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Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

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Blog

How to Write Award-Winning Cookbooks

March 22, 2022 by diannejacob 3 Comments

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image for award-winning cookbooks postA guest post by Barbara Abdeni Massaad

When I decided to write and photograph my first book, Man’oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery, I had no experience in writing books or taking professional food and location photos to document my journey. I come from a kitchen background. My cooking career started in the 1980s in a family-owned restaurant in Fort, Lauderdale, Florida, called Kebabs & Things.

Serving and cooking for customers was an important experience in my life. Years later, I would go on to train in restaurants in Beirut, Lebanon, where I moved a few years later. Now, I am the author of five cookbooks, many of which have won awards.

image for post on winning cookbook awards

Accepting my award for Man’oushé, my first cookbook, from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2015. I did both the writing and the photography.

Here are my insights on how to write award-winning cookbooks:

1. Don’t ever let anyone undermine your dreams.

The idea to write about food started with an obsession: living through a journey in Italy and learning about pizza-making. Upon deep reflection, I took a [Read more…] about How to Write Award-Winning Cookbooks

Filed Under: Cookbooks Tagged With: award-winning cookbooks, how to win awards for a cookbook, writing cookbooks

Create More Content for Your Food Blog in 2022

February 22, 2022 by diannejacob 5 Comments

image for create more content for your food blog

 

A guest post by Alexa Peduzzi of Food Blogger Pro

If you’ve been in the blogging industry for more than a few minutes, you’ve probably heard a very common catchphrase –– “Content is king.” At the new year, you may have set some goals for your blog. If they’re anything like mine, they revolve around creating more content.

And, of course, that’s easier said than done. I’m coming off a year where I took eight months off from posting on my blog (more on that here). Now I’m excited to head into this year with a plan to help me actually achieve my goals.

Here are the five strategies to create more (and better) content this year:

1. Batch your blog posts.

Content batching allows you to make a bunch of content all at the same time. It is all about planning, working ahead and making the most of your limited time. For example, you may decide to content batch a month’s worth of [Read more…] about Create More Content for Your Food Blog in 2022

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: batching content for blogs, editorial calendars, Food Blogger Pro, food blogging best practices

What to Expect When You Finish Writing A Cookbook

January 31, 2022 by diannejacob

image for post on writing a cookbookA guest post by Alice Medrich

My publisher, Artisan Books, brought us the bestseller What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Now that’s a book that will never go out of style, right? 

The reader hangs on every word for nine months. Month-by-month it tells the pregnant one what she may or may not be feeling. Way to hedge a bet!  Yet, somehow I never felt like throwing that book out the window, rather than just throwing up.  Years ago, when I was pregnant, I kept reading and [Read more…] about What to Expect When You Finish Writing A Cookbook

Filed Under: Cookbooks Tagged With: Alice Medrich, food writing, writing a cookbook

4 Best Practices for Navigating Brand Contracts

January 18, 2022 by diannejacob Leave a Comment

image for navigating brand contractsA guest post by Renae Getlin

You just landed your first brand deal. Congratulations! You got a brand’s attention and proved that you can create engaging content for their channels. Now comes the trickiest part for many food bloggers: navigating brand contracts.

If you’re a food blogger who creates content for brands such as original recipes, photography, or video, you may think of negotiating contracts as a tedious but necessary evil.  Maybe you think it’s something both sides need to protect their interests. While contracts do offer vital protections,  they can also sustain your business and the longevity of your relationship with a brand. [Read more…] about 4 Best Practices for Navigating Brand Contracts

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Contracts for food bloggers, Navigating brand contracts, Negotiating contracts with brands

3 Things to Stop Worrying About in 2022

January 4, 2022 by diannejacob 11 Comments

image to stop worryingHello and welcome to 2022 — year 13 of this blog.  I thought I’d start the new year off by not talking about goals or intentions. Everyone else is doing it, so I’ll give you a break. Besides, I’d have to announce my own writing goals for the year if I expect you to follow suit, and I only have one nailed down. So I’m going to stop worrying about it.

Let’s talk about what makes us crazy instead. For most of us, it’s social media. We have a [Read more…] about 3 Things to Stop Worrying About in 2022

Filed Under: Social Media

The Pleasures of 2021

December 21, 2021 by diannejacob 2 Comments

Today is the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. From now on it’s all uphill, with more light each day. (Photo courtesy of  Simon Berger at Unsplash.)

It’s been a  momentous year, in spite of Covid. What I learned is that life goes on despite the obstacles. And that a benefit of growing older is finding that life is good, full of gifts and opportunities. So yes, there were many pleasures of 2021.

I hope that you too have blossomed during this time. We writers do need our time alone for writing, processing and planning. A pandemic can help get work done, right?  

Here are the biggest joys of the year for me:

1. The fourth edition of Will Write for Food debuted.

image for food writing What a thrill to have a new edition, updated with what’s most important to food writers and bloggers now. I wrote a new chapter on voice and how to strengthen it. There was lots more to say about publishing, especially self-publishing and how it has changed. I had to discuss social media too, which is a challenge for many of us.

There was more to say about recipe development and testing and my pet peeves (don’t get me started on “salt to taste.”) And more people than ever want to make a good income as a food blogger, influencer or [Read more…] about The Pleasures of 2021

Filed Under: Personal Stuff Tagged With: food writing

No More Cooking for Now

December 7, 2021 by diannejacob 40 Comments

Photo by husband Owen Rubin, whose main job now is to wait on me.

Hello Dear Blog Readers,

Thanks for sticking with me through some challenging times. I missed getting a blog post out recently due to moving to a new house for the first time in 26 years. We had two weeks. And then I broke my ankle by slipping on some gravel. Last week, during surgery, the doctor inserted a plate and six screws. Next week she takes the sutures out.

Now I have been immobile for weeks and will be this way for almost two months longer. That’s what I want to write to you about today: my inability to cook.

I figure that you, like me, love to get in the kitchen. How odd then, to not do so because it’s too hard logistically. I can hop in with my walker, but then it’s difficult to pick up things because [Read more…] about No More Cooking for Now

Filed Under: Personal Stuff

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Will Write for Food 2022


Will Write For Food 2022


IACP Member of the Year 2022


Will Write For Food 2022


Will Write For Food 2020


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2016 Grand Prize
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Will Write For Food 2016


Will Write For Food 2016


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Will Write For Food 2005

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