Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

Blog

Whole Lotta Lifting Going On

by

Increasingly, recipe writers are finding their own content appearing somewhere else.

Part of the problem is how ridiculously simple it is to lift work verbatim. On the net, just copy and paste. Some online companies write code that does it. In print, just retype a recipe verbatim, and present it as yours.

Here’s what Gwen from Bunky Cooks said in the comments of a previous post here in Will Write for Food:

“I was amazed at the number of people who came up to me after I spoke on a panel on ethics at IFBC in New Orleans last year. They said they had no idea that there were ethics they should be adhering to when writing their blogs.

“Isn’t some of this just common sense? Aren’t we responsible for our words and actions just as you would be in a job or at school? Why do some people think the internet is a place where everything is free and anything is yours just for the taking?”

Good questions. At least she and I got the opportunity to educate. I also spoke on an ethics panel for IFBC last year, and talked for 50 minutes on the subject last weekend at Food Blog South in Birmingham, AL.

Here are some new developments from last week where both individuals and companies are involved:

1. Recipes ripped off as an e-book. Elise Bauer got Amazon to shut down a page where someone in Bangkok scraped the content of Simply Recipes into an e-book and sold it on Kindle. A reader of her site [Read more…] about Whole Lotta Lifting Going On

Food Blogger David Lebovitz Dishes on His Success

by 120 Comments

Has anyone not heard of David Lebovitz? He’s a super successful American food writer blogger living in Paris. He’s also a gorgeous photographer, author of five cookbooks and one memoir, and author and co-author of two apps.

I first met him on email in 2005, when he endorsed my book, Will Write for Food. Recently we spoke about his success and philosophy on food blogging, writing cookbooks, social media, and how he finds the time to get it all done:

Q. Why do so many people adore your blog? What is it about you and your subject matter?

A. It’s a combination of things. Part of it is I started a long time ago so I’ve had a long time to practice, to learn about blogging and build a site. Part of it is I live in Paris and that interests people. Plus I worked as a professional chef, which is part of the mix. People say they feel my blog is very personal; they know the person behind it.

My blog is largely about cultural differences because I’m a foreigner living abroad, and the longer you live somewhere, the more it gives you more credibility. And perhaps people can relate to being an “outsider.” Years ago I was more of a critic of certain aspects of French culture, but now I’m more of an observer and I try to be more neutral. The longer you live somewhere, the more you understand how people are and I’ve become more integrated, too, and understand the culture better.

 

Q. How has your blog changed since you started your website in 1999? What kinds of posts do you no longer do?

A. Now I microblog on Twitter (105,000+ followers) and Facebook (26,000+ followers). I used to do [Read more…] about Food Blogger David Lebovitz Dishes on His Success

5 Tips on Interviewing People Without Blowing It

by 44 Comments

This guy is ready to interview. He’s got his headset on so his hands are free to type. He’s dressed up because the interviewee can see him on a Skype video chat.

Let’s say you want to interview a chef, restaurateur, farmer or author for a Question & Answer piece. Let’s say that person is famous and you don’t want to blow it.

You won’t if you follow a few rules:

1. Don’t waste the person’s time. Recently someone asked me to put aside an hour for an interview. I thought an hour was way too long, but I didn’t say anything.

I got what I deserved.

He spent the first half hour figuring out what to interview me about. I had to walk him through it, which irritated me, and that’s how we started the interview. Talk about starting on the wrong foot.

Most people who have an online presence have a website or articles written about them that you can find as easily as searching on their names. As you research, the content will lead you to write questions based on what would interest your readers most.

2. Do a ton of research. Sift through a mountain of information about the person, because that’s how you come up with the best questions. You can even review their posts on Facebook and Twitter and their bios on Linked In, if relevant.

3. Write questions that don’t lead to yes or no answers. Questions that start with “How did you feel about..” or “Tell me more about the time…” lead to great stories or quotes.

4. Set up a time to call or meet in person. State how long you’ll need and stick to it, then get ready. Yes, it’s easier to email a list of questions, but it’s not as good. People are busy and they might write one-sentence answers, or vague or uninteresting non-answers. Then you have to ask for [Read more…] about 5 Tips on Interviewing People Without Blowing It

A Food Writing Workshop in Hawaii

by 46 Comments

Food writing students working on writing assignments in our beautiful Honolulu teahouse.

I met Hawaiian food blogger Mariko Jackson of The Little Foodie through this blog. A year ago she was a frequent commenter, and told her I wanted to come to Hawaii. I asked if she could help me set up a class. To my surprise, she said yes. Before this point, I had only taught classes for schools, bookstores, or conferences, so I was a newbie at planning my own event.

Our strategy didn’t go smoothly at first. I thought we needed a swanky restaurant lunch to attract food writers, because that strategy had worked well in Seattle. But it cost too much, and not enough people responded. Mariko lowered the price and dumped the restaurant, and to our delight, 20 food writers and bloggers signed up.

Lots of bighearted Hawaiians and mainland Hawaii lovers helped me get the word out. Hawaiians RT’d announcements of the class on Twitter; Amy Sherman of Cooking With Amy suggested some contacts; Catherine Toth, a prominent Honolulu food writer, interviewed me; the Hawaiian president of Les Dames Escoffier told members about the class and invited me to pupus (appetizers) at a trendy [Read more…] about A Food Writing Workshop in Hawaii

5 Tips for When a Literary Agent Calls

by 30 Comments

I had just started working with a food blogger on a book proposal when she got a call from a literary agent, who said he might be able to get her a book deal.

That’s exciting, but how do you know if it’s true, or if this person has the right credentials?

Literary agents, just for review, represent writers. Once you write a book proposal, they find a publisher and negotiate the book contract .

My client had a long talk with the agent and he seems like a good match. I checked him out too. Now, what if you get the call? Here are 5 tips to increase your chances of working with a worthwhile literary agent and getting a book deal:

1. Listen politely and do not commit. Sure, you’re honored and humbled (my two favorite blogger terms to make fun of), but you probably don’t know this person, so you don’t yet know if you want the agent to represent you. Maybe you haven’t even thought about writing a book. Thank the agent, seem interested, and say you’ll get back in touch soon.

2. Ask the agent if he or she represents food-based books. You want an agent who has expertise in your area. If you forgot to ask during the call, check the agency’s website to see if he or she has represented cookbooks, food memoir, reference books or guidebooks — whatever type of book you want to write. If your search comes up [Read more…] about 5 Tips for When a Literary Agent Calls

Being Grateful — And Happier!

by 50 Comments

If you can get a sentence down, then a paragraph, then an essay, and maybe an entire manuscript, this is the season to be grateful. While 81 percent of the public says they want to write a book, most of them never get to that point. Because it’s hard.

At a workshop I conducted recently, one of the students said she hasn’t been able to write a blog post for the last four months. I have wrestled with my critic for more than 30 years of being published, and it is still a struggle. I can relate.

So this holiday season, I’m grateful I can produce the words. Being grateful, it turns out, is a mood changer. The other day I heard [Read more…] about Being Grateful — And Happier!

First Write the Blog, then Write the Cookbook

by 89 Comments

People who want to write a cookbook contact me all the time.

Often these potential authors have no background in writing, cooking, teaching, or any other credential that would make them appealing to a publisher. But they’re passionate about cooking.

Don’t write a book first, I suggest. Start with a blog.

But but but, they protest. Whenever they bring their chocolate-bacon cupcakes into the office or serve their lamb shanks scented with cinnamon, people tell them they should write a cookbook, because their cooking is just that good.

Great, I say. But it’s not that simple. Enthusiasm from friends, family and fellow employees is not what excites a publisher. What turns on publishers is a cunning idea, writing chops and a platform. Now if these potential authors would start a blog instead, they might get to a published book.

Literary Agent Lisa Ekus, who represents only cookbooks, said recently at a blogging conference that more than 80 percent of book queries to her agency come from bloggers.That’s perfect. The bloggers who [Read more…] about First Write the Blog, then Write the Cookbook