Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

Career

When the Social Media Attack Comes from Inside the House

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gif for post about social media attackBy Deborah Reid

Count your blessings if you’ve never been the target of a social media attack. I’ve been through that fire. Because sometimes I write about sexism and bros culture in the restaurant business, I expect it to happen again. “No one with a public platform and an opinion is doing his or her job effectively if they are not being attacked from time to time,” writes songwriter Nick Cave in his brilliant weekly Q&A newsletter, The Red Hand Files.

The universality of the experience can be hard to recall in the middle of an online ambush by strangers. It all feels so personal. But when it comes from a [Read more…] about When the Social Media Attack Comes from Inside the House

Dealing with the Inner Critic

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image for dealing with the inner criticI was going to be on a panel at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual conference about dealing with the inner critic, but it got cut, so…more for you!

(And please check out the conference — it has a stellar and timely list of relevant sessions for writers, cooking teachers, bloggers and more.)

Anyway, I might do a webinar on this topic for IACP later, which would be great. And I’ve been thinking that, in the time of COVID, it never hurts to [Read more…] about Dealing with the Inner Critic

Black Women Editors in Food Writing to Follow Right Now

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image for black women editors in food writing to follow right nowYou like to follow inspiring leaders and publications on social media, right? Do you know this group of Black women editors in food writing? The first three are new to their editorial positions, and the others are publishers who started their own magazines. 

Food writers and editors are mostly white. We need change in our industry. The women I’ve featured here are leading the charge, speaking out on [Read more…] about Black Women Editors in Food Writing to Follow Right Now

How to Support Black Lives in Food

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An image for Black lives in food.A guest post by Adrian Miller

I’ve been trying to figure out my role in being someone who can create a shared future for black lives in food. It’s a future where we have racial justice and so many other forms of justice that are needed.

I’ve always maintained that if we’re ever going to get a breakthrough on race, white people need to work this out amongst themselves. Because no matter what I say or whatever [Read more…] about How to Support Black Lives in Food

Work from Home Wisdom for Food Writers

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image for post about working from homeA guest post by Joy Manning

If you work from home due to the coronavirus, would you like to be more productive?  Here’s help. I’ve been a work from home food writer, whether full or part-time, on staff or as a freelancer, for 10 years. If you are trying to get into the flow, here are my own best practices, routines, and mindsets that have served me well over the past decade. 

Before I get to my daily routine for the week, I set up on Sunday. I make a new list of goals and tasks for the week. Then I schedule my workouts for the week on my Google calendar. Moving my body [Read more…] about Work from Home Wisdom for Food Writers

I was Burned Out on Food Blogging. Then I Started a Fashion Project

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Lead image for post on food blogger who became fashion influencer.A guest post by Maggie Zhu

I started Omnivore’s Cookbook in 2013 as a hobby. It turned it into a full-time job in 2016. After that, I started to feel burned out on food blogging. It took longer and longer to recover. Being alone in the kitchen made me lonely. The need to produce uniform, predictable content to please my readers made me unhappy.

Now the blog is about modern Chinese cooking and Asian-inspired fusion recipes. But it didn’t start that way. My first blog post was for Tuna Pasta with Arrabiata Sauce. My early recipes included random dishes ranging from poorly-conceived fusion to Taco Bell copycats.

Burned out on Food Blogging

One year into blogging, a reader told me he was only interested in my Chinese recipes. He said he’d go to Food Network if he wanted to learn how to make pasta. Soon I focused on Chinese recipes. My blog finally started to grow when I narrowed my scope to that niche. But the problem was (and is) that I love food from many cultures. And the fact that I’m constrained to just Chinese cooking made me burned out on food blogging.  [Read more…] about I was Burned Out on Food Blogging. Then I Started a Fashion Project

After Food Blogging, Gluten-Free Girl’s Shauna Ahern says “Enough”

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Shauna Ahern gave up her blog, Gluten-Free Girl, in 2017. She made a good go of it for 12 years and her blog lives on online. Now, instead of food blogging, she works full-time as head writer at ChefsSteps. Her husband Danny stays home with her two kids, and everyone gets health insurance.

That was part of the decision to close the blog and get a job: Worrying about money. 

Her new book of essays is Enough: Notes From a Woman Who Has Finally Found It. She writes [Read more…] about After Food Blogging, Gluten-Free Girl’s Shauna Ahern says “Enough”