PT thanks Judith Weber of Sobel Weber Associates for her reporting.
Late in the week at the Symposium for Professional Food Writers, Chronicle editor Bill LeBlond introduced an efficient “information delivery device.” As he demonstrated, it enabled the user to open to a recipe, a block of text, or a beautiful four-color photograph. The device could be transported into the kitchen to guide a cook through a recipe, and, when finished, the user could embed the content into his library, where it would be preserved and available for future reference. He held up the device for everyone to see. It was, of course . . . a book.
So much of the talk at this gathering of professional food writers had focused on the new electronic media—websites, blogs, podcasts, social networking—that it was useful to be reminded of the value of the book.The Symposium, now in its nineteenth year and held annually at the venerable Greenbrier resort in the West Virginia hills, is the brainchild of Antonia Allegra, a coach who specializes in working with food professionals in their writing and their careers. Registrants at this year’s symposium included newspaper staff writers or former staff writers, now freelancing; aspiring or already published cookbook authors; cooking teachers; magazine writers; radio personalities. Among the 15 speakers were a writing coach, Don Fry, who is a regular at the symposium; cookbook editors LeBlond (see above) and Sydny Miner of Simon & Schuster; food editors Russ Parsons of the L.A. Times, Martha Holmberg of The Oregonian and Mix Magazine, and Ann Taylor Pittman of Cooking Light; authors Michael Ruhlman, Andrew Schloss, David Joachim, and Andrea Nguyen, as well as independently published author Amelia Saltsman; and television food reporter Steve Dolinsky.
The conference is distinguished by the unusual degree of open interaction and sharing among speakers and attendees. There wasn’t a person there who walked away without having learned something new.
What emerged as the theme of this year’s symposium was that the dramatic changes in the book publishing, magazine, and newspaper markets present new challenges, but also new opportunities for food writers. The old models of publishing are no longer working, so publishers—and writers—must explore new avenues. It’s no longer enough for authors to be writers; they must be entrepreneurs, finding ways to market their product and diversifying into such ancillary fields as blogs which have the potential to generate income not only through promotion of books, but also with paid advertising or links to such services as Amazon Associates; recipe and product development; teaching and speaking engagements.
There are an estimated 30,000 food blogs already in existence (about one-third of the attendees already had their own blogs), and new blogs have been proliferating at a faster rate than the audience for them. In this competitive market, it is essential that the author hone his skills and target his blog to achieve its goals. Speakers addressed such issues as astute choice of keywords for search engine optimization, links to Amazon or other related product sales, paid advertising, and the use of social bookmarks, such as Digg and Yahoo! Buzz, to draw people to a blog. Instances of the direct correlation between clever blog, or even Facebook or Twitter, postings and spikes in book sales were cited.
In panel discussions on query writing and proposals, editors, writers, and agent took attendees step-by-step through the process, emphasizing the importance of a hook and an author’s platform. Don Fry offered hands-on exercises in “Creating and Modifying Your Writing Voice(s),” as well as private consultations with writers. Steve Dolinsky demonstrated how to set up a podcast and talked about “The Basics of Writing for/Speaking on the Screen.” Other discussions covered the importance of reporting before writing, how details can make a difference, and outlets for freelance writers.
As media-savvy as many of the speakers and attendees were, no one suggested that these new forms of communication signaled the death of the printed book. As one speaker (author and self-described “reluctant blogger,” Andrea Nguyen) put it, “Cookbooks are artifacts. They will always have more value than what we find on the web. There’s no substitute for holding a book in your hands, using it, letting it get dirty, making notes on it, and sticking papers in it.”
