photographer Donna Ruhlman.

Who has time to keep up with all the tips and irresistible stories on the Internet?

Now you do! I’ve saved you hours by aggregating this tomato-sauce colored list of links about food and recipe writing, successful bloggers, book promotion, and freelance [Read more…] about 17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

Q&A: Change is Scary but Not Listening to Yourself is Scarier

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Joe-Yonan-Maine

Down on the farmstead…a happy Joe in 2012, on leave from his full-time job at The Washington Post.

Wondering how to transition from a blog whose subject no longer thrills you? Looking for a career change or a way to recharge? Joe Yonan understands the positive power of change and has accomplished many shifts in his career.

The award-winning Food and Travel editor of The Washington Post spent 2012 in North Berwick, Maine, on leave from the Post to learn about growing food and homesteading from his sister and brother-in-law.

Earlier, he started the Post’s Weeknight Vegetarian column. There was a big to do, since people assume newspaper food writers are omnivores. Now he’s writing about growing food on his 150-square-foot urban front yard, in addition to managing the food and travel sections of the paper. [Read more…] about Q&A: Change is Scary but Not Listening to Yourself is Scarier

Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

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Thug Kitchen Authors

Thug Kitchen co-authors Michelle Davis and Matt Holloway. Their blog led to a cookbook with incredible sales this month. (Photo courtesy of Sean Neild.)

Paging through a new cookbook never fails to thrill me. So when I got a copy of Thug Kitchen as a gift while attending the Food Bloggers of Canada annual conference, I put my feet up for a few minutes to take a look. It’s a vegan cookbook with great recipes and gorgeous [Read more…] about Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

The Scariest Thing about Twitter is to Let Yourself be Seen, says Kat Kinsman

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Kat-Kinsman-Tasting-Table-Editor-in-ChiefKat Kinsman is one of those living-larger-than-life types I adore, dressing in Betty Page with red lipstick and tattoos, speaking often and passionately, and writing about whatever fascinates her, especially on Twitter.

Luckily for us, a lot of what interests her is food. Currently managing editor of CNN’s Eatocracy, she’s leaving soon to be editor-in-chief of Tasting Table. With  54,000+ followers on Twitter, she tweets at @kittenwithawhip.

I saw Kat in Memphis recently at a conference. Here’s a spontaneous interview about why to tweet and how to be good at it:

Q. Do you have a love-hate relationship with Twitter?

A. Mostly love. It’s broken down the barriers with so many people. Now people in the [Read more…] about The Scariest Thing about Twitter is to Let Yourself be Seen, says Kat Kinsman