Recording and Notes from the October Meeting

Replay | Meeting notes | November meeting info

Wow!

This month’s meeting was so, so good, thanks to our special guest, Dianne Jacob!

Dianne spent the entire 90 minutes with us, answering questions about how to get published in major publications outside of Substack, what it takes to publish a cookbook, the importance of author platforms, the future of food writing, and finding your voice, audience, and niche.

If you missed it, you’ll find the link to the recording below.

Good stuff you don’t want to miss…

• If you’re new to this group, you may not be included in our directory! If you’d like to be included, leave a comment on the directory page with the name of your substack publication and we’ll get you added!

• There are two spots open for next year’s Food Writer’s Retreat! The retreat was fully booked, but life happens and a couple of people had to cancel. This is good news for you if you’d like to join us! Here’s where you’ll find all the information:

  IT'S HERE! Registration is NOW OPEN for the Spring 2026 Food Writers' Retreat

• Dianne Jacob has a couple of spots open for her upcoming class, Jumpstart Your Cookbook Proposal! This 9 hour online class starts next week and includes writing exercises, lectures, workshopping with fellow students, and direct feedback from Dianne, so you gain the tools you need to complete your proposal.

• If you are not already subscribed to Dianne’s Substack, where she shares trends, best practices, advice and more about food writing, here’s where to do that:

• Check out the comments section on the Collaboration Network post for information on how to participate in Pie Palooza! Thank you

  Betty Williams for organizing this fun pie recipe sharing extravaganza.

• In this week’s meeting, I mentioned this great resource that Dianne had shared a few weeks ago in her free newsletter:

  100+ pitching guides for NYT, Vox, NatGeo, Wired, Vulture, Politico, WaPo, Wirecutter, Slate, and more

• Keep the conversation going in the Mastermind for Food Writers Chat! You’ll find ongoing discussions about a host of topics and collaboration opportunities. This is also a fantastic place to ask questions!

---

Recording from the October meeting

Click here to watch the recording.

If prompted, insert this passcode: RJ6H.u7a

---

There will be two (maybe three) November Mastermind Meetings!

Thanks to a couple of volunteers, November will include two different meetings in two different time zones!

With members all over the world, finding a time for our mastermind meeting that works for everyone has been a huge challenge. We are hoping that having two meetings at different times of the day will make that easier to manage.

I’ll be working with our volunteer hosts next week to work out the details and will send out all the meeting information once those details are set.

---

Please let me know if you have trouble accessing the recording or have any other questions or suggestions!

-Rebecca Blackwell