food writing

Most Book Deals Originate with Publishers Not Authors, Says Cookbook Agent

February 22, 2011 by diannejacob

Literary Agent Lisa Ekus of The Lisa Ekus Group

Want to get your book published, and think you need to write a proposal? Maybe.

I spoke with Lisa Ekus, a literary agent who represents food-based books exclusively, about what’s new, what editors want, how she works a deal, and what writers need to do to attract the attention of an agent like herself.

What she said about the majority of her book deals might surprise you.

Q. You’re entering your 11^th year as a literary agent specializing in cookbooks. What kind of changes have you seen in the publishing world during this time?

A. There’s no better time to be a food writer. There are fewer obstacles to have one’s voice heard because of the proliferation of blogging. In the past it was very challenging to break in. Now anyone who has something to say is online, and many editors who are looking for content can find it.

So how do we separate the wheat from the chaff? More talented writers have opportunities, but there has to be a system of building credentials and credibility, of putting the same diligence to your writing in an e-format: doing your own research, having ethics about where you get your material, having recipes tested, and having copy editing done before it gets posted. You still have to market yourself because there are 120 million blogs out there.

There’s more interest than ever before in food and travel and ethnic cuisines. People are now looking for people to weigh in, and writers have such an opportunity.

People keep saying that print is dead, but it’s not. It’s shifting. Highly illustrated books are harder to go [Read more…] about Most Book Deals Originate with Publishers Not Authors, Says Cookbook Agent

Do Blog Photos Always Require Credits?

February 17, 2011 by diannejacob

My Korean bibimbap lunch at a New York restaurant last summer, during BlogHer.

Recently a writer challenged me on my occasional lack of photo credits. Here’s what she said in her email:

“I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now and really appreciate your thought-provoking posts – not to mention ensuing discussions from all the food bloggers!

One thing that has always struck me as odd, however, is that I notice that you don’t always give the source credit for the photos you use on your blog. I write for [websites], and making sure to give proper photo credit is a huge deal for us.

Whether we take the photos ourselves, find them on Creative Commons, borrow them from personal blogs, or even just lift them from Amazon.com, we make sure to give credit, link back to the original, and of course, ask permission when necessary. I’ve also been burned before when I [Read more…] about Do Blog Photos Always Require Credits?

Styling Pro's Secrets to Gorgeous Food Photos

February 2, 2011 by diannejacob

Food Stylist Denise Vivaldo

For every food blog with gorgeous photos, 10 others need work.

So I’ve asked Denise Vivaldo, founder of Food Fanatics, a catering, recipe development and food styling firm based in Los Angeles, to come to the rescue. She has styled food for television shows including The Tonight Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Inside Dish with Rachel Ray.

She helps authors with their cookbooks, including Mariel’s Kitchen by Mariel Hemingway, cookbooks by Suzanne Somers, and The Date Night Cookbook by Meredith Phillips.

She also teaches food styling (sometimes with photographer Matt Amendariz), and is the author, most recently, of The Food Stylist’s Handbook, based on her decades of food styling experience.

Q. What is the definition of a food stylist?

A. It’s the food stylist’s job to prepare food for the camera. The food is not necessarily consumed but prepared just for the camera. The majority of tricks we use are to manipulate the food so it’s still edible.

Now that’s different for food bloggers. You develop issues about food when your family’s going to eat it. You want it to still be hot, to make sure nothing gets into it to contaminate it, and you don’t want to waste it.

So if I were making strawberry ice cream, I would pick out a quart of strawberry ice cream at the grocery store and shoot that. That way I might not feel panicked about working with it.

Q. Where do food bloggers go wrong about food styling?

"We put the green beans going in different directions. It's a platter like my mother would have brought to the table. We blanched the onions first, then sautéed them to preserve their color. We undercook everything."

A. A blogger in a class I was teaching once said to me, “I just throw it on the plate. I have four kids to feed.” You need to understand composition.

I’ve found that bloggers don’t read the instruction book that comes with the camera. I tell them to take off the automatic setting and learn to focus the camera themselves. Take the automatic flash off and learn how to harness light.

They don’t get close enough to the food. You want to be able to lick that photograph! Props and food trends come and go, but less is more in photographs.

Q. What if I don’t have a whole cabinet full of pretty plates and dish towels?

A. Then get close to that food!

Also, food needs color. Get gorgeous colored napkins: vibrant blues, pinks and orange. Then [Read more…] about Styling Pro's Secrets to Gorgeous Food Photos

Joan Gussow Inspires a Whole Community of Food Magazines

January 31, 2011 by diannejacob 28 Comments

Edible Communities founders Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian head a network of 70 magazines across North America, called the Edible Communities.

Ten years ago, partners Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian felt unfulfilled, even though their graphic design and marketing firm won many awards. Writing and designing annual reports, logos and producing other corporate communications wasn’t cutting it.

Outside of work, they gravitated towards organic, seasonal gardening and cooking. The two had a boatload of talent. Ryder has degrees in graphic design, journalism and psychology, and graduated from a professional chef school in Los Angeles. Topalian is an acclaimed photographer.

Their answer was to launch Edible Ojai (near Santa Barbara, CA) magazine in 2002. Today they spearhead a network of more than 70 Edible magazines across North America, dedicated to celebrating local food, farms, and seasonal, sustainable eating.

Last weekend, 60 of the publishers gathered in Santa Barbara for an [Read more…] about Joan Gussow Inspires a Whole Community of Food Magazines

The Perfectly-Prepared Dinner that Failed

January 24, 2011 by diannejacob

I planned a dinner last week, hoping to achieve these goals. I wanted to cook for my cousin Dana in Los Angeles, who is dying of cancer.

He requested two dishes that did not go together: spaghetti and meatballs, in honor of his mother’s Italian-Catholic side; and Hamoth, a sweet and sour beet stew made by our Iraqi-Jewish grandmother, which is actually an Indian-Jewish dish.

(Confused yet? Now, if you had an Italian-Catholic mother from New York and an Iraqi-Jewish father from Shanghai, what would your identity be? Dana chose to play the bagpipes.)

I cooked the meal at the home of my friend Mary Ann and her husband Daniel, where my [Read more…] about The Perfectly-Prepared Dinner that Failed

Should You Start a Blog or Quit One? Depends Whom You Ask

January 20, 2011 by diannejacob

Blogging is either a demanding waste of time or the greatest marketing tool ever, according to two articles Faith Kramer sent me.

How can blogging be both? Let’s take a look:

1. Blogging is a Demanding Waste of Time

At Crain’s Chicago Business, a story called Bloggers quitting what they call a demanding task with few rewards profiles those who shut their sites. One launched careers of others on his site, but not his own. Another chronicled a sabbatical but when it was over, had nothing more to say. One became a parent and said his blog became less interesting because writing about his wife and family was off limits. The last person quit because he found it too much of a time sink. Says the article:

“Some have simply switched to another blog-like medium, say, Twitter or Facebook. Others have faced unpleasant facts about blogging. It’s cheap to do but usually doesn’t pay. Having a platform [Read more…] about Should You Start a Blog or Quit One? Depends Whom You Ask