?> {"id":2490,"date":"2010-02-23T19:27:03","date_gmt":"2010-02-24T00:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.twofatbellies.com\/?p=2490"},"modified":"2013-09-03T17:40:14","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T21:40:14","slug":"trying-to-follow-10-rules-for-food-blogging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twofatbellies.com\/2010\/02\/trying-to-follow-10-rules-for-food-blogging\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to Follow 10 Rules for Food Blogging"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite bloggers, The Amateur Gourmet<\/a>, aka Adam Roberts, just came out with his ten rules<\/a> for food blogging. The Amateur Gourmet was one of the first food blogs that I started reading, and I love Adam’s witty style of writing. I even bought his book, also named The Amateur Gourmet<\/span>, as a gift for Josh, as I think some of his stories hilariously match up with some of our own experiences (particularly those relating to his mother!).<\/p>\n

In hopes of having some sort of success with my own blog, I\u2019m taking Adam\u2019s rules to heart:<\/p>\n

1. Have a hook. That hook might be cooking your way through a cookbook<\/a>, deriding disastrous cakes<\/a>, or advising fellow workers on where to eat in midtown<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This piece of advice was also given to me by a classmate from high school who has since become a published food writer. With so many blogs out there, you need to carve out a niche in order to stand out. I\u2019m still trying to find mine, though it\u2019s been tough. Lots of my favorite bloggers are hungry Asian girls, just like myself. I\u2019m basically just an untrained amateur cook who loves to eat. I\u2019m the first to admit that this blog is neither unique nor special, but I would like it to be! Anyone have suggestions on something that I can focus on to help make Two Fat Bellies more noticeable in the food blogging community?<\/p>\n

2. If you don’t have a hook, have a name. Like this guy<\/a> or this guy<\/a>, both of whom made a name for themselves in the food world before starting a food blog.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is kind of a strange rule, as most people don’t “have a name” before embarking in the food blogging realm. I’m definitely not famous, nor do I plan on giving my name out anytime soon. Even though Josh and I aren\u2019t exactly in hiding, and I do talk about tidbits from our personal lives, we do refrain from stating our full names or posting pictures of ourselves so that we can retain some anonymity right now. That might change in the future, maybe as we (hopefully) gain more exposure.<\/p>\n

3. If you don’t have a name, have a singular, stand-out voice that\u2019s unlike any other voice out there.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m not sure what is meant by a “stand-out” voice. I do have a particular writing style that I\u2019ve carried since my days as a sports writer for my college newspaper, but I also take on a more casual tone in my blog posts. I\u2019m definitely less formal in my posts and try write like how I would speak, if I didn\u2019t have a fear of public speaking.<\/p>\n

4. If you don\u2019t have a singular, stand-out voice, take beautiful pictures of beautiful food and include recipes.<\/em><\/p>\n

I definitely do take a lot of pictures, though that\u2019s something I\u2019ve been struggling with lately. We recently bought an SLR so there may have been some improvements in our photos as of late but we\u2019re still learning how to use it. We have a lot of trouble when it\u2019s really dark inside a restaurant, but I try not use flash, unless it\u2019s appropriate for the venue.<\/p>\n

However, I felt very conspicuous busting out a big SLR in restaurants such as Daniel, Aureole<\/a>, and A Voce Columbus<\/a>. Those are places where we definitely don\u2019t use flash yet I still feel uncomfortable clicking away sometimes. I try to do it discreetly but when you have servers hovering over you constantly, it\u2019s hard to prevent them from noticing. I don\u2019t know if that results in better or worse treatment for us, but fortunately we haven\u2019t run into any issues yet.<\/p>\n

With regard to recipes, I haven\u2019t posted any full ingredient lists and line by line instructions because that\u2019s just not my style. I rarely follow any recipe to letter, and when I do, I don\u2019t feel right posting someone else\u2019s recipe so I\u2019ll either link to it or just refer to the book that I used. I don\u2019t want to run into any copyright issues or try to take credit for something that I didn\u2019t create. To the lawyers who read this blog, are there any repercussions to posting someone else\u2019s recipe, even if I give credit where it\u2019s due?<\/p>\n