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Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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Win Secrets of the Southern Table + Get Tips for a Successful Book Tour

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image for book tour and cookbook giveaway

Cookbook author Virginia Willis starts another book tour with her new Secrets of the Southern Table: A Food Lover’s Tour of the Global South. She reminds herself that book tours aren’t just about sales. “Book tours are about connecting with readers,” she says. “Even if I sell only a few books, those people will tell their friends.”

Her first book tour took place in 2008 with Bon Appetit, Y’all. She’s written six cookbooks and done four big book tours. In this interview, she’s [Read more…] about Win Secrets of the Southern Table + Get Tips for a Successful Book Tour

Get Tips About a Cookbook Tour + Win a Copy of Istanbul & Beyond

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Cookbook Giveaway: Istanbul & Beyond

[This post is now closed. Kris Diede is the winner of the cookbook.]

What happens on your first cookbook tour? Author Robyn Eckhard found out when she came to the US and Canada from her home in Italy to promote  Istanbul and Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey. She did around 25 events in 5.5 weeks, traveling with her husband, Dave Hagerman, the book’s photographer. 

If it sounds exhausting, it was. Exhilarating too, she says. In addition to the events, she fit lots of interviews and podcasts into that compressed time.

I’ve known Robyn for years. She is one of those overachiever types who speaks several languages and has freelanced food stories for Saveur and The New York Times. We worked together on her [Read more…] about Get Tips About a Cookbook Tour + Win a Copy of Istanbul & Beyond

14 Million Deer Hunters: Hank Shaw Wants to Meet Them All

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Hank-Shaw

Author Hank Shaw has already begun his self-financed, cross-country US book tour, which continues from now into 2017.

After traditionally publishing two cookbooks through Rodale and Ten Speed, Hank Shaw wanted  a third. But when publishers passed on a cookbook based on “Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelope and Other Antlered Things,” Hank gambled on his readers. He decided to self publish.

He knew there was [Read more…] about 14 Million Deer Hunters: Hank Shaw Wants to Meet Them All

How Bryant Terry Sells Cookbooks Through Appearances

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Bryant-Terry-photo

Cookbook author Bryant Terry’s book promotion plan includes singing, rapping, and tying into social activism.

(Photo by Paige Green)

Four-time cookbook author and food activist Bryant Terry loves to perform, whether addressing a conference crowd, singing, or demonstrating how to cook a dish. It’s all part of getting his message across that good food should be a right, not a privilege. At all of these events, he’s also selling cookbooks.

I’ve attended a few of my fellow Oaklander’s events and enjoyed the innovative ways he gets his message across while selling books:

Q. You seem to have more creative ways to sell books than the average cookbook author. You read from your book during a pop-up dinner by another chef, for example. 

A. Philip has been a supporter of my work for a couple of years. We came up with the idea and co-planned the menu together. I did some speaking between courses, some rapping and some entertaining.

I have done events with chefs before. On a book tour, a restaurant hosted me for a book event. The kitchen made recipes from Afro Vegan and they did a [Read more…] about How Bryant Terry Sells Cookbooks Through Appearances

18 Must-Read Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

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Pies

Summer pies from my local farmer’s market in Oakland, CA.

Want to keep up with best practices for writing a food blog or cookbook,  freelancing, or working with companies? Need a link to something fun once in a while? Of course you do.

That’s why you need these links, taken from my quarterly newsletter filled with resources for food writers and bloggers. If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? Here’s what you missed in my last one, sent at the end of June:

  1. Do you have a media kit so companies can contact you? If not, you might consider making one. Big companies expect it.
  2. I’m working with a cookbook editor right now, and these tips are good reminders. Top 10 Ways to Make Your Editor Love You.
  3. Do you aspire to give a TED talk? Even if you [Read more…] about 18 Must-Read Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

6 Secrets to Selling Cookbooks at Events

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Author and and television personality Joanne Weir tells you how she works the audience into buying her latest cookbook.

A guest post by Joanne Weir

I’ve been really lucky with book sales and people often say “Oh, I forgot that you always sell a lot of books.” I want you to know that it took me a while to get the hang of selling books, but I do have a few pointers that work for me:

1. I hold the book in my arms the whole time, with the title facing out, and I [Read more…] about 6 Secrets to Selling Cookbooks at Events