Food Writing A Weekly Ezine
Volume VI, Issue 21 August 5, 2009
www.food-writing.com
*****^^^^*****^^^^*****^^^^*****^^^^*****^^** For writers who love food and
food lovers who write. Subscribe and Unsubscribe instructions are found at the
end of the e-zine. Our subscribers' privacy is important, I will not sell or
share e-mail addresses or names with other businesses or publishers. This
newsletter, in its entirety, may be shared via e-mail and on lists. Thank you!
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"I always wondered why
babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food." -
Robert Orben
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In This Issue: 1.
Editor's Note: TIME TO REINVENT OURSELVES 2. COOKING WITH KIDS, OR HOW TO SELL
FOOD TO CHILDREN'S MAGAZINES by Pamela White 3. BUDGETING FOR YOUR WRITING
CAREER SUCCESS by Pamela White 4. Food Writing Jobs and Markets
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VISIT
WWW.FOOD-WRITING.COM FOR EMAIL COURSES,
EBOOKS, AND MORE
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1.
Ed Notes: TIME TO REINVENT OURSELVES
First, I need to make a
correction about the next teleseminar: it will be held at 7 p.m. EST on
Thursday, August 13. I will again record the teleseminar for anyone who cannot
attend and will email the recording or a link to it the morning after (8/14).
I'm quite excited about it. I've been writing and researching (maybe in the
opposite order) and look forward to another talk with fellow food writers. Sign
up is at
www.food-writing.com .
I was
talking with someone a few weeks ago. This man used to work for Kodak, but as
the demand for film and developing supplies dried up, he moved to California
and works for a firm that works with film, especially film that needs to be
enhanced through newly developed technology. You may have heard about the
documentary of the first moon landing and how it contains never-before-seen
footage. That's because much of the footage was not clear enough to see the
images. Until now…this guy was telling us that today the smart people, the
ones that are going to get ahead, are literally shredding their current jobs,
outlook and skills and are reinventing themselves.
In his case, it's a
reinvention of ways to use technology to show images that no one has been able
to broadcast before.
As writers, we may find ourselves with outdated
contacts at publishers, or even with former publishers quickly going out of
business. You have certainly noticed both the downsizing of some magazines, and
the end of publication of others. Trends in food writing come and go so
quickly. How do you know what food editors will publish six months from now?
I'm in the same position. As publisher/editor of an ezine for Food
Writers, I try to keep up with these changes, use this information to guide my
subscribers to greater success and to create new programs that will attract
writers that need some extra support and guidance.
When I started
writing seriously, I was working with only 4 or 5 editors. It was easy. They
knew me, knew my work, and would toss assignments my way if I was interested.
Of course, I did not know how easy it was at the time for I still had to the
research, recipe development and writing.
I have had to shred my
perception of how to earn a living as a food writer. I am reinventing myself,
reading more widely, chatting with more writers and more food writers, and
seeking out experts in other areas. I am also logging more hours working at
home to keep up with all the research.
I am studying which markets are
expanding as others contract. And I am sharing all of it with you all.
It's just a start but I believe it is a good one. Still, this 'reinventing
yourself' is not always easy.
News: The next teleseminar is Thursday,
August 13 at 7 p.m. EST. I will again record the teleseminar and send it to the
list and to anyone who signs up at
www.food-writing.com . This one is
called "Cash In on Your Passion: The Heart of the Food Writer."
I am
also starting a session of CRAFT YOUR COOKBOOK PROPOSAL BEGINNING August 31. To
find out more about this 6-week email class (cost is $64) please go here:
http://www.food-writing.com/cookbookproposal.html
Cheers, Pam White
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Make Money as a Food Writer Available at Amazon.com here:
http://tinyurl.com/kl4lfp
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If you've always
wanted a way to get your food writing revved up for ONLYL $40, this is THE time
to go to:
http://www.food-writing.com/welcometofoodwriting/eatdrinkcourse.html
You'll find list after list of the information you need to know and
that is included in this ebook/self-guided course. Not only is this ebook for
sale right now, if you purchase it, you will also receive TWO bonus ebooks that
will also support you in your work as a writer.
You have nothing to
lose. I guarantee each purchase for 60 days. Read more about the guarantee and
LOTS more about what you are getting for your money at the link above. Really,
this is my best offer, and I can't wait to share it.
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2. COOKING WITH
KIDS, OR HOW TO SELL FOOD TO CHILDREN'S MAGAZINES by Pamela White
Taking food writing to children's magazines is not as off the mark as it
may, at first glance, seem. Children love to eat. They tend to snack all day
long. And they admire and imitate their parents, older siblings and caregivers.
It's up to the food writer to create a positive experience combining
all three.
* Be crafty. Children's magazines clamor for craft
activities that are appropriate for their readers' ages. Since most children's
magazines are divided into pre-schoolers, early elementary ages, and pre-teens,
begin to think of cooking activities that can be done for each age group.
Crafts are hands-on activities that the children can handle by themselves,
except for a few preparation steps. When providing food crafts for
pre-schoolers look for recipes that involve cool, healthy ingredients: fruit
salads, simple sandwiches, fruit juice drinks. Anything that needs to be peeled
or cut up will need to be prepped by adults, or, in the case of soft fruits
like bananas or melons, be cut up with plastic cutlery or scooped with spoons.
You want to avoid anything that needs to be heated and all sharp tools.
* Center the craft around an event or holiday. This is especially
attractive to older children, and tweens and teens. They want to feel grown up
when friends come over or when they are hosting a party. Pitch an article that
combines party food with easy prep involved and step-by-step instructions for
the novice, but eager, young cook.
Nutrition is another angle for
tweens and teens. When writing food articles for this age group, provide
solutions for their busy and confusing lives – food that boosts energy or
supports clear skin; food that can be used for beauty treatments: masks, hair
conditioners; food that helps with hormonal changes; or easy recipes that mimic
favorite fast foods without the grease or sugar.
* Tell a story.
Children's stories (and stories for older children through the teen years) work
if they offer something familiar that the reader can connect with. Food is
certainly a connecting force, whether we grow it, eat it, share our traditions
with newcomers, visit a new county, or celebrate a holiday. Write about foreign
holiday traditions that will expand the culinary horizon of your readers.
Create an historical tableau by showing how food was grown, harvested,
preserved and prepared by early pioneers.
There are many ways to
integrate food into articles for children of all ages. Stretch your own
experiences to open up new paths for young readers as they learn to explore
cooking, enjoy eating new foods and learn the most basic of life skills, that
of providing for oneself and others.
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Make Money as a Food
Writer Available at Amazon.com here:
http://tinyurl.com/kl4lfp
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3. BUDGETING FOR
YOUR WRITING CAREER SUCCESS by Pamela White Writers are, to put it simply,
business owners. You may work a full-time job, or go to school, but any writing
you do as a freelance writer is part of your own business as a sole proprietor.
As such, you need to plan ahead in order to keep your business (and your
writing) growing. The benefits are legion. By planning for your success, you
create a roadmap that will take you, step by step, to the financial and
personal success you crave. Your writing business budget begins when you sit
down and look at your household expenses, savings needs and how much your
writing business is going to cost you. You know you'll have internet, paper and
ink cartridge expenses, but you might also have telephone use during
interviews, travel mileage between your home office and the local newspaper you
freelance for, and childcare costs, books to buy, and classes to take. For the
sake of examples, I'll use nice round numbers. Start with an annual income of
$24,000 net to make your writing work pay for the time you invest in it. That's
$2000 per month average over the year. Look at how much you've earned in past
years, or if you are new to writing, ask some friends or contacts on message
boards about how much you can expect to earn your first year as a writer. Don't
panic. Many will bemoan the difficulty of earning ANY income at all. Believe in
yourself, and realize that your income will likely come through regular
assignments, book royalties, business writing, and queries to magazines once
you start making contacts and building up published clips. You might do other
work like crafting resumes, or writing ads for local businesses. Another route
would be to teach writing workshops or even weekly classes. You might coach
other writers for income. Keep thinking…you'll come up with a dozen
untried ideas that will work for your individual situation. If I were to use
the example of $24,000 net per year from my writing I would look at the costs
of my websites, subscriptions to magazines, book purchase costs, paper, ink,
classes I might take, and taxes I will end up paying on my self-employment
income. I would add that estimated amount to the $24,000 and have the total I
would need to bring in each year, probably around $32,000. Then I would look at
my history of magazine articles, newspaper columns, ebook and print book sales,
courses I teach in person and online, plus new assignments that editors and
publishers have already promised. All that might add up to $17,000 net, if the
same number of assignments and sales take place. But I have seen that I need
more this year, so I'll start looking for new revenue streams. I might look
into holding a monthly writing workshop, researching and writing two book
proposals to shop around, and set new, more challenging goals to contact and
query more magazines than before.
Each month I will review how I am
doing. The original total of $24,000 divides nicely into $2000 per month. This
year, I have been doing weekly updates on income and expenses, but a monthly
update would be valuable, and less time consuming. Let's say January brought in
$500. I have two options. I can revise my projections on how much I can earn
this year, or I can intensify my search for new magazines and go to a writer's
conference where I can pitch my book ideas to multiple editors over a two-day
period. Do not use your projected budget to beat yourself up. Sure, we look at
our biggest, wildest dreams of how we can quit all other jobs, and take
summer-long vacations if we only earn a certain amount. But reality might paint
a different vision. Maybe you need three years to meet your goal. Perhaps you
will have to choose to combine your fiction shorts with magazine articles and
collections of your essays in order to make ends meet. Maybe your dream of
creating your own magazine will have to wait until you find grant money or
private backing for the first six issues. Creating and tracking a budget for
your writing life will help you take your goals and bring them within reach,
whether you wish to work exclusively from home or you want to have time to
write your novels. Checking your weekly or monthly successes can help you make
the adjustments in your approach to the business end of writing that will get
you where you want to be, each month and at the end of the year.
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4. JOBS and
MARKETS FOR WRITERS
JOBS
Digital Food Editor, Martha Stewart
Omnimedia
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=91083&page=1
Associate Food Editor, Ladies Home Journal, NYC
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=91062&page=1
Associate Food Editor, August Home Publishing, Des Moines
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=90949&page=1
Assistant Editor, Southern Breeze Magazine, Alabama
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=773054
Food Blog writer/Recipes editor, Miami
http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/wri/1297769010.html
Travel and restaurant blogger, Baltimore
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/wri/1285249827.html
MARKETS WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK
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"[T]he egg creams of Avenue A in New York and the root beer float are among
the high points of American gastronomic inventiveness." - Mark Kurlansky
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Food Writing is copyrighted
by Pamela White, 2009
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