Join me for this week's Mastermind Meeting
Monday, July 20, 2026
Hello everyone!
I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday for the July Mastermind meeting!
This month will be an open-forum-style meeting. Bring your questions, challenges, roadblocks, and requests for feedback. This is your chance to take full advantage of all the brain power and expertise in the room!
A few things that have come up recently that I want to talk about:
Substack recipe strategy: how to decide whether to use the Substack recipe card, which recipes are free and which are behind a paywall, how to use recipes to attract people to your Substack, etc.
Substack notes: What’s working and what’s not… and what “working” even means. :-)
Ideas for generating income through your free subscriber list.
How to promote your work on Substack without being too salesy. This is tricky: I don’t think outright selling works very well in notes, but I do see people having success promoting their work and asking people to subscribe. I’d like to talk about the difference and hear what’s working for you!
The brand new Audience Specific Content block.
What else??? Bring your questions, ideas, challenges and anything you’d like feedback on.
DATE: Wednesday, July 22, 11 a.m. New York time (Eastern Daylight Time)
Meeting hosted by Rebecca Blackwell
Follow this link to register for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LVFFa9MfTGOdgNb8LFtaeA
After you register for the meeting, you will receive an email that will allow you to add the meeting to your calendar in your time zone. Pre-registration is required.
LIVE: Cookbook Proposal Q&A
Join Kelsey Erin Shipman and Rebecca Blackwell on Thursday, July 23rd for a 30-minute live Q&A on cookbook proposals: what they are, what they need to include, and how to start turning a cookbook idea into something agents and publishers can understand. We’ll talk through the major pieces of a strong cookbook proposal, including concept, audience, comp titles, sample recipes, author platform, visual direction, and why your book belongs in the market now.
The most valuable skill I’ve learned as a recipe developer and food writer
“In all my years as a recipe developer, nothing has done more to draw people to my work and inspire them to actually make the recipes than my photographs. Without a doubt, nothing has moved my business forward more than learning to take stronger, better, more intentional photographs.” - Rebecca Blackwell
A couple of weeks ago, Jessie-Sierra; The Last Bite and I taught a free class about food photography. We dove into the visual language of food photography and how the choices we make behind the camera shape the way our photographs look and feel. You can watch the recording of that class below, and you’ll see that we covered a lot of ground. But we also only scratched the surface.
If photographs of food are a central part of your work, I invite you to go deeper and learn how to make more intentional choices that help your photographs tell the story you want them to tell.
Join me next week for The Visual Language of Food Photography on Write Up.
We’ll talk about how to make intentional creative choices before you pick up the camera: what mood you want to create, what story the recipe is telling, where the photo will live, and how you want the reader to feel. Then we’ll show you what to do with whatever camera you have to create that mood and tell that story.
You’ll learn:
How to plan a shoot around the story you want your photographs to tell
How to use color to convey mood and emotion
How to incorporate texture to transform a mediocre photograph into a stellar one
How to use lighting as both a styling and technical element
The best strategies for incorporating the human element into your photographs
If you’ve ever looked at one of your photographs and thought, This is fine, but it doesn’t quite feel like me. Or, This is fine, but I KNOW it could be better. This class is for you.
Your $99 registration includes TWO 90-minute live sessions: Friday, July 24, and Wednesday, August 5, from 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET.
The Three Stages Of An Author Platform That Leads To Book Sales
In this free class, Stephanie Moon will break down why author platform-building is so challenging, why so many writers stay stuck, and what’s actually happening behind the scenes when your efforts don’t seem to lead anywhere. She’ll show you why audience growth is not just about posting more, but about understanding the stages readers move through before they ever buy a book.
If you’ve been feeling frustrated, confused, or discouraged by platform-building advice, you’ll leave with a clearer understanding of why this work matters, why it often feels harder than expected, and what needs to shift.
Links and Resources
If you’re not listed in the Directory, leave a comment on the Directory with your name and publication and I’ll get you added!
Community Resources: A revolving list of resources from food writers for food writers
Collaboration Network: Find other substack food writers to collaborate with
The Mastermind for Food Writers chat is a great place to connect with other food writers on Substack.
About your meeting hosts
Rebecca Blackwell is a writer, recipe developer and food photographer who publishes two recipe websites and a Substack newsletter. She and her husband are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. Rebecca writes recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.
Liza Debevec is a social anthropologist, African studies specialist, and career/life coach. She writes two Substack publications that bring together her love of stories, food, languages, and personal growth. Originally from Slovenia, Liza now lives in Lisbon, Portugal, after many years in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and other corners of the world. Her work is inspired by the ways people connect through meals, words, and meaningful conversations.
On my calendar 👍