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Thanks for a Great 2016

December 27, 2016 by diannejacob 22 Comments

I’m pretending we’re meeting in person in my kitchen, and I’m about to serve you some pie and ice cream. The web is not as intimate, but it’s a great way to stay in touch anyway.

This time of year I have trouble deciding whether to double down on my own projects — since it’s quiet — or just relax, since it’s quiet.

It’s the equivalent of feeling virtuous or guilty. I try not to drive myself crazy about it. It’s like that old thing of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.

I also tell myself how, since I’m self employed, I can do whatever I want, so why can’t I take some time off? That is my favorite argument of all.

This year the “time off” argument is winning, since I also have a flu that won’t go away. I’ve kept up with email on my iPad in my bedroom. I’ve watched quite a few mediocre movies. Also, the food is not as good here when we have to get up and make it ourselves (my husband is sick too.)

What I really want to do is say thank you. Thank you for reading, commenting, agreeing and disagreeing, and for teaching me about your life, motivations and work.

As some think we need to write less and video ourselves more, I’m still here, reveling in text. I’m in my seventh year of blogging, and it’s still gives me a thrill. I suppose I’m hopelessly old-fashioned. But I do love to write to you, and to hear back.

So happy holidays to you, and best wishes for a spectacular 2017.

— Dianne

A France Workshop on Food Writing

December 20, 2016 by diannejacob 21 Comments

The charming breakfast room of Jamie Schler’s 15th Century Hotel Diderot, with its fireplace and beamed ceilings. That cupboard in the back is full of her home-made jams. The room was our meeting place for writing and instruction. Here the students worked on a writing assignment based on visiting the town market. (Photo by Owen Rubin)

Bonjour! I’m back at my desk, jet-lagged since returning Sunday night from from our France workshop.

After my husband and I flew to Paris (and I got about two hours’ sleep on the plane), I drove our rental Peugeot to Chinon, a cobbled village in the [Read more…] about A France Workshop on Food Writing

Americans are Cooking Less. What Does that Mean for Cookbooks?

December 13, 2016 by diannejacob 33 Comments

Today’s consumer is likely to buy ready-to-eat meals at the grocery store instead of ingredients.

Despite all the cookbooks we write and all the encouraging we food writers do –online and off — to get people to cook, Americans are heading to the kitchen less often, and cooking less.

And I’m not alone in that belief. No less than The Washing Post has described as “The slow death of the home-cooked meal.”

Here are four trends that show Americans are cooking less:

There’s now more eating out than cooking in. Last year was “the first year on record that Americans spent more on eating out than on buying groceries, according to the Department of Commerce,” said a tiny piece in California magazine. Packaged meals are the new focus. There’s even a new term called “grocerants.”
People are buying cookbooks for other reasons than cooking. They might aspire to cook from them, but then don’t. They might think cookbooks are beautiful enough to display as art. These reasons were clear in my examination of reviews and coverage of my own cookbook last year. It is now acceptable, in major publications and online, to recommend a cookbook without cooking from it.
The bestselling cookbooks are personality driven, not recipe driven. Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman is last year’s queen, selling 782, 186 copies of her three books, according to Publishers Weekly. She sold more than three times as many copies of her books as Thug Kitchen and Ina Garten, who are also personalities.
Snacks are becoming more important than meals. Yet most cookbooks are focused on meals.

8 Answers to Copyright Questions About Recipes and Books

December 6, 2016 by diannejacob 73 Comments

When Copyright Educator and Author Lesley Ellen Harris asked if I had any copyright questions for a blog post, I put the word out on social media. Food writers asked several questions. Lesley has generously answered them — in plain English.

Here are 8 answers to copyright questions about recipes and books:

1. When someone re-publishes my recipes word for word (headnote, instructions, variations, etc.) without attribution, I usually write to them and try to work it out. But if that goes nowhere, is there a legal avenue?

Copyright law doesn’t protect the list of ingredients in a recipe. However, the language used to describe the recipe’s instructions and the headnote are protected by copyright. Attribution may be a [Read more…] about 8 Answers to Copyright Questions About Recipes and Books

8 Techniques for Writing Personal Essay

November 29, 2016 by diannejacob 9 Comments

If you want to write good personal essays, read them. Editor Holly Hughes includes lots of examples in her annual anthology.

Want to write the kind of food-based personal essay that delights an editor and an audience?

Of course you do. So for research, get The Best Food Writing 2016. I’ve paged through a few beautifully-written entries, but it will take several delicious hours to devour the whole anthology. (Disclosure: An essay I wrote was included.)

What makes a personal essay eligible in this year’s edition? Says Editor Holly Hughes, she chose pieces based on trends, those that reacted against trends and food snobbery, those based on the foods we eat together as a family, and essays about the human connection.

Right there, I hope you got lots of ideas for stories. Now, on to the craft of writing.

What can you do to up your personal essay game? Implement these eight writing techniques:

1. A strong voice. Your voice is what differentiates you on the page. It’s your personality, a way to make your story unique from everyone else’s. Therefore, if everyone else is writing [Read more…] about 8 Techniques for Writing Personal Essay

So Many Ways to Organize A Cookbook

November 22, 2016 by diannejacob 23 Comments

Worst table of contents ever. And it's a famous cookbook. Anyone know which one?

Worst. Table of contents. Ever. And it’s from a famous cookbook. Anyone know which one?

Have you decided how to organize your cookbook?

Well, I hope you’re more creative — and forthcoming– than this table of contents above. Recently I worked through five drafts of a [Read more…] about So Many Ways to Organize A Cookbook

Should You Co-Write a Book? 7 Tips to Help You Decide

November 15, 2016 by diannejacob Leave a Comment

A guest post by Casey Barber

Food writer Casey Barber wrote a few of her own cookbooks before exploring a co-writing opportunity. She interviews successful co-writers for this post.

It can feel overwhelming to take on a solo cookbook project versus co-writing one. You’ve got to hit on the right topic. You write and rewrite a proposal. You invest in a year or more of your life in the result.

Why not consider co-writing or ghostwriting instead? As a co-writer, I can vouch that it’s a refreshing change of pace. I like to dive into someone else’s world and work alongside a professional who’s not a writer.

Besides, “It’s crucial to have a writing pro at the chef’s side,” says Dorothy Kalins. A former Saveur and Newsweek editor, Kalins has worked with [Read more…] about Should You Co-Write a Book? 7 Tips to Help You Decide