Writing

“Write Like Your Life Depended on It,” says author Carolyn Phillips

September 6, 2016 by diannejacob 36 Comments

You’ll be delighted by All Under Heaven, Carolyn Phillip’s new cookbok about the 35 cuisines of China. I’m giving away a copy. Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite Chinese food. Sorry, the giveaway is for US winners only, says the publisher.

UPDATE: The winner is Annie Fenn of the Jackson Hole Foodie blog.

Now, on with the story…

If you look up “overachiever” in the dictionary, you’ll find this photo of Carolyn Phillips. A woman of voracious intellect, determination and cheeky humor, she did a deep dive into Chinese culture early in adult life. Carolyn has mastered Mandarin fluently. She can read and write it. Further, she lived in Taipei, married a fellow intellectual from Beijing, and cooked her way through [Read more…] about “Write Like Your Life Depended on It,” says author Carolyn Phillips

“Memoir Has to Risk Something,” says John Birdsall

August 30, 2016 by diannejacob 16 Comments

Food writer John Birdsall has won two James Beard Foundation awards for intensely personal essays.

A few years ago, I went outside my comfort zone. I contacted a stranger and asked to meet.

The stranger was John Birdsall, now a double James-Beard winning writer and essayist. At that time he was a restaurant reviewer for a local newspaper here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I loved his restaurant reviews.

John has since moved on to narrative non-fiction or personal essays, often about the intersection of gay culture and food. I know he’s already won awards and was published in prestigious places, but I feel like he’s just getting started and has so much more to offer us.

Here’s his take on restaurant writing, personal essay writing, and taking risks. He also has good insights about his former writing and the role of an editor. I asked him to write his answers (rather than me interviewing him), so you can get a sense of his style:

Q. How does your background as a restaurant and catering cook influence your food writing? Do you believe that people who write about food should have professional experience or culinary training?

A. For a long time I didn’t think it did: Cooking seemed a prelude disconnected from [Read more…] about “Memoir Has to Risk Something,” says John Birdsall

10 Pet Peeves of a Cookbook Copy Editor

May 10, 2016 by diannejacob 50 Comments

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.

So if you’d like to see fewer copy editor corrections and queries in your manuscript, consider these ten points: [Read more…] about 10 Pet Peeves of a Cookbook Copy Editor

How Writing for Radio Differs from Print

March 15, 2016 by diannejacob 13 Comments

Kathy Gunst has reported about food for the radio show Here and Now for 15 years. The show now has more than 5 million listeners.

Since 2000 Kathy Gunst has been writing for radio for Here and Now, a live news magazine show broadcast to over 500 public radio stations nationwide. Today the show has more than 5 million listeners.

Kathy’s segment on food airs two to five times per month. As the “resident chef,” she has an enviable job: she covers what interest her most. That might include travel pieces, cookbook reviews, and usually, lots of conversations about seasonal food and cooking.

Kathy is the author of 14 cookbooks (15 this fall) including [Read more…] about How Writing for Radio Differs from Print

For a Cookbook Review, is Testing Recipes Essential?

January 12, 2016 by diannejacob 52 Comments

I had my 15 minutes of fame in December, when The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and NPR included the cookbook I co-wrote with chef Craig Priebe, The United States of Pizza, in their 2015 holiday round-ups of best books or cookbooks of the year.

It was a giddy time because, as you know, a cookbook review in The New York Times is the Holy Grail. Emails flew as my agent and publisher discussed [Read more…] about For a Cookbook Review, is Testing Recipes Essential?

Why Blog in Two Languages? Chocolate & Zucchini Says it’s Worth It

December 1, 2015 by diannejacob 52 Comments

Long-time blogger and Parisienne Clotilde Dusouliers of Chocolate & Zucchini started in English and added French, with surprising benefits. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Rothfeld.)

A blog in two languages wasn’t a decision veteran food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini took lightly, but she has seen rewards — and challenges — she never imagined.

Dusoulier was a young Parisienne who spent a few years in the Silicon Valley as a software engineer before returning to Paris. She launched the English version of her award-winning [Read more…] about Why Blog in Two Languages? Chocolate & Zucchini Says it’s Worth It

Nigella Lawson’s Strong Voice

November 24, 2015 by diannejacob 27 Comments

The cover of Nigella Lawson’s new cookbook, Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food

Cookbook author Nigella Lawson has that elusive strong voice writers covet, the one fans recognize anywhere.

I heard it when I went to hear her speak to promote her new book, Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food. She’s brilliant (an Oxford graduate in medieval studies), funny and intimate.

She wrote interviews and film reviews at first, eventually turning to food. “When I write about food I’m still very aware of [Read more…] about Nigella Lawson’s Strong Voice