food writing

Thank You

December 30, 2014 by diannejacob

A virtual bouquet for you, dear reader.

Today I’m saying thanks for being a reader. It’s my fifth year of blogging, and I still love writing my weekly post on food writing. Most of all, I love hearing from you and having a conversation.

If you lurk, I’m thrilled to have you as a reader, regardless of whether you’ll ever leave a comment.

If you’re a regular commenter, I’m grateful when you take the time to type something, even if it’s “thanks.”

When you tell me you’re a long-time reader who has finally commented, I love that.

If you have corrected me or told me I’m flat out wrong, I’m thankful that you set me straight or offered a different perspective.

If you have tactfully emailed me about a typo, I am grateful, grateful, grateful. To those of you who [Read more…] about Thank You

Working for Free Has Value at Each Stage of a Career

December 9, 2014 by diannejacob 22 Comments

Working for free at any stage of your career has value, says food writer Julie Van Rosendaal.

A guest post by Julie Van Rosendaal

I’m not being paid to write this. It’s a guest post, a format whose popularity has slipped in recent years as the concept of writing for exposure began to lose its luster. It seemed more popular back when no one was making any money at this blogging thing.

So why am I writing it, if I’m not being paid? Because I like and admire Dianne, I read her blog and want to give back for all the knowledge she’s shared with me, and because I’m part of this online community and find it an interesting conversation. Because I do what I do for plenty of reasons, and only one of them is monetary.

Derek Thompson made a good point in The Atlantic, that most of us [Read more…] about Working for Free Has Value at Each Stage of a Career

When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

December 2, 2014 by diannejacob 31 Comments

Fitting dough to a pizza screen for one of around 80 pizzas I made for a pizza cookbook — including one with a questionable ingredient. (Photo by Kris Montgomery)

Based on all the great feedback and discussion on last week’s post about recipe copy-editing, I’m asking about writing recipes with non-standard ingredient sizes.

Case in point: How big is a lamb sausage?

One of the USA of Pizza’s recipes called for “1 lamb sausage link” (not merguez). I purchased the link at a butcher. It weighed 5 1/2 ounces.

The copy editor asked if it should be 6 ounces.

Okay, I thought. Maybe 6 ounces is a standard size. But I didn’t know for sure, so I researched it. I Googled “lamb sausage” and clicked on images. I found [Read more…] about When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

November 25, 2014 by diannejacob 62 Comments

This smoked salmon pizza in The United States of Pizza includes sliced red onion. This was a source of contention!

If a copy editor has ever touched your cookbook manuscript, you will relate.

And if you haven’t had the experience yet, you will be intrigued — and possibly worried.

Before I start this discussion, however, I want to be clear. I’m grateful for all the goofs our very capable copy editor caught in chef Craig Priebe’s and my new pizza book (The USA of Pizza, October, 2015) manuscript.

But man, some of the queries made us scratch our heads. Here are three [Read more…] about Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

November 11, 2014 by diannejacob 25 Comments

Vibrant tomato sauces, captured courtesy of photographer Donna Ruhlman.

Who has time to keep up with all the tips and irresistible stories on the Internet?

Now you do! I’ve saved you hours by aggregating this tomato-sauce colored list of links about food and recipe writing, successful bloggers, book promotion, and freelance [Read more…] about 17 Super-Useful Links for Food Writers and Bloggers

Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

October 28, 2014 by diannejacob 102 Comments

Thug Kitchen co-authors Michelle Davis and Matt Holloway. Their blog led to a cookbook with incredible sales this month. (Photo courtesy of Sean Neild.)

Paging through a new cookbook never fails to thrill me. So when I got a copy of Thug Kitchen as a gift while attending the Food Bloggers of Canada annual conference, I put my feet up for a few minutes to take a look. It’s a vegan cookbook with great recipes and gorgeous [Read more…] about Thug Kitchen Draws Fans and Ire

Should Recipes Still be About Meals?

October 14, 2014 by diannejacob 34 Comments

Are we raising a nation of snackers?

As The New York Times reported recently, “sitting down to three square meals is going the way of the landline.” People now graze throughout the day and some 40 percent of Americans eat only snacks, not meals.

And yet, we still write cookbooks for one-pot meals and recipes for dishes meant to be consumed by more than one, sitting around a table. We still organize cookbooks by appetizers, side dishes and entrees, oblivious to this new development.

I’ve been thinking about how new cookbooks might be organized to address this trend. There would be no sections for breakfast, lunch or dinner, because [Read more…] about Should Recipes Still be About Meals?