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Interview With
Pamela White Pamela White writes on food, parenting, health, nutrition and pets from her upstate New York home. She shares her life with three children, her husband of 10 months, five cats and one dog. For fun, she volunteers as a teacher and office worker at her local church, hosts freelance writing chats on bizymoms.com and moderates the mystery writers forum on Inkspot.com. Why did you begin writing? It has long been a deep-seated need, but I felt unsupported in this desire and was unable to move
myself to write anyway. I had a waking dream - one that happens right before waking - that told me I was
going to die at 36. I was one week away from 34 at the time. I jumped out of bed, ran downstairs and began
writing a novel - about the Rapture, of all things. I never finished it, but I haven't stopped writing since. In one
way the dream was true - the old fearful me died at 36; that was when I began submitting and getting paid for
my work, so in a sense that death allowed me to be reborn and live my dream. I was hosting a chat on freelance writing on Bizymoms.com and one woman asked how she could get a job as a newspaper freelancer. I responded, "Well, I married one of the editors, but if you don't want to do anything so drastic, write up a resume and collect writing samples." I was a writer for a weekly newspaper, but had studied culinary arts for years as a creative outlet when I was home with my babies. When the food critic position came open, I was divorced and working as a Christian education director at a church. I was also preparing to move to another city and marry my new editor-husband. He mentioned the opening to me in passing. I felt giddy at the possibility. I made copies of my old humor columns, went to a restaurant and wrote a sample review, created a food article to
show my extensive knowledge of ethnic foods and wrote a letter of interest. The managing editor liked my style and told me it was clear I knew more about food than the previous food critic. It was insane, of
course; I study nearly every day to keep up with trends and food facts. The bonus was that since I had the information on the job opening before anyone else did, the managing editor decided not to advertise the position and handed it to me. So, I got the job with a lot of great timing and networking - a lesson I am happy to pass on and continue to use to my advantage today. The best is being forced to try new things. Last Saturday, I ate raw but cured beef. It was heavenly. I like squid, alligator, buffalo, elk and shark, but I would never know without having to eat. It's a field that requires constant educating and re-educating. I inhale the Wednesday New York Times Dine In/Dine Out section and have a bookcase overflowing with food encyclopedias and histories of foods and food names. It's an excellent job for someone with a passion for food, writing and learning. Another great thing - I have been asked to be guest speaker at local schools, a judge at pie baking contests and chili cook-offs. I try to be anonymous. I am 40-years old, kind of pudgy (now), brown, short hair, glasses and I often take my children along as my dinner guests. I don't stand out in a crowd unless I want to, and I don't want to at my reviews. I make reservations in other names and polite and easygoing with the staff. Some of the more upscale restaurants made an effort to find out who I was when I took the job, but most don't even care. And yes, the upscale places will send four waiters to hover over us, even if it's just my husband and myself who are eating out for fun. But it is rare that the restaurants know who I am or why I am there. Is it difficult to give a negative review? I hate writing negative reviews. I worry about the staff, even if they were incompetent and ill-suited for the job. I tell myself I am a consumer advocate, acting on behalf of the general dining public. Still, when I do write a negative review, there will be letters to the editor about how wicked and demanding I am and I get my share of phone callers saying that I make them sick. On the upside, many people will stop me and say, "It's about time someone told the truth about that place." I wrote a cover letter expressing my interest and highlighting my professional writing experience and my avocational cooking background. I enclosed a resume of my education and work experience. I wrote a sample review, making it clear that I wrote it for them and that it had not been published. I wrote an article on ethnic breads, including some recipes. I made copies of two funny columns I wrote for another newspaper and two published feature articles. I was kind of fumbling in the dark, not sure what to send, but none of the other interested parties sent in even a resume, just thought a phone call qualified as an application. Never underestimate the value of a professional approach. I also sent two follow-up letters expressing my continuing interest. I was hired six months after the initial contact. Another funny story: when I started I was told to email my completed work in, but this paper was very new to electronic anything and only a few editors used email. All had email addresses, however, that are made available to the public. My editor is a technophobe and she finally told me she didn't know how to access her email account and she didn't have the time to ask someone else to do it each week. I was to send it to someone else who could never find the copy in his mailbox. I realized the problem probably wasn't mine when I was told the reason they were having so much trouble finding my emailed copy was that I was sending it at 5 am and no one was there to receive it, so it just got deleted! I contacted the computer guru there and he told me how the other freelancers send their stuff in. It's been smooth sailing since. I send an invoice in once a month, including my mileage, tolls, parking expenses and my check always arrives within five business days - very nice. Really only a few times when my opinion was altered. I feel very strongly that my reputation and integrity are on the line and when an editor or copy editor had a bad experience at a restaurant two years ago that they want to incorporate into my experience it makes for some bad mojo. I write very clean copy, partly due to my years as a proofreader, so my grammatical mistakes are kept to a minimum, although my husband would want you to know I am a klutz with commas and have been known to create compound words in a pinch. It's not about whether I like the food or not. I hate calves liver, but I will write about the sinew-free liver, dredged in flour and pan-seared, as a meal worth ordering if you like liver. Critical writing demands that the writer support her judgment with either an educated opinion or relevant facts. I also put the food into context. Greasy fries and juicy, thick burgers are part of great American diner food. But at a restaurant trumpeting its continental cuisine, greasy anything should raise some hackles. I went to a 1950's style diner recently for lunch and half the review was on the show we saw sitting at the counter. The short-order cook was flipping burgers, pancakes and eggs, throwing food on plates and making malteds worth waiting for. I love eating breakfast for dinner and eating deep-fried onion rings when I'm feeling a quart low on oil, but it is not for everyone's taste. One of my goals is to present the reader with enough information to make an educated decision about whether this is a restaurant experience he will enjoy. Keep writing. Most editors I interviewed for my book, Be a Food Writer, shared that they look for a writer first, a foodie second, on the theory that a writer can study food, but a caterer or chef cannot usually be trained as a writer. Contact editors at local newspapers, regional magazines and dining weeklies. Ask about openings or send in your qualifications and ideas for a regular column. Check web sites for food writing openings. Begin writing on food topics; collect published samples. Be ready when you hear of an opening, act boldly. Anything else you'd like to add? No editor will believe in you and your abilities if you don't sell yourself. Even if you don't feel qualified, act as if you do. Be positive and energetic and meet deadlines. You can order Pamela's book, Be A Food Writer, at www.FabJob.com.
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