Food Writing
A Bi-weekly Ezine
Volume V, Issue 16
April 29, 2008
www.food-writing.com

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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. This issue goes out to 1985 subscribers! Thank you!
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"The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure not a slight pleasure." – Michel de Montaigne

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DIGITAL EBOOK VERSION OF MAKE MONEY AS A FOOD WRITER IN SIX LESSONS IS ON SALE!!

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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note – Busy AND Organized
2. THE ROLE OF AGENTS IN YOUR WRITING SUCCESS by Pamela White
3. FERRETING OUT WORK by Gayle Trent
4. Markets and Jobs for Writers

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Make Money as a Food Writer in Six Lessons by Pamela White, available at Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/2b4t3n

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1. Editor's Note – Busy AND Organized

I feel as if I'm entering a good week. A busy week, but a good one. We have warm weather, and I went to my first baseball game of the season on Sunday. A few years ago I bought "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. It is a how-to guide for highly placed professionals who do not feel as if they are getting all their necessary work done. When I first read it, it felt complicated and too confining. In the interim years I've moved forward to place where I long for organization and the ability to break huge projects into smaller steps. The bit of information that hit home this week was a discussion by the author that pointed out we cannot start a project until we have an ideal, a vision of the end result. Yes, we might change the project during the work on it, but if we have no real feeling for what our goal is, how do we know the steps to take to get there?

I am working on two projects:

At home, I am doing deep cleaning and house repairs room by room. It might take me three years due to the work involved and the cost of doing it, but I can see how the house will look, and more important to me, how it will feel.

At food-writing.com, I am planning two years' worth of writing project and have begun to envelope myself with books, sites, mentors while I do the research. This is harder for me to visualize. I try to see myself reading magazines each day, organizing ideas and info on note cards and actually finishing the books or classes I choose to do first.

So here I am, standing at the starting line, ready to take off….tomorrow…or maybe the next day. Progress might be slow but it's still progress. Right?

Cheers, Pam White

P.S. - there are a lot, I mean a LOT, of links in this issue, many of which are too long for one line, so you will need to copy the URL and paste it into your browser to get to the recommended sites. (but I know you knew that, right?)

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2. THE ROLE OF AGENTS IN YOUR WRITING SUCCESS by Pamela White

Ten years ago I had a conversation with a now-famous novelist. I asked him about the value of getting an agent and he told me that he had an agent briefly but that he preferred to take care of his own business with publishers. By the time his third novel was published, he was able to attract an agent that put his interests high on her list of priorities and he's been selling his work like crazy.

Nowadays, it's more difficult, more challenging for writers to approach publishing houses on their own. Mergers of these book publishers have not only narrowed down the number of options, but these consolidations have also made many editorial assistants' and acquisition editors' jobs redundant. Less avenues of access – assistants and editors – means less work time to review any submissions. Unagented submissions stand very little chance of being discovered by a lower level employee, more so than in the past.

This makes agents all the more valuable to writers seeking publication of their books. Writers who want their manuscripts or book proposals reviewed by publishers have an enormously better chance if they are represented by an agent.

Beyond that, there are many additional reasons to seek agent representation:


Writers' contracts tend to be for larger amounts of money when an agent is involved.


Agents guide projects from idea to completion, especially with non- fiction books.


They work with you, the writer, to shape your book proposal so that it will fit in with the publishers' needs and will not duplicate other works already in the pipeline, or currently published.


Agents advise writers on the ins and outs of the publishing business and publishing process.


They give valuable feedback and moral support.


Agents have editorial contacts and can get these business associates, who trust the agent, to look at your work, reducing the struggle to get someone, anyone, to notice you and your work.


They handle the business side of writing – negotiating for more money, better distribution, money for promotion efforts and promises to publish sequels.


Agents will get competitive bids and help the writer select the best offer.


Agents also look at where the writer is or can go with his or her writing. They have a view of the long term.
If a manuscript, as deemed by the agent, has potential, she or he will submit it simultaneously to several publishers and work to sell the manuscript at an auction, which increases the writer's chance at larger returns.


Agents can put a whole package together, for example, selling an entire series of books (think R.K. Rowling) before the second has been written or even proposed, and sell the publisher on unique ways to promote the books.


An agent can perform magic (well, almost) when it comes to opening publishing doors for new writers, a difficult act since new writers have no publishing track record and, likely, no contacts in the publishing field.

When in the process do you seek representation by an agent? Anytime, is the broad answer. Even if you have attracted a publisher, you can still reap the benefits of representation. An agent, who understands the business, will know when you are being offered a fair contract, or if you are capable of being offered more.

The most important reason to find an agent is that to publishers, agents are seen as having the role of filtering out unacceptable submissions. And that means that writers with agents have an important edge over those without.

Resources for finding agents include Writer's Digest's Writer's Market annual directory and the Literary Market Place, available in most libraries. When in doubt about the honesty or quality of an agent, use your favorite search engine to see what other writers have to say about this person.



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3. FERRETING OUT WORK, Part I by Gayle Trent

You keep hearing that there's work out there, but so far you haven't found any. Well, where is it? That depends on what you're looking for. Are you looking for a freelance writing JOB? Or a MARKET? Or both?

First let's concentrate on JOBS.

Online Job Sites (in no particular order): John Hewitt's Writing Center – This site also has a lot to offer writers. For job information, see Freelance Forum. http://www.poewar.com

News Jobs http://www.newsjobs.net

Media Bistro – This site offers daily media news and updates. You have to register with the site in order to see job information, but registration is free. Simply click on Find A Job. Media Bistro also offers insider's tips such as "How to Pitch to U.S. Weekly." http://www.mediabistro.com

Sunoasis Jobs – Offers regional, telecommuting and freelance job information. http://www.sunoasis.com

Writers Write – This is a mega site offering writers job information, market information, tools, articles and resources. To find a job, click on "Job Listings" and then choose your preference from there. http://www.writerswrite.com

Write Link – This is a comprehensive UK site for writers. Write Link also offers a free newsletter including jobs and market information. http://www.writelink.dabsol.co.uk

FreelanceWriting.com – This site also offers both job information and a guidelines database. In addition, this site includes moderated writing discussion forums. http://www.freelancewriting.com

Writing-World.com – Remember Inkspot? If you don't, Inkspot was a terrific site for writers that was shut down due to financial problems a year or so ago. Writing-World takes over where Inkspot left us. The site was owned by Moira Allen, one of the original writers for the Inkspot site. The site features a lot of valuable information and resources for writers, including publishers who are seeking submissions and market information. http://www.writing-

Publisher's Weekly – The Publisher's Weekly site is a must-bookmark for writers. Not only does it have a classifieds section, and sections for jobs in both the publishing and library fields, but it also keeps you in touch with what is going on in the world of publishing. From cookbooks to mysteries, children's books to sports titles, Publisher's Weekly knows what's selling and who's making the best deals. http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp

Her Corner.com – This site features job information, market information, quotes, how-to articles and other writer resources. http://www.hercorner.com

Writers Weekly – One of the most valuable services this site offers, other than job and market information, is its warnings page. Updating the warnings weekly in their free newsletter, Angela and Richard Hoy make sure that writers have the information they need to avoid being scammed. http://www.writersweekly.com

**About the Author: Gayle Trent is the author of the e-book SELF- PROMOTION FOR THE EMERGING WRITER, available for $5 US at http://www.graceabraham.com. Gayle's most recent novel is a comedic mystery titled BETWEEN A CLUTCH AND A HARD PLACE, available from Grace Abraham Publishing.


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4. MARKETS AND JOBS FOR FOOD WRITERS

MARKETS

ADIRONDACK LIFE P.O. Box 410, Rte 9 N Jay, NY 12941 http://www.adirondacklife.com/ Guidelines online: https://www.adirondacklife.com/index.php Features run up to 4000 words; pay is 25 cents per word. Freelance photographers are also used to illustrate articles or for photo essays, covers, calendars, etc. Only interested in events and history of the Adirondack area.

TREASURE VALLEY FAMILY http://www.treasurevalleyfamily.com/ Guidelines online: http://www.treasurevalleyfamily.com/aboutus/writers.php Events, advice, activities for families in and around Boise, ID. Query with clips. Articles run between 1000 – 3000 words.

KIDZ N FUN www.kidsnfun.com

Guidelines online: http://www.kidznfun.com/tahoe/SITE/top/listing.cfm/ntg/6098/0/direct Articles are 400 – 600 words and should relate to family travel. Pay not specified. Website has articles, and pieces on gear for kids.

Seasoned Cooking http://www.seasoned.com/ Contact: http://www.seasoned.com/About/Staff.aspx Appears to be open to new writers; pay is not mentioned. Beautiful site

RHODE ISLAND ROADS http://riroads.com/ Guidelines online: http://riroads.com/admin/guidelines.htm Articles run between 500 and 2000 words. Must not be time sensitive. Pay not specified. All articles must be related to Rhode Island. Magazine is archived online for easy research!

JOBS

Culinary Intern/Recipe Writer, THINKfoodGROUP, Wash, DC http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=76513&page=1

Web Editor, THINKfoodGROUP, Wash, DC http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=76520&page=1

Food Safety Reporter, Arlington, VA http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=914328

About.com, Food Writers http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=625412

Freelance Travel Writer, telecommute http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wri/656188683.html


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"Once, during prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water." – W.C. Fields

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Food Writing is copyrighted by Pamela White, 2008

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