Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food
Useful Tips, Interviews, and Stories to Inspire Food Writers and Bloggers
While reading a cookbook review for Food52’s Piglet cookbook tournament, I noticed that Bonnie S. Benwick, recipe editor for the Washington Post, mentioned the absence of recipespeak in one of the cookbooks.
“Recipespeak!” I exclaimed to myself. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had to find out. [Read more…] about Are You Guilty of Recipespeak? Why the Washington Post’s Recipe Editor Hates It
Look at these two current covers from Saveur and Fine Cooking. Shame on them. The editors imply that only perfect food is worthwhile, and that anything else you make is — well, sub par.
And who makes food that is less than perfect? Me. Most of us. Like you, I [Read more…] about Let’s Take “Perfect” Out of Cooking
Do you want to pay for recipes online? Probably not, but The New York Times thinks consumers will.
Last week it announced it will ask new subscribers to the paper to pay $5 per month for access to the 180,000 or so recipes on its online recipe database and companion app. Subscribers will also get videos, how to and seasonal content. Current newspaper subscribers get free access.
“The work we do is expensive, and we want to do more of it,” Sifton writes as justification. The Times probably has to pay for [Read more…] about Pay for Online Recipes? The New York Times Thinks So
A Guest Post by Raquel Smith of Food Blogger Pro
Choosing a recipe plugin is an important decision for a food blogger. After all, your recipes are why you have traffic, why advertisers pay you, and why people subscribe to your email list.
It makes sense, then, that choosing a recipe plugin would take time. With all the options, how do you know which will [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Choosing a Recipe Plugin
Ever tried a mac and cheese pizza? It’s fantastic! If you have the correct recipe. Ouch. (Photo by Jeff Kauck)
An email arrived about an error. It was the kind all cookbook authors all dread. Someone was making the Mac and Cheese Pizza recipe in the cookbook I co-wrote, The United States of Pizza. But something was wrong.
“The ingredient list calls for [Read more…] about When a Reader Found a Cookbook Error
Is this how you think of your target reader?
Some food writers tell me indignantly, “I’m not dumbing down a recipe!” They think it’s insulting to to simplify their three-layer cake recipe or a lasagna with 20 steps.
They think their readers should want to cook exactly the way they do.
Your readers are not you. They don’t have your skills. They don’t cook as much. They don’t want to [Read more…] about Please Don’t “Dumb Down” a Recipe
No, this isn’t Suzanne. But she’s probably pulling her hair right now, if she’s copy editing a cookbook.
A guest post by Suzanne Fass
Cookbook writers may hate me at first if they think that—once they’ve turned in their manuscript to a publisher—they’re done. I make them do more work. I want every cookbook to be the best it can be, the most useful for anyone cooking—and learning—from it.
As a copy editor, I try to save writers from embarrassment. I correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I fact-check. I query missing ingredients, missing steps, cross-references to recipes, and anything else that looks weird to me.